Upside Down Punks: The Strange But True Story of That Fugazi Basketball Hoop Show

In the summer of 1988, a star-struck teenager with zero concert promotion experience booked a fledgling DC punk band called Fugazi to play a decrepit gymnasium in a forgotten section of Northeast Philadelphia. Attendance was sparse, conditions were sweltering, and the sound sucked. But thanks to time, technology, the rise of social media--and Fugazi singer Guy Picciotto stuffing himself through a basketball hoop--that once-disappointing show is now ＂legendary.＂ Read all about the gig and how it came about through this oral history compiled by attendee J. Hunter Bennett, including an introduction by the kid who made the show happen, Mickey Lynch. ＂I laughed my ass off--such a good piece. I got to hand it to Mickey Lynch--I had no idea the mental grind he went through putting that gig together.＂ --Guy Picciotto, Fugazi ＂Loved it. Exceptional stuff. Great perspective on all fronts.＂ --Brendan Canty, Fugazi

J. Hunter Bennett writes for the music magazine Ugly Things and plays bass guitar in the band Dot Dash. Because neither of these jobs pays very well--okay, at all--he also practices government contracts law at a large law firm in Washington, DC. He previously served as a Trial Attorney for the United States Department of Justice, and an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia. He considers himself a connoisseur of orange soda.