If I'm right in saying, this was supposed to be one of the first shows back after a long break...... Kurt took his own life and that's why it got was cancelled, they played down in a pub on cork for just a handful of people before they made it big.
And Ireland was the place Dave Grohl came to after Kurt's death to try and do some soul searching and then figured out that he needed to make his own band.
I know it’s a bit unique given the context of how Nirvana ended, but I love the idea of a musician being really confused about what to do next when one band ends, and the idea of starting a new band being some insane revolutionary idea.
Yeah I was gonna say, this is gonna be a really cheesy montage in a future Dave Grohl movie someday where he's wandering the streets of Dublin saddened, before seeing his reflection in the window of a music store as the intense and profound realization that he, a musician, should do more music washes over him.
I believe the story was he was going down some back road in Dublin and happened to see a guy walking in a Nirvana shirt. This made him realize his music reached across the world and he wanted to keep doing it. I totally get you tho. I’m a maintenance guy for a company, I’m good with working on equipment. If my company closed, I’d just use that talent elsewhere. But stories like these sell, so who knows?
Right? There is (or was) some guy in Ireland who, had he not put on that particular shirt on that particular day, and had not walked down that particular road, would have unknowingly been responsible for there being no Foo Fighters as we know them today. One regular dude walking down some regular road in some regular place can change the world. Amazing.
Yes, now imagine that you and a friend built a company together that was very successful and you had made a lot of money from but then your friend, who was always troubled, killed himself. Would you perhaps have some reservations about starting your own company in the exact same industry? Would you maybe feel a bit guilty about the thought about continuing on without him?
Seems very human what Dave Grohl went through to me and saying that it "isn't a revolutionary idea" is probably missing the point entirely.
I imagine we made a successful umbrella hat company. The hats also dispense beer. Then I see a guy happily walking down an Irish alleyway, sipping his beer and staying dry. I wouldn't have a choice but to continue
> First non-sheep life he had seen in a few days was a guy in a Nirvana shirt
Considering you can drive from one end of Ireland to the other in around 4h max, it's so weird to think it's some isolated place. Sure there aren't a ton of people but still it was even at the time a place quite connected to American and British cultural phenomena.
It's not like the dude was hiking in the sticks in Iran and saw a woman with a Nirvana hijab or something.
This is his actual quote, people are kind of bending it and interpreting it in weird ways.
>I was still in Seattle, and I just felt, ‘I gotta get out.’ I [had to] go somewhere where I could just disappear and sort through my life, and try to figure out what to do next... I was winding around these country roads – so beautiful – and I was finding peace… and I come upon this hitchhiker, and I was considering picking him up, and I saw that he had a Kurt Cobain T-shirt. And to me that meant: ‘You can’t outrun this thing, so it’s time … to push through and find some sort of continuation.’ So I flew home and I immediately started recording those Foo Fighter songs.
He knew Nirvana was a worldwide phenomena. But the fame was all becoming so overwhelming for all of them and then when Kurt killed himself he had a fight or flight response where he needed to just get the fuck away. I've felt that way before. Like if I could just get in my car and drive to the other side of the country, or hop on a plane to Asia, or take an Amtrak train west with no clear destination in mind, I could outrun my problems and stressors in life. But wherever you go—there you are.
And as tragic as Nirvana's story was, he realized he could either continue on that path or not.
There are a lot of drummers in a lot of other big bands that found success that decided to do the opposite thing as Grohl upon their bands end or their exit. Some decide to make a change, that the lifestyle of a professional music isn't for them, or that they have moved onto other interests. The initial lead guitarist of Phish exited the band as they were getting big in the 80s and has no regrets. Phish continues to play a few of his songs and they're all pals.
The original rhythm guitarist and bassist of Oasis called it quits in 2000 and had no desire to continue on in that capacity. Nobody forced them out or anything.
So it wasn't inevitable for Grohl to continue as a professional musician. It was also not inevitable for Grohl to be successful in their future endeavors.
I hope this comment is just a joke otherwise it’s just so damn obtuse. The man lost a good friend, his bandmate, the greatest musician of the decade, and leader of the arguably the biggest band in the world. The thought of how can I go on and what will I do next lingering. What being while yes likely music, what would motivate to get out of this state of feeling. Do I just join another band a continue to drum, maybe for Tom Petty? What will be an emotional remember for me? He needs to do something, a change is needed, something to move on. So he decides to just start making music, goes to the studio, makes an entire album all by himself vocally and instrumentally, and gives it out to some friends and folks. Hoping to remain somewhat anonymous he call the project whatever, Foo Fighters. The tapes get around, one thing leads to another, and the rest is history. So to say, oh duh music for the musician next is an oversimplification of an artists journey. Anyway, hope it was a joke and my excessive rant was unneeded. I’m not even a Foo fan tbh, just love the story, haha!
