November 11th, 2009
With all the hoopla surrounding the reissuing of Nirvana’s debut album Bleach and the release of their 1992 performance at the Reading Festival, I’ve been thinking back to the early 1990s and how I got into their music.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” didn’t do much for me but watching them perform “Territorial Pissings” live at the MTV studios did. I remember it well. The scene was the living room of 215 S. Bassett and it was a lovely afternoon, probably spring ‘92. I am not sure why this performance struck me while the constant barrage of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” did not. My guess is that A) “Territorial Pissings” is a superior song and B) it wasn’t a music video, but rather a live performance. No imagery, no pretense, and no Gen X bullshit.
To the best of my knowledge, Nirvana played here in Madison twice: first on 7 July 1989 at O’Cayz and then again at Club Underground on 6 April 1990. I don’t believe recordings of either exist and can confirm that the sound guy at O’Cayz neglected to tape the show. Too bad.
Unsurprisingly, YouTube has the video that started it all for me.
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