Revisit the tale of the Fort Reno ice-cream-eating motherfucker
Fort Reno concerts in Northwest D.C. are now rather sedate events where 40-something-and-up rock fans and their kids come to sit and picnic on the lawn, get ice cream from the Good Humor truck, and see local bands perform. But when D.C. post-punk band Fugazi performed there in August 1993, the crowd was bigger, largely standing, and the age range was mostly teenage to 30s. Fugazi performed at Fort Reno a number of times, but that gig acquired some notoriety thanks in part to the 1999 Fugazi documentary Instrument’s inclusion of the audio portion of an exchange between Fugazi members Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto and two members of the audience. While MacKaye and Picciotto had, in the early ’80s, participated in slamdancing, they were long since tired of seeing bullies turn the friendly bumping in front of a stage into punching and kicking. After two guys began doing so, MacKaye first yelled at them to stop or go to a football field. Picciotto then joined in, but with, uh, humor—”I saw you two guys earlier at the Good Humor truck, and you were eating your ice cream like little boys, and I thought, ‘Those guys aren’t so tough! They’re eating ice cream.’ … I saw you eating an ice-cream cone, pal … That’s the shit you can’t hide. You eat ice cream; everybody knows it … Ice-cream-eating motherfucker, that’s what you are.” About 10 years ago, MacKaye was walking down 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan when a guy recognized him and came up to talk. “I’m the ice-cream-eating motherfucker,” the guy yelled. “That was me!” He admitted he had been caught up in the skinhead scene in the ‘90s and was absolutely causing problems at the show, but he had since changed his ways, MacKaye says. Hopefully, Fort Reno shows and lining up for ice cream there will return this summer. You can watch the clip on YouTube, stream Instrument on Amazon Prime, or rent or buy the film on YouTube. Free–$9.99. —Steve Kiviat
Rian Johnson’s online offerings
Over the past few weeks, streaming services like HBO Now have reported user activity increasing as much as 70 percent as people try to entertain themselves while distancing from others. After a certain point, all those movie marathons might leave you wondering exactly how the sausage gets made. Enter Oscar-nominated film director Rian Johnson, notably born in Silver Spring. Best known for Knives Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Looper, Johnson has posted the shooting drafts of most of his filmography for curious fans to read during this extended time indoors. Johnson also joined British film director Edgar Wright in sharing his quarantine viewing recommendations on film website Letterboxd. After Wright compiled his top 100 comedy films, Johnson curated a “70s Musical Extravaganza!” list, saying the movie musicals of this era capture the “funky vital wilderness between the fall of the studio system and the ascent of the modern blockbuster.” But if Wright’s comedies and Johnson’s musicals don’t suit your tastes right now, Johnson challenged Russian Doll co-creator and star Natasha Lyonne to make the next watchlist, which she titled “I love dreams, even when they’re nightmares.” So there’s something for everybody! You can read Johnson’s shooting drafts at rian-johnson.com/screenplays. The ‘70s Musical Extravaganza! list can be found at boxd.it/548dQ. Free. —Mercedes Hesselroth
We’ve got a twice-weekly newsletter with the best things to do from inside your house, and subscribing is a great way to support us.