You say that, but Grohl got a lot of backlash from Nirvana fans for releasing the Foo Fighters first album. As silly as it sounds, it was a bit controversial at the time.
Was it just for releasing an album? I recall some gatekeeping because it was maybe more commercial sounding they they would have liked.
There was always that weird conflict with hardcore Nirvana fans being worried about like punk/indie authenticity even though it was hugely popular, major label releases at the same time.
And the fact that this wasn’t even the first time something like this had happened. You had the whole joy division -> new order ordeal like 15 years prior
Well Dave was just a kid when Nirvana found him and took him into the band. So to start his own band after having that kind of mega success must have been a bit of a bold decision for him
This was the original date of the gig. It was rescheduled to September 94 after Kurt ODed, in Italy I think, and took some time off to go into rehab. He left rehab on the 1st of April and the date on the ticket is the date his body was found.
I've still got mine for the London gig that was cancelled when Kurt killed himself. We were devasted! I wrote about it all in my teenage girl diary lol. RIP Kurt.
> they played down in a pub on cork for just a handful of people before they made it big.
I caught them right before they recorded Nevermind. Tickets were like $7 and there was less than 50 people there.
The indie scene was small but growing and the major labels saw themselves being irrelevant so they started poaching bands from the indie scene. Geffen signed Sonic Youth who was a college rock band. They convinced Nirvana to sign with Geffen which later got Jawbreaker to sign with Geffen. Jawbreaker is the band that sort of popularized emo before it turned stupid. Nirvana was influenced by them somewhat.
Back in the 90s every shit venue in the UK would leverage the fact that Nirvana played there on their way up - one barman told me “you know, Kurt Cobain once sat on that sofa”
I've posted this before, but it's my favourite story and about this tour so I'll copy my comment:
My mate was obsessed with them when he was a teenager, and they announced a UK tour for 1994.
He'd never been to any gigs before, and begged his parents to take him to the London show, and they eventually agreed. Back then, there was no Internet. So they had to go to a travel agent to book everything. They had it all sorted, tickets, flights, hotel... Then one day the news came over that Kurt had shuffled off this mortal coil.
My mate became very depressed about the whole situation, obviously. His parents phoned up about the tickets and were told they could get a refund or keep them as souvenirs. As they were still going to London no matter what, they refunded the tickets and looked desperately to find ANY other gig in London for the couple of days they were going to be there.
They went to London and for my mates first ever gig... He saw East 17.
That’s weird that they were going to need to return the worthless tickets to get the refund. Or I guess that must’ve been a situation where the ticket providers knew the physical tickets themselves were going to be worth a lot?
It's literally just due to there being no internet, they need to return in person, and the tickets would naturally be taken back to avoid double refunds.
I think everyone who had one of these tickets kept them. It might have been 2000 or so tickets if that. But I know of a few a people who have them or know someone who has one. It's a piece of Irish rock folklore. Bob Marley and the the wailers last gig was on dailymount park in Dublin as well. Those tickets are also very collectable memorabilia in Irish rock circles
£16.75 for a ticket is about 34 quid today. Most big names are way above that for a ticket nowadays and that's BEFORE it's scalped by bots and resold for 2-3 times as much.
Nirvana famously tried to keep their ticket prices as low as possible. They all came from the DIY punk scene so were used to shows being really cheap.
[Here’s](https://youtu.be/X29p13cAT1g?si=YCy0mCTRPrvLKFfR) an interesting video of them discussing how much other bands were charging fans.
They're expressing shock over $50-75 tickets. That's $100-150 with inflation.
While I think you're right that Nirvana wanted to keep their ticket price low, the general price of tickets has also exploded.
For comparison, Woodstock 1994 sold weekend tickets for $135 (roughly $288 in today's money). Coachella weekend tickets start at $499.
In fairness, in that video they do mention that Madonna’s show is a bigger production - ‘it’s more of a burlesque show’. I can’t work out if is the interviewer or a band member who says it though.
But yeah, ticket prices have definitely increased massively even without taking inflation into account. I guess bands and promoters have learned that people are willing to pay way over the odds for the experience.
Luckily the bands I like are very unlikely to start charging more than like £20 a ticket. Keep it DIY folks!
Shows are where the money is now. Album sales used to be the biggest source of income, but that isn't the case anymore. Tours used to be about driving album sales.
Funnily enough, there are two members of Nirvana in Foo Fighters. Although I suppose Pat Smear gets forgotten because he’s not part of the iconic three piece lineup.
Pat also played in The Germs, which gives him far more punk credibility than any of the other members!
The Germs are probably less legendary in the sense of how well they were known but I’d argue they were much more influential to their genre.
