by Nick Soulsby
October 1, Champaign, IL—Steel Pole Bath Tub
October 2, Kalamazoo, MI—Steel Pole Bath Tub
October 3, Ann Arbor, MI—Steel Pole Bath Tub
October 4 or 5, Toledo, OH—Steel Pole Bath Tub
October 6, Cincinnati, OH—Grinch
October 7, Lawrence, KS—24-7 Spyz
October 8, Omaha, NE—Mousetrap
October 11, Denver, CO—the Fluid
October 13, Boulder, CO
October 23, Newcastle, UK—the Cateran, Tad
October 24, Manchester, UK—the Cateran, Tad
October 25, Leeds, UK—the Cateran, Tad
October 26—Nirvana records a radio session at the BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, UK for the John Peel show
October 27, London, UK—the Cateran, Tad
October 28, Portsmouth, UK—the Cateran, Tad
October 29, Birmingham, UK—Tad
October 30, Norwich, UK—Tad
November 1—Nirvana records a radio session at the Villa 65 studio, Hilversum, the Netherlands, for the Nozems-a-Gogo show
November 1, Rotterdam, the Netherlands—Tad
November 2, Groningen, the Netherlands—Tad
November 3, Utrecht, the Netherlands—Tad
November 4, Apeldoorn, the Netherlands—Tad
November 5, Amsterdam, the Netherlands—Tad
November 7, Mönchengladbach, West Germany—Tad
November 8, Cologne, West Germany—Tad
November 9, Hanover, West Germany—Tad
November 10, Enger, West Germany—Tad
November 11, Berlin, West Germany—Tad
November 12, Oldenburg, West Germany—Tad
November 13, Hamburg, West Germany—Tad
November 15, Heidelberg, West Germany—Tad
November 16, Nuremberg, West Germany—Tad
November 17, Gammelsdorf, West Germany—Tad
November 18, Hanau, West Germany—Tad
November 20, Linz, Austria—Tad
November 21, Budapest, Hungary—Tad
November 22, Vienna, Austria—Tad
November 23, Graz, Austria—Tad
November 24, Hohenems, Austria—Tad
November 25, Fribourg, Switzerland—Tad
November 26, Mezzago, Italy—Tad
November 27, Rome, Italy—Tad
November 29, Geneva, Switzerland—Tad
November 30, Zurich, Switzerland—Tad
December 1, Isy-Les-Moulineaux, France—Tad
December 2, Ghent, Belgium—Tad
December 3, London, UK—Mudhoney, Tad
The Blew EP is released in the UK in early December
1990
January 2–3—Nirvana enters Reciprocal Recording to record new song “Sappy”
January 6, Seattle, WA—Crunchbird, the Gits, Tad
January 12, Portland, OR—Oily Bloodmen
January 19, Olympia, WA
January 20, Tacoma, WA—Machine, Rhino Humpers
February 9, Portland, OR—Rawhead Rex, Screaming Trees, Tad
February 11, San Jose, CA—Tad, Vegas Voodoo
February 12, Sacramento, CA—Tad, Thornucopia
February 14, San Francisco, CA—Dickless, Tad (two performances took place on this date)
February 15, Los Angeles, CA—Distorted Pony, Tad
February 16, Long Beach, CA—Haywire, Tad
February 17, Tijuana, Mexico—Tad
February 19, Phoenix, AZ—Tad
February 21, Chico, CA—Tad
March 12, Vancouver, BC—the Bombshells, Tad
March 20, Nirvana records their attempt at a formal video at the Evergreen State College
April 1, Chicago, IL—God’s Acre, Bhang Revival
April 2–6—Nirvana record demos for their (aborted) second Sub Pop album provisionally entitled Sheep at Smart Studios, Madison, WI
April 6, Madison, WI—Tad, Victim’s Family
April 8, Milwaukee, WI
April 9, Minneapolis, MN—Tad, Victim’s Family
April 10, Ann Arbor, MI—Tad, Victim’s Family
April 14, Cincinnati, OH—(Peter Prescott, Volcano Suns: “The show that never happened—think we were to play with them in Cincinnati and they canceled, so we never ran into them.”)
