Nirvana's Nevermind turned 25 today, as you may have heard.
So on this occasion... revisiting this... Nirvana made their New York City debut on July 18, 1989, as part of the New Music Seminar at the Pyramid Club on Avenue A. They played a 14-song set. Other bands on the bill that night were Cows, God Bullies, Lonely Moans and Surgery.
This iteration of the band included Chad Channing on drums and second guitarist Jason Everman, who later got the boot. (This was Everman's last show with Nirvava, who were so disappointed in how they played, they reportedly cancelled their remaining four gigs on this East Coast tour. )
This article by Joe D'Angelo and Jem Aswad published on MTV.com provides more background about the performance at the Pyramid Club:
According to Michael Azerrad's "Come As You Are," the definitive Nirvana tome, the show was far from the band's best: One of the few who refrained from heckling was Iggy Pop, who cheered encouragingly. After the show, bassist Krist Novoselic was so disappointed with the performance that he shaved his head bald in the Jersey City, New Jersey, motel where the band was staying.
Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon stitched in the story's silver lining by bringing A&R man Gary Gersh to the show. Not long after, Gersh signed the band to Geffen Records, the company that released Nirvana's breakthrough, Nevermind, in 1991, after Moore convinced Kurt Cobain that signing to a major label wasn't selling out.
