January 1992 was a big month for Nirvana. Just a few months before, the band released their second studio album Nevermind, and it was continuing to dominate music.
The album displaced Michael Jackson’s Dangerous at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 as Billboard proclaimed, “Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base.” Alternative rock was having its moment and hair metal was finally on the way out.
January was an even bigger month for Nirvana’s Australian fans as Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic headed Down Under for their first-ever tour of the country. 30th years ago today, January 24th 1992, the band played their first Aussie show at The Phoenician Club in Sydney.
Melbourne punk rockers The Meanies were given the enviable task of supporting Nirvana that night alongside Tumbleweed. “Dave Grohl was an absolute gem and I’ve met him numerous times since,” the band’s Wally Meanie (Roderick Kempton) once recalled. “Krist Novoselic was lovely — I’ve only crossed his path once since, unfortunately — and Kurt was crook, so I personally hardly saw him at all.
I think the most I got out of him was a grunt ‘Hello’ backstage at the Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide. He was unwell, and we were driving everywhere so we’d rock up just before our soundcheck which was the end of theirs, so most of the time he wasn’t even around.”
That show was followed the next day with an appearance at the inaugural Big Day Out Festival at The Hordern Pavilion, before several more dates in Australia and New Zealand. Their time here was short but memorable, sharp but messy.
That it turned out to be Nirvana’s only Australian tour makes it all that more meaningful for those lucky enough to attend 30 years ago. Thankfully a surprising amount of footage remains from those shows, which you can see below.
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Nirvana’s set list at The Phoenician Club, January 24th 1992:
1. ‘Aneurysm’
2. ‘Drain You’
3. ‘School’
4. ‘Floyd the Barber’
5. ‘About a Girl’
6. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’
7. ‘Polly’
8. ‘Sliver’
9. ‘Breed’
10. ‘Come as You Are’
11. ‘Lithium’
12. ‘Been a Son’
13. ‘Negative Creep’
14. ‘Blew’
Encore:
15. ‘Love Buzz’ (Shocking Blue cover)
16. ‘Territorial Pissings’