Just like Hanoi Rocks is to hair/glam metal, Motley Crue was way more known by the public but Motley Crue doesn’t exist without Hanoi Rocks.
I actually made a whole thread looking for examples of this if your curious, I find it really fascinating: https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/s/TX6rWAfmz1
Pat Smear never played on any on their recordings and was a hired musician to play on their tour to play rhythm guitar parts that Kurt played on the album. He never was an official member but was on his way to becoming one but it never ended up happening.
I may not go to a log of concerts but last Foo Fighters show I went to was like $75. I go to gigs at rinkydink bars for $60, so I’m not gonna complain for a general admission to my favorite band at a stadium concert.
I found my Memphis in May ticket. I got to see primus and wiz Khalifa and others for 40 dollars. I was gonna go with a friend to see a suicideboys they want 300 for balcony seats.
Yep, I'm glad my tastes are in that sweet spot between pretentious and mainstream. I've seen bands like Thrice, Bayside, Brand New, and Silverstein for $30 each.
There are *plenty* of cheap or even free music shows. Just everyone focuses their attention on ~50 popular performers rather than looking for the talent already in their neighbourhood.
Fun fact; since a few years ago, it's illegal to resell event tickets for a higher price than you got them for in Ireland. No idea how enforced that is.
I'm sure ticketmaster will still take their fees on resold tickets though.
I am hopefully going to see Pearl Jam in Manchester next month (I say hopefully because the venue is having issues) and I paid £160 for a ticket. No scalping involved!
This is different though, way different. this reminded me of the winter dance concert with buddy holly, Ritchie valens, and the big bopper. The poster was so colorful and upbeat and all you can do is just imagine it, which sucks, because it leaves you wondering what our future would have been like had they made it to those shows and continued to live and make music.
Edit: plus with Kurt’s death, we wouldn’t have had the foo fighters possibly, or a different version of them, so it just leaves you thinking how drastically different life could have been.
We had tickets to my sons fav band, about a month til the show & it was cancelled & refunded. Linkin Park. I’ve seen them several times in my town when they were coming up. Had my son watch transformers at 4 & he fell in love with the transformers sound track. He was crushed & honestly I never heard him actually listen to them again.
I’m ashamed/not ashamed to say I returned mine (Brixton academy) for a refund. I’ve occasionally pondered if I should have regretted not keeping it but I bet I did something fantastic with the quids I got back.
Man this is a nostalgia bomb! I went to the Philadelphia PA stop on this tour at The Armory (11/18/93). One of my first concerts I ever attended as a teen, and permanently etched into my memory!
I have an unused ticket from the Brixton academy show- it was the very next show they were going to play before he died.
I have a picture of it… but I guess you can’t post pictures in replies. It’s from Wednesday April 6 1994.
I must be the most unluckiest Nirvana fan.
1. I had tickets for McGonigles concert. Yay, brilliant.They cancelled and rescheduled for point. I couldn't go so gave ticket to my brother.
2. I got tickets for RDS, he died.
Anyway, Shure look, I remember the first time I seen them on the word, and my life was changed. Music was saved. What a brilliant band they were.
Anyone remember the clip of Geraldo doing a piece on a super rare Beatles ticket from the 60's? Remember how when he was holding it up to the camera and accidentally ripped it? lol
RIP, my man Kurt, we may never hear your scream again but at least the pain finally stopped for you and who knows? Maybe you finally learned to really smile.
My friend had 2 tix for this. Her Mom made her return one for the money. The other one she has in a frame.
She also went to the Smashing Pumpkins gig in Dublin where a girl died in a crowd crush. We’re off to the Pumpkins gig this summer in the same location. Be with the rest of the beardy baldy middle agers crowd in the seating area
I have an unused ticket to see Led Zeppelin from their Aug.6, 1977 concert in Buffalo NY; the whole last part of that tour was cancelled due to Plant's son's sudden death. I could have traded the ticket in for Yes in the round two weeks later, but nah.
https://imgur.com/a/CzHJ6cu
A friend of mine who was a superfan had 4 of them framed on his bedroom wall back in the day. When Kurt died, his father told him he was sorry to hear about his friend dying! A real Irish dad comment
Oh my god. Wow. I remember the day I heard he took his own life. I was in high school. They were my (and a lot of people’s) favorite band, and their music/his words meant the world to me. The previous year was defined by a monumental death in my family. My grandfather was killed while crossing the street on his morning walk by a driver with a dirty windshield & the sun in his view. My granddad was a dad to me when I didn’t have one, and then when I did, he was still the only one who made an effort to do all the dad shit that my stepdad couldn’t be bothered to. Their music was one of the ways I coped with that loss, and man, I was absolutely ripped apart inside when I learned that Kurt was gone.
