Waiting Room (Fugazi)
Fugazi's Waiting Room is probably better discussed by this author (it's short) than by me. I just want talk about what the band meant to me. Since we're talking about waiting, let me say waiting is a useless enterprise by itself. Waiting does absolutely nothing in and of itself. Waiting — combined with other activities — can yield positive results, but problems don't go away on their own. The passing of time does not solve anything except our own existence. Problems require the application of a solution. There.
I saw Fugazi in 1998 (forget where but somewhere in Michigan), and a few days after that saw Bad Religion (in Ann Arbor) for the first time, so Fugazi was my first show. They were from Washington, D.C., and kept their ticket prices low so kids could attend. Hardcore was always for the kids. (I guess you would call this post-hardcore.) Tickets were $5 plus $1 Ticketmaster fee. Whereas Bad Religion was lyrics-driven, I liked Fugazi because it was guitar-driven. I liked the music more than anything. And they regularly made use of a cowbell. Yes, a cowbell.
I don't want to get into the importance of the band. If you know anything about Minor Threat or other D.C. hardcore bands, you're getting warm. So many of the bands were related somehow or shared band members. In a way, they carry common strands of DNA, if music can be thought to have DNA, which I think it can. In case you wonder, Ian MacKaye, founding member of the band was reading a book about Vietnam and came across the term fugazi, which kind of had the same meaning as fubar, or an effed-up situation. He and Henry Rollins were very close.
Fugazi was the tightest band I ever saw perform. There was zero slack. They had all been playing for many years in various bands. This album (13 Songs, also called the red album) came out in 1989, so they had been playing this song for at least nine years by the time I saw them. So much of what I admired about musicians is lost to the past. It goes where all things eventually go, including us. Here are the lyrics, in case anyone needs them.
I recall Ian asking the venue to shut off the air conditioning on the stage because it wasn't natural, having cold air poured over hot bodies. Strong opinions drive hardcore, for better or worse. I also recall people smoking pot at the show (which means nothing now, I mean, I walked past someone in the Walmart parking lot today who was smoking weed), which was a first for me, as I had never thought about that. The more shows I went to, the more drug use I saw. A guy came out of the Fox Theatre in Detroit to tell us who were waiting in line to see Social Distortion, I think, we should not buy our drugs from anyone at the show, as they had some overdoses recently. I never did drugs at any show, of course. I was a purist, only there for the music.
Since we're all here and talking about waiting, let me share insights. The Bible says a lot about waiting. It's clear waiting has importance in God's plans, but the word translated wait means to intertwine or to get so close as to be one with. Yes, patience is a fruit of the spirit, but when the Bible talks about waiting, it's a sort of active waiting, where His people get so close to Him that His moves become their moves. Part of the waiting process is realizing God is in charge and His timing trumps our desires. Once you get to the point where you thank and praise God for the wait, you're getting it. Because it's not about you. It's about you getting out of the way and watching what God does. Yes, there are times when God tells us to act and act now, and waiting often informs us of what that action will be. Waiting has many purposes in believers' lives, and I mentioned only a few. God uses the same tools on all of us to enact different changes. It's a beautiful thing, what God does with something that looks like absolutely nothing. Imagine something coming out of nothing (which is what waiting feels like). That's God performing a miracle (which may not even be about you). If you are out there waiting on God, be thankful and patient, because He's creating a miracle out of thin air.
Life changed a lot. Feels like I lived at least 10 lives. No idea what's next, but it's going to be interesting. Thank God He's in charge and not me.
Thank you for reading. And God bless.
Christian blog: a-better-hope.blogspot.com
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