After filtering through the plastic, MTV-generated hype and the tabloid exposure of Courtney Love, you could tell from listening to Nirvana’s records and watching them onstage (although not all the time!) that something big and timeless was going on. Who can you say that about these days? It’s a phenomenon that gets rarer and rarer.
Nirvana is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their last proper studio album, In Utero, with a massive multi-format release containing more than 70 remastered, remixed, rare, unreleased and live recordings. The band has been keenly aware of their 20-year mark, releasing 20th anniversary editions of Nevermind and Bleach as well in past years. The In Utero set sounds like a robust collection of Nirvana ephemera, including the usual collection of never-heard-before demos, B-sides, compilation tracks and live material.
The “IN UTERO 3 CD + 1 DVD Super Deluxe Box Set” comes out September 24 and retails for $149.98. And for folks that realize that CDs are literally (and I mean literally) garbage, a “3LP Anniversary Edition” is also available on their website for $59.98.
If you were in Iowa City on July 5, 1989, you probably missed Nirvana when they played at Gabe’s that night, because apparently only 40 or 50 people showed up to see the legendary show.
Kirk Walther, owner of the Record Collector at 116 South Linn Street, was one of them.
“It was hot in there. And, they seemed pretty aloof, like ‘Here we go again,’” said Walther. “They were really just a cut above mediocre. To them, it was probably just another night in Iowa.”
“The show wasn’t really considered that big a deal at the time. Nevermind didn’t come out until 1991. I ordered 50 CDs and five cassettes for the store,” laughed Walther.
In fact, Nirvana was allegedly bumped from the Union, who had double-booked that night, and ended up at Gabe’s. It was less than a month after their first album, Bleach, was released by the fledgling Sub Pop record label and before the massive explosion of Nevermind two years later.
Dave Grohl hadn’t joined yet and Chad Channing, who drummed on Bleach, was onstage that night. It was the perfect time in the band’s short-lived career to catch them live. It was a band that wasn’t self-aware, but in a state where they could do anything as they evolved in those early days.
I can’t really refer to the show as legendary because people say it was a killer performance or because they destroyed the stage or got high in the ladies room with some local townies.
I refer to the Nirvana show at Gabe’s in 1989 as legendary because we are a small, fairly modest town full of unknown, talented artists and musicians. And, to have an obscure, 22-year-old punk dude who would soon take over the world and then die by his own hand less than five years later is a big deal. It’s something that music lovers who live in a relatively small music town tend to remember.
Do you still dig Nirvana enough to buy this 20th anniversary set? Better yet, were you at the Nirvana show on July 5, 1989?
That was an incredible show and I am one of those few that were there.
The proof being the photo that I shot at the head of this story and many more.
Sadly, the only time I ever saw them.
Mark- that’s so cool you got to photograph them. Do you recall if there were any promotional posters/flyers/handbills produced to advertise the show?
I wasn’t there (in my defense, I was only 13 at the time). I almost went to see them in Davenport in 1993 but didn’t for reasons I no longer clearly remember. Thanks to Mark for the photo and to LV for this piece.
I’ve heard and read stories of Kurt getting super drunk and and a gal’s angry boyfriend busting out the windows of their van that night.
Anyway to show us more of Mark’s photos? I was living here in IC in 1989 as a college kid but missed this show. Talk about regrets even though Dave G wasn’t there I still would have loved it. Thank you for the great article and to answer your question, I would totally buy the LP set. Hell yes.
They stayed at our house on Brown St that night. NBD
Oh, and I should add, it didn’t seem like any of them were drunk. They just kind of sat on the couch while we got real drunk and partied. After a while Krist Novoselic asked if they could go to sleep somewhere, so i showed them up to my roommates room who was out of town. He was real pissed that I let them stay there…but was fine when he discovered they had left a bag behind. We went through it and for a while I had one their Germs t-shirts. What can I say, we were a bunch of little thieving punk shits…sorry.
Allen, I’m curious where on Brown Street? Was it at gaslight village?
Allen do you recall if any posters/flyers were made to advertise this Nirvana show?
And if it wasn’t Gaslight Village at 422 Brown Street I’m curious what address the band stayed at on Brown Street. Thanks Allen I’d love to hear more of the story
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Was there. Front and center with our feet up on the table and a couple pitchers… and the fucking place was nearly empty during the first set. Was mind blowingly good.
Allen, though this is a long shot as it is an older thread, I too would be curious of the address that the band stayed at. The reason I ask is because years ago when the box set With The Lights Out was released, there was a brief clip on the DVD that said, “Iowa City Iowa”. It was not at Gabes it was them out in the street at their van. In fact if you blink you are likely to miss it. That said, my friend and I tried freeze framing and everything else to find what street they were parked on. Also, now my curiosity is a bit more stoked with the mention of Brown Street, I confess. One has to wonder if the band was told about, curious by, or visited the Black Angel who resides on the same street. 😉
This is fascinating. Hope Allen is still around and replies.