MOST WANTED UNSURFACED CONCERTS: 08/15/91 - The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA, US
Venue Address:
The Roxy Theater, 9009 W. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069, US
Event Organizer:
Avalon Attractions
Other Performers:
Wool
Reviews/Eyewitness Accounts:
"Soundcheck included Smells Like Teen Spirit, Sliver, and Polly… I was doing sound for the opener, Wool, which included Pete and Franz Stahl from Dave Grohl's recent band, Scream, so it was a family vibe all around. Wool asked my wife Renee to video-tape both bands with their camcorder, but the second she tried, someone from the Roxy said it was forbidden unless someone forked over some money - I think it was a $75 fee. Everyone was broke! Awesome! It was an exciting night! You could tell they were gonna be famous, but no one had a clue how big they'd become! Shortly after that, my wife and I went camping with Pete Stahl and his girlfriend. Everywhere we went, we'd hear Smells Like Teen Spirit - it was crazy!" - Scott Reeder, personal correspondence with Bill Termunde
"The crowd was going bananas. There was a big pit and people were just completely nuts. It was a great show." - Cheryl Kovalchik, Eyewitness Nirvana
"As soon as the show started, it was mass chaos. It felt like 150 degrees in there and sopping wet, sweaty bodies were flying everywhere. It was incredible! As a fan, I love that kind of energy, but as a photographer, it was a nightmare. I was getting elbowed, kicked, kneed and slammed by flying bodies launching at me from every angle. Amazingly, Kurt [Cobain] not only saw this, but he reached down, grabbed me and helped me swing onto the stage next to him. Parked safely between Kurt and Dave, I was able to get to work. There is no doubt in my mind that this was THE greatest show I have ever been to - no other club show can compare, except maybe the Nirvana show at Raji's." - Kevin Estrada, posting on The Kevin Estrada Blog
"All of us at Geffen and management came out for this and I remember thinking, 'God, we're gonna remember this for the rest of our lives'" - Danny Goldberg, Eyewitness Nirvana
"It was a great show, but the strange thing is that they were playing mostly songs off of Nevermind - none of which I'd heard before - and a lot of the audience were singing along to songs like 'Lithium,' etc. Kurt actually commented 'How do you guys know these songs already???' & Krist [Novoselic] walked over to Kurt's mic stand (& comically had to bend over very far due to the extreme height difference between the two) & said 'Bootlegs!!!' Krist also did the Youngbloods intro to Territorial Pissings 'C'mon people now, shine on yer brother…' etc. They also played some songs off Bleach (Blew, etc.). One of my best recollections of that show (fuzzy at best) was that they were playing on rented gear & stage divers kept stepping on Kurt's pedals & disconnecting his guitar. One of the few things he said was something like 'I'm all for stage diving, but just don't step on my pedals.' It was frustrating (as a guitarist especially) because his guitar kept going out… so finally at the end of the show he pulled the famous Pete Townshend & destroyed his guitar & everything else. It felt authentic cuz he was genuinely frustrated - it was quite cathartic. I got the feeling that something big was happening with them because as soon as he started smashing his gear, four or five photographers jumped on stage & started snapping shots… it was a great show." - Unknown, personal correspondence with Tim Bucknall
Ticket and backstage pass, courtesy of Kevin Estrada