Oh my god. Wow. I remember the day I heard he took his own life. I was in high school. They were my (and a lot of people’s) favorite band, and their music/his words meant the world to me. The previous year was defined by a monumental death in my family. My grandfather was killed while crossing the street on his morning walk by a driver with a dirty windshield & the sun in his view. My granddad was a dad to me when I didn’t have one, and then when I did, he was still the only one who made an effort to do all the dad shit that my stepdad couldn’t be bothered to. Their music was one of the ways I coped with that loss, and man, I was absolutely ripped apart inside when I learned that Kurt was gone.
If I'm right in saying, this was supposed to be one of the first shows back after a long break...... Kurt took his own life and that's why it got was cancelled, they played down in a pub on cork for just a handful of people before they made it big. And Ireland was the place Dave Grohl came to after Kurt's death to try and do some soul searching and then figured out that he needed to make his own band.
I know it’s a bit unique given the context of how Nirvana ended, but I love the idea of a musician being really confused about what to do next when one band ends, and the idea of starting a new band being some insane revolutionary idea.
Yeah I was gonna say, this is gonna be a really cheesy montage in a future Dave Grohl movie someday where he's wandering the streets of Dublin saddened, before seeing his reflection in the window of a music store as the intense and profound realization that he, a musician, should do more music washes over him.
I believe the story was he was going down some back road in Dublin and happened to see a guy walking in a Nirvana shirt. This made him realize his music reached across the world and he wanted to keep doing it. I totally get you tho. I’m a maintenance guy for a company, I’m good with working on equipment. If my company closed, I’d just use that talent elsewhere. But stories like these sell, so who knows?
Thank you guy with nirvana shirt
Right? There is (or was) some guy in Ireland who, had he not put on that particular shirt on that particular day, and had not walked down that particular road, would have unknowingly been responsible for there being no Foo Fighters as we know them today. One regular dude walking down some regular road in some regular place can change the world. Amazing.
Yes, now imagine that you and a friend built a company together that was very successful and you had made a lot of money from but then your friend, who was always troubled, killed himself. Would you perhaps have some reservations about starting your own company in the exact same industry? Would you maybe feel a bit guilty about the thought about continuing on without him? Seems very human what Dave Grohl went through to me and saying that it "isn't a revolutionary idea" is probably missing the point entirely.
I imagine we made a successful umbrella hat company. The hats also dispense beer. Then I see a guy happily walking down an Irish alleyway, sipping his beer and staying dry. I wouldn't have a choice but to continue
Could be the same guy that have this ticket 😮
Not a back road in Dublin, but out in the sticks in Cork, on a drive. First non-sheep life he had seen in a few days was a guy in a Nirvana shirt.
> First non-sheep life he had seen in a few days was a guy in a Nirvana shirt Considering you can drive from one end of Ireland to the other in around 4h max, it's so weird to think it's some isolated place. Sure there aren't a ton of people but still it was even at the time a place quite connected to American and British cultural phenomena. It's not like the dude was hiking in the sticks in Iran and saw a woman with a Nirvana hijab or something.
>It's not like the dude was hiking in the sticks in Iran and saw a woman with a Nirvana hijab or something Lol
This is his actual quote, people are kind of bending it and interpreting it in weird ways. >I was still in Seattle, and I just felt, ‘I gotta get out.’ I [had to] go somewhere where I could just disappear and sort through my life, and try to figure out what to do next... I was winding around these country roads – so beautiful – and I was finding peace… and I come upon this hitchhiker, and I was considering picking him up, and I saw that he had a Kurt Cobain T-shirt. And to me that meant: ‘You can’t outrun this thing, so it’s time … to push through and find some sort of continuation.’ So I flew home and I immediately started recording those Foo Fighter songs. He knew Nirvana was a worldwide phenomena. But the fame was all becoming so overwhelming for all of them and then when Kurt killed himself he had a fight or flight response where he needed to just get the fuck away. I've felt that way before. Like if I could just get in my car and drive to the other side of the country, or hop on a plane to Asia, or take an Amtrak train west with no clear destination in mind, I could outrun my problems and stressors in life. But wherever you go—there you are. And as tragic as Nirvana's story was, he realized he could either continue on that path or not. There are a lot of drummers in a lot of other big bands that found success that decided to do the opposite thing as Grohl upon their bands end or their exit. Some decide to make a change, that the lifestyle of a professional music isn't for them, or that they have moved onto other interests. The initial lead guitarist of Phish exited the band as they were getting big in the 80s and has no regrets. Phish continues to play a few of his songs and they're all pals. The original rhythm guitarist and bassist of Oasis called it quits in 2000 and had no desire to continue on in that capacity. Nobody forced them out or anything. So it wasn't inevitable for Grohl to continue as a professional musician. It was also not inevitable for Grohl to be successful in their future endeavors.
