BLACK FLAG - LIVE @ THE 9:30 CLUB, WASHINGTON, DC

Legendary band + legendary venue + legendary personnel = a gig of great historical importance, that luckily happened to be captured on audiocassette for your post-show listening pleasure. At just about any point during their all-too-brief existence, the Flag were cranking out tunes that ran you over like a semi truck, taking the form of either furious hardcore punk rock or the more intricate psychedelic jams of their later years. If I'm remembering right, this show (February 2nd, 1983) went down about a month after the debut of Bill Stevenson on drums, before Dez and Chuck left the band later that spring - a brief yet powerful lineup, to say the least. It may have also marked Henry's first return to his hometown of D.C. following his cross-country indoctrination into the wild world of SST Records a year and a half prior. Regardless of what circumstances pushed this particular show over the edge into five-star territory, it's a beast of a recording from start to finish. Patched through the soundboard, I'd give it a B+ fidelity-wise, certainly not hard on the ears.

What Can You Believe? / Revenge / American Waste / I've Heard It Before / Depression / Can't Decide / I Love You / I've Had It / Nervous Breakdown / Jealous Again / Nothing Left Inside / Beat My Head Against The Wall / What I See / No Values / My Rules / Life Of Pain / Fix Me / Rise Above / Scream

Download it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?wnz2jlz55t1d4sc

NOTICE: This blog features highlights from my expansive ROIO collection, compiled with love by an obsessive fan bent on sharing great music with the world at large. The overwhelming majority of material posted has never been commercially released in any form. Please support hardworking artists by introducing their work to others, attending their shows and purchasing their vinyl output - paying for downloads is a joke.