I was just kind of reliving this night, playing Evens audio and videos.  I never got to see Ian Mackaye during the days I was going to these shows as a young man.  Minor Threat played its last show literally two months before my first, and by the time Fugazi started, I was pretty much enjoying Dead shows, Dead tribute nights, blues and world music with my circle of friends. Guess I was a fickle kid.

I was shocked when I heard that the Evens (Ian on guitar, Amy Farina on drums, and both on vocals) were coming to the Burg. The show was in a tiny little bookstore, Read All Over Bookstore, right smack in the heart of downtown Fredericksburg. No wait. It’s a tiny little store, but it’s large for a tiny bookstore. The show was sponsored by Fredericksburg All Ages, which is appropriate, because Ian has been a tireless advocate for all ages venues.

I spent the whole gig just ten feet from the stage. A kid was crawling around the stage for a while, I’m guessing that was Ian and Amy’s son. A guy was filming the show with what looked like a serious camera. I chatted with him on the sidewalk after the show, he was from OddBox in Fredericksburg. Ever since the show I’ve been hoping to see the footage surface somewhere, but no such luck just yet.  There was a real nice version of Mt. Pleasant Isn’t.  It’s a favorite due to the sing-along chorus: “THE POLICE WILL NOT BE EXCUSED! THE POLICE WILL NOT BEHAVE!” Here’s a version from some other gig, since I can’t post the one I saw:

I hope I can bring my girls to an upcoming Fredericksburg All Ages show. Problem is, a lot of time they’re held on school nights, and my girls have stacks and stacks of homework, and they’re always so tired so early. They aren’t miscreant ne’er-do-wells like I was, making my way from the suburbs into DC sometimes twice a week to see shows like this at 930, DC Space, Roxy, WUST, Pierce Hall, or wherever they were being held that week.