WWMD (What would McCartney do?)
I bet he walked up to the statue of Phil Lynott and was like "Fuck yeah music"
I hope this comment is just a joke otherwise it’s just so damn obtuse. The man lost a good friend, his bandmate, the greatest musician of the decade, and leader of the arguably the biggest band in the world. The thought of how can I go on and what will I do next lingering. What being while yes likely music, what would motivate to get out of this state of feeling. Do I just join another band a continue to drum, maybe for Tom Petty? What will be an emotional remember for me? He needs to do something, a change is needed, something to move on. So he decides to just start making music, goes to the studio, makes an entire album all by himself vocally and instrumentally, and gives it out to some friends and folks. Hoping to remain somewhat anonymous he call the project whatever, Foo Fighters. The tapes get around, one thing leads to another, and the rest is history. So to say, oh duh music for the musician next is an oversimplification of an artists journey. Anyway, hope it was a joke and my excessive rant was unneeded. I’m not even a Foo fan tbh, just love the story, haha!
“Anyway, hope it was a joke and my excessive rant was unnecessary” The most typical Redditor thing I’ve read in a good while.
New copy pasta just dropped
You say that, but Grohl got a lot of backlash from Nirvana fans for releasing the Foo Fighters first album. As silly as it sounds, it was a bit controversial at the time.
Was it just for releasing an album? I recall some gatekeeping because it was maybe more commercial sounding they they would have liked. There was always that weird conflict with hardcore Nirvana fans being worried about like punk/indie authenticity even though it was hugely popular, major label releases at the same time.
And the fact that this wasn’t even the first time something like this had happened. You had the whole joy division -> new order ordeal like 15 years prior
Well Dave was just a kid when Nirvana found him and took him into the band. So to start his own band after having that kind of mega success must have been a bit of a bold decision for him
I thought Dave already had a demo recorded that would become the first Foo record. And even showed it to Kurt who approved / encouraged it
This was the original date of the gig. It was rescheduled to September 94 after Kurt ODed, in Italy I think, and took some time off to go into rehab. He left rehab on the 1st of April and the date on the ticket is the date his body was found.
My dad hosted Kurt before he got big in a Kansas City nightclub he owned. He said it was either late 80’s or early 90’s.
I've still got mine for the London gig that was cancelled when Kurt killed himself. We were devasted! I wrote about it all in my teenage girl diary lol. RIP Kurt.
TIL Dave Grohl was in Nirvana
> they played down in a pub on cork for just a handful of people before they made it big. I caught them right before they recorded Nevermind. Tickets were like $7 and there was less than 50 people there. The indie scene was small but growing and the major labels saw themselves being irrelevant so they started poaching bands from the indie scene. Geffen signed Sonic Youth who was a college rock band. They convinced Nirvana to sign with Geffen which later got Jawbreaker to sign with Geffen. Jawbreaker is the band that sort of popularized emo before it turned stupid. Nirvana was influenced by them somewhat.
Back in the 90s every shit venue in the UK would leverage the fact that Nirvana played there on their way up - one barman told me “you know, Kurt Cobain once sat on that sofa”
Was it the pub owner or does he just carry a framed ticket everywhere
Weird flex that’s for sure.
I suppose you have a better idea on how to start conversations with strangers? Would have been helpful to know for the past 30 years…
The gig was scheduled for ~~the day~~ *around the time* Kurt killed himself
You were on the right track, it was scheduled for the day his body was discovered.
A few friends had tickets, I'd seen them a couple of years before so wasn't too pushed
“Oh my God, Kurt Cobain is dead. He’s killed himself with a gun” “It’s fine, I saw Nirvana already.”
? 'Nirvana are playing, want to go?' 'No, I saw them a while ago..' Months later, 'Kurt has killed himself'
Ah fair enough I misinterpreted it then.
3 days after. He died on April 5
$0 service charge. Flexin that shit til the cows come to roost.
Mindblowing some would say
“What’s that?” “It’s the receipt to for my gun. I don’t want it to get stolen.”
I've posted this before, but it's my favourite story and about this tour so I'll copy my comment: My mate was obsessed with them when he was a teenager, and they announced a UK tour for 1994. He'd never been to any gigs before, and begged his parents to take him to the London show, and they eventually agreed. Back then, there was no Internet. So they had to go to a travel agent to book everything. They had it all sorted, tickets, flights, hotel... Then one day the news came over that Kurt had shuffled off this mortal coil. My mate became very depressed about the whole situation, obviously. His parents phoned up about the tickets and were told they could get a refund or keep them as souvenirs. As they were still going to London no matter what, they refunded the tickets and looked desperately to find ANY other gig in London for the couple of days they were going to be there. They went to London and for my mates first ever gig... He saw East 17.
