On this day in 1991, Nirvana played an unforgettable set that would create a lasting impact in mainstream grunge music. This was the start of a cultural shift that would soon herald grunge the way it is today. The rock band played a show in front of a small crowd at the O.K. Hotel in Seattle, Washington, where they graced fans with a 21-song setlist that included many gems.
The band opened up the show with a live debut of “Pennyroyal Tea,” pulled from Nirvana’s final studio record, In Utero, which later came out in 1993. Kurt Cobain performed it solo before the band joined the stage and followed up with some cuts from their debut studio album, Bleach, including “About a Girl,” “Big Cheese,” “Blew” and “Floyd the Barber.”
There was also quite the number of covers sprinkled into the setlist, too. Nirvana did their own versions of “Turnaround” by DEVO, “Love Buzz” by Shocking Blue and “D-7” by Wipers, among a couple of others. They closed out the main set with a live debut of the opening track and lead single from their second record, Nevermind, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Needless to say, this was possibly the last time Kurt Cobain had to introduce the song by its title.
After this, most everyone could identify the track from its beginning riffs. The soundcheck also included a performance of the song. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was only performed live 168 times by Nirvana, but when all of the covers other artists have done are considered, the song has been performed live 2,154 times. It has inevitably become a cultural staple and was the first major-label single for the band. The song embraced a movement of a self-assured generation and made an appearance in many films and media.
Following the iconic show closer, they did an encore performance of four tracks from Bleach, Nevermind and Incesticide. They opened the encore with “School” before jumping into classics such as “Dive” and “Territorial Pissings. They wrapped up the evening with “Sliver.”
See the full setlist:
[Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2020]
