center among the standing attendees. “I remember at looking at the mosh pit from the balcony and thinking, man, those guys are tough doing that,” Tom Bell recalls. The more passionate Nirvana fans inside the coliseum frequently sang along with the band throughout the show, providing an extra collec- tive voice to Cobain’s occa- sionally cryptic, sometimes sarcastic and often brutally honest lyrics. “Kurt also complained a lot about his band and how he might leave them,” Bob Bell says. “I thought that was weird stage banter, but having been in bands most of my life, I got the stressors.” Nirvana tore through “Drain You,” a song inspired by unre- quited love, and an aggressive number called “Breed,” before playing a subdued rendition of “serve The Servants” for the Arizonan crowd. “Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old,” Cobain sang. The band were not used to seeing them- selves on a Jumbotron overhead. “I felt like a fucking hockey player on a big screen with a Budweiser sign above it,” drummer Dave Grohl later said. The tempo picked up again as many in the audience sang along with Cobain as the band played an inspired rendition of “About a Girl,” a song Cobain had written about an old girlfriend from their first album, “Bleach.” Nirvana’s lanky bass player and unoffi- cial stand-up comedian Novoselic joked with the crowd a little before the band played their latest single, “Heart-Shaped Box,” which one Cobain biographer has described as the songwriter’s magnum opus. Cobain switched Fender guitars before they played “Sliver,” after which Novoselic made a crack about a show they had played with Seattle band Tad in front of a minuscule crowd at The Mason Jar in Phoenix back in 1990. “We had to pay rent on the micro- phones,” Novoselic told the crowd, refer- ring to the club’s tight-fisted owner, Franco Gagliano. The band then played “Dumb,” a softer, melodic composition off “In Utero,” followed by their hit singles “In Bloom” and “Come As You Are.” Next, almost the entire crowd belted out the words to “Lithium” along with Cobain, who next poured plenty of anguish into his vocals when they played center among the standing attendees. “I remember at looking at the mosh pit from the balcony and thinking, man, those guys are tough doing that,” Tom Bell recalls. The more passionate Nirvana fans inside the coliseum frequently sang along with the band throughout the show, providing an extra collec- tive voice to Cobain’s occa- sionally cryptic, sometimes sarcastic and often brutally honest lyrics. complained a lot about his band and how he might leave them,” Bob Bell says. “I thought that was weird stage banter, but having been in bands most of my life, I got the stressors.” Arizonan crowd. >> p 18 From left, guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic play the Arizona State Fair as part of Nirvana’s “In Utero” tour. (Photos by Lissa Wales) 17 Oct 26th–NOv 1st, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music |