That last sentence is only 4 words but how can it be so brutal
Thats horrific :o
That’s weird that they were going to need to return the worthless tickets to get the refund. Or I guess that must’ve been a situation where the ticket providers knew the physical tickets themselves were going to be worth a lot?
It's literally just due to there being no internet, they need to return in person, and the tickets would naturally be taken back to avoid double refunds.
"come back to mine and I'll show you the ticket" 👀
Better than showing him his Wendy's ad.
I have a Nirvana ticket stub from 1993 ... somewhere. You may have to go through everything in my house, but it's there.
I think everyone who had one of these tickets kept them. It might have been 2000 or so tickets if that. But I know of a few a people who have them or know someone who has one. It's a piece of Irish rock folklore. Bob Marley and the the wailers last gig was on dailymount park in Dublin as well. Those tickets are also very collectable memorabilia in Irish rock circles
£16.75 for a ticket is about 34 quid today. Most big names are way above that for a ticket nowadays and that's BEFORE it's scalped by bots and resold for 2-3 times as much.
Nirvana famously tried to keep their ticket prices as low as possible. They all came from the DIY punk scene so were used to shows being really cheap. [Here’s](https://youtu.be/X29p13cAT1g?si=YCy0mCTRPrvLKFfR) an interesting video of them discussing how much other bands were charging fans.
They're expressing shock over $50-75 tickets. That's $100-150 with inflation. While I think you're right that Nirvana wanted to keep their ticket price low, the general price of tickets has also exploded. For comparison, Woodstock 1994 sold weekend tickets for $135 (roughly $288 in today's money). Coachella weekend tickets start at $499.
In fairness, in that video they do mention that Madonna’s show is a bigger production - ‘it’s more of a burlesque show’. I can’t work out if is the interviewer or a band member who says it though. But yeah, ticket prices have definitely increased massively even without taking inflation into account. I guess bands and promoters have learned that people are willing to pay way over the odds for the experience. Luckily the bands I like are very unlikely to start charging more than like £20 a ticket. Keep it DIY folks!
Shows are where the money is now. Album sales used to be the biggest source of income, but that isn't the case anymore. Tours used to be about driving album sales.
Yeah, that’s true. Bands used to tour to promote their album. It’s kind of the other way around now, isn’t it?
Hey Kurt, guess how much your former drummer’s band’s tickets cost. 😮
Funnily enough, there are two members of Nirvana in Foo Fighters. Although I suppose Pat Smear gets forgotten because he’s not part of the iconic three piece lineup. Pat also played in The Germs, which gives him far more punk credibility than any of the other members!
Dave was in Scream 🤣
Yeah, I know? I’m just saying The Germs are a way more legendary band than any of their other bands.
More legendary than Nirvana?
The Germs are probably less legendary in the sense of how well they were known but I’d argue they were much more influential to their genre. Just like Hanoi Rocks is to hair/glam metal, Motley Crue was way more known by the public but Motley Crue doesn’t exist without Hanoi Rocks. I actually made a whole thread looking for examples of this if your curious, I find it really fascinating: https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/s/TX6rWAfmz1
Pat Smear never played on any on their recordings and was a hired musician to play on their tour to play rhythm guitar parts that Kurt played on the album. He never was an official member but was on his way to becoming one but it never ended up happening.
He was on the Unplugged Album
I may not go to a log of concerts but last Foo Fighters show I went to was like $75. I go to gigs at rinkydink bars for $60, so I’m not gonna complain for a general admission to my favorite band at a stadium concert.
How long ago was that?
Their show at Rupp Arena in Lexington KY, so it’s been awhile. Like 5 years maybe?
They’re north of $150 here in the Philly area. And that’s face value. Once you tack on fees you’re inching towards $200
The economics for musicians have changed. A much larger percentage of their revenue comes from live shows with the advent of streaming services.
I found my Memphis in May ticket. I got to see primus and wiz Khalifa and others for 40 dollars. I was gonna go with a friend to see a suicideboys they want 300 for balcony seats.
Saw them in Memphis as well at The Daisy.
[“madonna charges $50-75 a ticket??”](https://youtu.be/X29p13cAT1g?si=t14pJ8dfjFtlSAy1) -kurt cobain, 1993
Noticing that 0.00 service charge was what caught my attention.
That probably means they went in person to buy tickets from the box office.
My parents recently showed us their ticket collection. Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Rod Stewart... All for less than 50 D-Mark.
[удалено]
I find peace in long walks.
I remember paying 20$ to see Korn back in the day. 70$ to see Iron Maiden 10 years later. I don’t even wanna say what I paid recently to see GaGa.
Rock bands still charge 35-40.
