Nirvana - Nov 25, 1990 @ The Off Ramp
My first Nirvana show. I went with Tony Ransom and Tom Cain. I remember opener Earth just pummeling my ears and seeing Kurt (“Isn’t that Nirvana’s lead singer?”) sitting on the floor stage left hunched over looking like he had a stomach ache. When Nirvana finally came on, it was already late. Tony grabbed me by my belt loops and threw me several feet in the air repeatedly… I was a lot skinnier in those days. The band played a long, loud, frenetic 20 songs and then, at around 1:30 a.m., the sound cut out. Somehow they negotiated with the club to continue, but the audience would have to leave the room so the staff could clear all the alcohol. We all went outside and about half the crowd left, exhausted. It was a Sunday night after all and many had to work the next morning. The remaining group went back inside after about 15-20 mins, just before 2 a.m. The band played an entire second, 11-song set that lasted probably another hour. I remember someone up front smoking a weed pipe and passing it to Krist on stage between songs. This was an epic, unforgettable show that cemented my love for Nirvana. Up to that point, they were probably my 5th or 6th favorite local band. This was pre-Nevermind. I had heard Bleach and thought it was pretty good. If you would have told me that night they would blow up nationally or globally, I would not have believed you for a second. It was so loud, so sloppy, so harsh and grating…just a million miles away from the rock and pop music that was popular in 1990.
Set List: (courtesy of livenirvana.com who coincidentally rated this the #1 live Nirvana show of all time)
Aneurysm
Oh, The Guilt
Mr. Moustache
Stay Away
Breed
Floyd The Barber
About A Girl
Verse Chorus Verse
In Bloom
Swap Meet
Been A Son
Stain
Blew
Sappy
Lithium
School
D-7 [Wipers cover]
Here She Comes Now [Velvet Underground cover]
Sliver
Dive [intro only (aborted due to power failure)]
— BREAK —
Dumb
Polly
Something In The Way
Negative Creep
Love Buzz [Shocking Blue cover]
Where Did You Sleep Last Night? jam [traditional, cover]
Spank Thru
Molly's Lips [Vaselines cover]
Son Of A Gun [Vaselines cover]
Sifting
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter - first known performance of song with different lyrics than 'In Utero' version.
Pavement - April 26, 1994 @ Off Ramp
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain tour. Early show. Second time I saw them live. Light years leap forward in musicianship. Turns out they could play their instruments and they were just being sloppy for funsies. Malkmus was really starting to shred. The tiny room and small spillover crowd from the sold out later show made it super intimate. I already loved them, but this show stands high above the rest of the Pavement and Jicks shows I saw before and after. And we were home by 8pm
Silence Kid
5-4=Unity
Black Out
Conduit for Sale!
Here (rockin version)
Brink of the Clouds
Unfair
Brinx Job
Range Life
Hit the Plane Down
Cut Your Hair
Two States
In the Mouth a Desert
Newark Wilder
Box Elder
Debris Slide
Elevate Me Later
Easily Fooled
Fight This Generation
Encore:
Angel Carver Blues / Mellow Jazz Docent
Loretta's Scars
PJ Harvey - July 9, 1993 @ Under the Rail
Rid of Me tour. She was so amazing. Blew me away. She wore a feather boa, weighed about 90 lbs and fucking rocked. I fell in love. Apparently Kurt C. was a fan too. He was in the audience along with many other the local musicians. Everyone turned up to see and she did not disappoint.
Rid of Me
Naked Cousin
Primed and Ticking
Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan cover)
Yuri-G
O Stella
Dress
Wang Dang Doodle (Willie Dixon cover)
Legs
Victory
50ft Queenie
Sheela-Na-Gig
Me-Jane
Snake
Man-Size
Encore:
M-Bike
Ecstasy
Soundgarden - Aug 19, 1991 @ RCKNDY
Secret hometown show to warm up for their upcoming first headlining arena tour. Me and some friends camped out in a dirt lot across the street for hours before the show after hearing rumor they would play the small venue. Snuck into the venue at soundcheck and confirmed it from the balcony. They debuted a bunch of new songs songs that night, in my opinion the best Soundgarden songs ever written and the peak of their career. Slaves and Bulldozers, Outshined, Rusty Cage, Jesus Christ Pose… a huge leap forward in songwriting. Badmotorfinger dropped one month later and they became international stars.
Setlist:
New Damage (Live Premiere)
Jesus Christ Pose (Live Premiere)
Face Pollution (Live Premiere)
Big Dumb Sex
Searching With My Good Eye Closed (Live Premiere)
Slaves & Bulldozers (Live Premiere)
Birth Ritual (Live Premiere)
Outshined (Live Premiere)
Gun
Room a Thousand Years Wide
Drawing Flies (Live Premiere)
Rusty Cage (Live Premiere)
Metallica - Dec 20, 1986 @ Seattle Center Arena
Master of Puppets tour senior year of High School. Floored me that heavy music could be so fast and tight. What an amazing band live.
Setlist:
Battery
Master of Puppets
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Whiplash
The Thing That Should Not Be
Fade to Black
Seek & Destroy
Creeping Death
Encore
The Four Horsemen
Am I Evil?
Damage, Inc.
Encore #2
Fight Fire with Fire
Encore #3
Blitzkrieg
New Bomb Turks - March 25, 1995 @ Moe’s Mo’ Rockin’ Cafe
Information Highway Revisited tour. Blew the doors off that place. Stuck in my mind for years. Bought one of my all time favorite concert t-shirts at that show which somehow Haslam talked me into trading with him later.
I Got Your Bitter End
Long Gone Sister
Hammerless Nail
Grandpa Atomic
Girl Can Help It
Sharpen-Up Time
Up For a Downslide
Straight‐on Chaser
I'm Weak
Dented ’n’ Spent
Spinnin' Clock
Last Lost Fight
Professional Againster
Brother Orson Welles
We Give a Rat’s Ass
Girls - October 5, 2011 @ Neptune Theater
Father, Son, Holy Ghost had just come out and was in heavy rotation. CJ and I went down and the show was incredible. ‘Vomit’ was amazing, ‘Love Like a River’, ‘Forgiveness’ and ‘Substance’ wow. The songs live were so moving. The sound and the emotion were exceptional. I almost cried during ‘Jamie Marie’ in the encore. I remember thinking that Christopher Owens looked like he would be dead in less than a year. He was the most gaunt, unhealthy looking junkie, and I’d definitely seen that look before… An amazing show I’ll never forget. And happily Chrissy Baby is still alive, although his partner in Girls Chet ‘JR’ White did not survive much longer. R.I.P.
Honey Bunny
Alex
Love Like a River
Die
Heartbreaker
Laura
Saying I Love You
My Ma
Darling
Lust for Life
Substance
Forgiveness
Vomit
Encore:
Jamie Marie
Hellhole Ratrace
Morning Light
Broken Dreams Club
