Seminal punk band Fugazi was nothing if not fastidious. Its four members kept close tabs on every aspect of the band, from the door charge at its shows to how much its records cost to how the crowd behaved at its performances. These were not guys who left anything unexamined.
Like, say, the more than 1,000 shows it played between September of 1987 and November of 2002. Fugazi’s sound engineers recorded more than 800 of them, most of the time using nice gear, and now the band is releasing those recordings online. The Fugazi Live Series launches on Thursday with an initial offering of 130 performances (101 shows plus 29 of the ones featured on out-of-print Fugazi live CDs). More will be added continually—the website, currently in beta, calls the project “a semi-permanent work-in-progress.” The band plans to adds photos, flyers, and other show info as well and hopes fans will contribute.