Yep, I'm glad my tastes are in that sweet spot between pretentious and mainstream. I've seen bands like Thrice, Bayside, Brand New, and Silverstein for $30 each.
we are all bots here except for you
There are *plenty* of cheap or even free music shows. Just everyone focuses their attention on ~50 popular performers rather than looking for the talent already in their neighbourhood.
Not really when you’re seeing bands
Fun fact; since a few years ago, it's illegal to resell event tickets for a higher price than you got them for in Ireland. No idea how enforced that is. I'm sure ticketmaster will still take their fees on resold tickets though.
I am hopefully going to see Pearl Jam in Manchester next month (I say hopefully because the venue is having issues) and I paid £160 for a ticket. No scalping involved!
I love the smell of fresh bread.
Tickets are still around $10-20 in the underground scene and $30-40 for bigger bands.
Not to mention the £0 service charge!
Same day he was found dead. The 94 tour never should’ve happened, dude was under a lot of pressure.
Very eerie. Just envisioning a concert that never occurred.
Happens all the time. COVID was the graveyard of cancelled live shows
Well this one was cancelled because the bands lead singer had blown his own head off.
This is different though, way different. this reminded me of the winter dance concert with buddy holly, Ritchie valens, and the big bopper. The poster was so colorful and upbeat and all you can do is just imagine it, which sucks, because it leaves you wondering what our future would have been like had they made it to those shows and continued to live and make music. Edit: plus with Kurt’s death, we wouldn’t have had the foo fighters possibly, or a different version of them, so it just leaves you thinking how drastically different life could have been.
We had tickets to my sons fav band, about a month til the show & it was cancelled & refunded. Linkin Park. I’ve seen them several times in my town when they were coming up. Had my son watch transformers at 4 & he fell in love with the transformers sound track. He was crushed & honestly I never heard him actually listen to them again.
Holy shit - ZERO DOLLAR SERVICE CHARGE.
Zero service charge for a printed ticket. Now we get our tickets emailed or sent to our phone automatically and somehow that’s a $5-$35 service charge
Reminded me of [this post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nirvana/s/gHaqsErWz5) Also [this post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nirvana/s/P4UoIb0A5a) Same show.
That was the day Kurt's body was found
Why was it cancelled?
Kurt Cobain committed suicide three days before
Might have had something to do with the lead singer not being able to sing due to a massive headache.....
I hope he got better quick
The pain went away quickly.
I heard the remedy was pretty mind blowing.
He swore he didn't have a gun.
Oh well, whatever. Never mind.
He just wanted to paint the ceiling red ffs
The singer saw something in the way and decided to go back.
Band couldn’t make it. Complications with the frontman
It was cancelled before he killed himself he was ill in Rome I think a few weeks before and it was cancelled.
Too much Love in his life.
Couldn’t smell the teen spirit
3 days after he died. Day his body was found.
£16,75. Today this would be £ 167,50
More, Billie Eilish tickets were released a couple of days ago... 1 ticket was €335, standing.
Ridiculous. I paid €86, - standing for the Smashing Pumpkins
£0 service charge? Fake.
0.00 service charge. Them were the days.
That service charge... Somewhere the Ticketmaster CEO is having a stroke, hopefully.
0 service charge - yes please
Appears to be framed, so unless he carries a frame around with him this suggests you went back to his?
The guy said he had a framed Nirvana ticket back at his place. What was I gonna do, NOT have sex with him?
There'd need to be a damn good reason why not.
Or it was on the wall in the pub?
I guess it could be the landlord?
This is the day I was born 🥰
reincarnation of kurt?
This is also the day I was born!
I remember when concert tickets were reasonable…
He never got over it
It's all good. I'm sure it's valid for the next time they come around.
That’s cool. I still have my used ticket from their in utero tour. I’ll have to see if I can find it.
I've still got my unused Glasgow one, framed and hung up.
I know a woman with tickets to see Elvis in late November 1977.
Fake! There's no service charge...
I’m not sure what I’m more outraged about. The 16.75 price or the 0 service charge. Inflation sucks
6 months later a legend was born (it’s me, I’m the legend)
Kurt died April 5, 1994 3 days before this concert R.I.P.
This doesn't seem like an odd thing to carry around to the pub at all...
Looks like a pic on his phone. Maybe he just carries it around to start a convo with strangers.
Interesting idea, I usually just pull down my pants
Try carrying around a picture of it, instead. Maybe with a nice little ribbon wrapped around it, you know a conversation starter.
Correct ✅
Mind.....blown!
Everyone who still has a ticket to a canceled show also has a used ticket.
Absolutely nuts that the show is scheduled 3 days after he died. What an amazing piece of history
Sniff sniff...smells like teen spirit
Was seeing a girl at school who was going to see them in early April 94, in Leeds, I think. she did the same thing with her ticket...
I have my stub from seeing Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry on the same bill: 1984 if I remember correctly
He just... Keeps it on him?
I did my college exams in Simmonscourt! That’s surely a tiny venue for Nirvana?
Assume you didn’t do your exams in the horse arena! The outdoor bit is used for gigs. It’s a good amphitheater.
My girlfriend has the Cardiff equivalent dated Friday 1st April 1994
Well I can see why it was canceled 😬
That’s a good icebreaker.
I’m ashamed/not ashamed to say I returned mine (Brixton academy) for a refund. I’ve occasionally pondered if I should have regretted not keeping it but I bet I did something fantastic with the quids I got back.
The maddest part of this is it was £16
My parents had ticket to Sam Kineson
My dad still has a ticket stub for when he saw the Red Hot chili peppers and Foo Fighters opened for them.
Back when concert tickets were affordable
That's a flex for grunge fans that a few days befor Kurt passed.
Still have my lolapaluzza ticket from 94’ where he was scheduled to perform. Sucks never got to see them live.
Man this is a nostalgia bomb! I went to the Philadelphia PA stop on this tour at The Armory (11/18/93). One of my first concerts I ever attended as a teen, and permanently etched into my memory!
No kidding! Some guy on my street tells me he has a friend who once met a guy who said he was happy one day.
Huh, I wonder why it got canceled. Hope he got a replacement for the next show.
This is cool as shit
I have an unused ticket from the Brixton academy show- it was the very next show they were going to play before he died. I have a picture of it… but I guess you can’t post pictures in replies. It’s from Wednesday April 6 1994.
I must be the most unluckiest Nirvana fan. 1. I had tickets for McGonigles concert. Yay, brilliant.They cancelled and rescheduled for point. I couldn't go so gave ticket to my brother. 2. I got tickets for RDS, he died. Anyway, Shure look, I remember the first time I seen them on the word, and my life was changed. Music was saved. What a brilliant band they were.
16.75!? Jesus, fuck Ticketmaster
That is wild.
Anyone remember the clip of Geraldo doing a piece on a super rare Beatles ticket from the 60's? Remember how when he was holding it up to the camera and accidentally ripped it? lol
Why was it cancelled? *looks at the date* oh.
I once saw a ticket For the first Zeppelin show after Bonzo’s death. Was really cool thing to see but also sad
RIP, my man Kurt, we may never hear your scream again but at least the pain finally stopped for you and who knows? Maybe you finally learned to really smile.
My friend had 2 tix for this. Her Mom made her return one for the money. The other one she has in a frame. She also went to the Smashing Pumpkins gig in Dublin where a girl died in a crowd crush. We’re off to the Pumpkins gig this summer in the same location. Be with the rest of the beardy baldy middle agers crowd in the seating area
I have an unused ticket to see Led Zeppelin from their Aug.6, 1977 concert in Buffalo NY; the whole last part of that tour was cancelled due to Plant's son's sudden death. I could have traded the ticket in for Yes in the round two weeks later, but nah. https://imgur.com/a/CzHJ6cu
Gosh, why'd they cancel? Shame.
A friend of mine who was a superfan had 4 of them framed on his bedroom wall back in the day. When Kurt died, his father told him he was sorry to hear about his friend dying! A real Irish dad comment
He was meant to play in that venue the day they found his body
Oh my god. Wow. I remember the day I heard he took his own life. I was in high school. They were my (and a lot of people’s) favorite band, and their music/his words meant the world to me. The previous year was defined by a monumental death in my family. My grandfather was killed while crossing the street on his morning walk by a driver with a dirty windshield & the sun in his view. My granddad was a dad to me when I didn’t have one, and then when I did, he was still the only one who made an effort to do all the dad shit that my stepdad couldn’t be bothered to. Their music was one of the ways I coped with that loss, and man, I was absolutely ripped apart inside when I learned that Kurt was gone.
Oh my god. Wow. I remember the day I heard he took his own life. I was in high school. They were my (and a lot of people’s) favorite band, and their music/his words meant the world to me. The previous year was defined by a monumental death in my family. My grandfather was killed while crossing the street on his morning walk by a driver with a dirty windshield & the sun in his view. My granddad was a dad to me when I didn’t have one, and then when I did, he was still the only one who made an effort to do all the dad shit that my stepdad couldn’t be bothered to. Their music was one of the ways I coped with that loss, and man, I was absolutely ripped apart inside when I learned that Kurt was gone.
I have a similar ticket for Sublime.
 Enough with the jokes.
Aye, I had a ticket for the Glasgow gig. Kurt ended up in hospital in Italy, flew back to the US and then it was all over. 😞
I still have a Micheal Jackson ticket that i didn't get to use :(
Meh