April 16, Toronto, Canada
April 17, Montréal, Canada
April 18, Cambridge, MA—the Bags
April 20, Swarthmore, PA
April 21, Cambridge, MA—Slaughter Shack
April 26, New York, NY—Rat at Rat R
April 27, Amherst, MA—3 Merry Widows, Cordelia’s Dad, Gobblehoof, New Radiant Storm King, Sweet Lickin’ Honey Babes
April 28, Hoboken, NJ—the Jesus Lizard
April 29, Washington, DC—Loop
April 30, Philadelphia, PA
May 1, Chapel Hill, NC
May 2, Charlotte, NC
May 4, Tampa, FL
May 5, Jacksonville Beach, FL
May 6, Atlanta, GA
May 9, Columbus, OH—Barbed Wire Dolls
May 10, Cincinnati, OH—Coffin Break
May 11, Tulsa, OK
May 13, Lincoln, NE
May 14, Denver, CO—Jux County
May 17, Boise, ID—24-7 Spyz
July 11, 24—Nirvana records the “Sliver” single
The Hard to Believe compilation is released in August, featuring Nirvana covering the song “Do You Love Me?” by Kiss
August 16, Las Vegas, NV
August 17, Hollywood, CA
August 19, San Diego, CA—Chemical People
August 20, Sacramento, CA
August 21, San Francisco, CA
August 23, Portland
August 24, Seattle
August 25, Vancouver, BC
The “Sliver”/“Dive” single is released in September
September 22, Seattle—the Derelicts, the Dwarves
September 25—Grohl is given an audition at the Dutchman rehearsal rooms in Seattle, then Cobain records a radio session for KAOS Radio, Olympia, on Calvin Johnson’s Boy Meets Girl show where he announces Grohl has joined Nirvana
The Heaven and Hell compilation is released in October, featuring Nirvana covering the song “Here She Comes Now” by the Velvet Underground
October—Cobain joins friends Earth at Smegma Studios, Portland, to record vocals for the songs “Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge” and “Divine and Bright”
October 11, Olympia, WA—Witchypoo
October 17, Olympia, WA—Unrest
October 21—Nirvana records a radio session at the BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, UK, for the John Peel show
October 23, Birmingham, UK
October 24, London, UK—Godflesh
October 25, Leeds, UK—Arm, Victim’s Family
October 26, Edinburgh, UK—Shonen Knife, the Vaselines
October 27, Nottingham, UK—Shonen Knife
October 29, Norwich, UK—Jacob’s Mouse
November 25, Seattle—Heavy into Jeff, Holy Rollers
December 31, Portland—Caustic Soda, Hitting Birth, Roger Nusic, Thrillhammer
1991
Nirvana’s live cover of the Vaselines’ song “Molly’s Lips” is released on a split single with the Fluid in January
January 1—Nirvana enters the Music Source Studio, Seattle, to record demos
January 18, Olympia, WA—Fitz of Depression, Helltrout, Nubbin
March 2, Boise, ID—Anxiety Prophets, Blank Frank and the Tattooed Gods
March 4, Calgary, Canada
March 5, Edmonton, Canada
March 8, Vancouver, BC—Doughboys, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, the Wongs
March 9, Victoria, Canada
April 13, Olympia, WA (Cobain/Grohl with Witchypoo)—Giant Henry, Witchypoo
April 17, Seattle, WA—Fitz of Depression
May 2–28—Nirvana enters Sound City Studios, Burbank, CA, to record Nevermind
May 29, Los Angeles, CA—Fitz of Depression, I O
wn the Sky
The Grunge Years compilation is released in June, featuring the Nirvana song “Dive”
June 1, Olympia, WA (Cobain, Grohl with Witchypoo)—Giant Henry, Witchypoo
June 8, Olympia
June 10, Englewood, CA—the Jesus Lizard
June 11, Salt Lake City, UT
June 13, San Francisco, CA
June 14, Los Angeles, CA—Hole
June 15, Tijuana, Mexico
June 17, Sacramento, CA—Kai Kln
June 18, Santa Cruz, CA
June 20, Portland, OR
The Kill Rock Stars compilation is released in August, featuring the Nirvana song “Beeswax”
August 15, Los Angeles, CA—Wool
August 20, Cork, Ireland
August 21, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland—Mexican Pets, Power of Dreams
August 23, Reading, UK—Power of Dreams, Teenage Fanclub
August 24, Cologne, Germany
August 25, Hasselt, Belgium
August 27, Bremen, Germany—Didjits, Gumball
August 28, Halle, Germany
August 29, Stuttgart, Germany
August 30, Nuremberg, Germany
September 1, Rotterdam, the Netherlands—Charmin’ Children, Mudhoney, Paradogs, Son of Bazerk
September 3—Nirvana records a radio session at the BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, UK, for the John Peel show
The “Smells Like Teen Spirit” single is released on September 10
September 16, Seattle, WA
September 20, Toronto, Canada
September 21, Montréal, Canada
September 23, Boston, MA—Cliffs of Dooneen
The Nevermind album is released on September 23
September 24, Boston, MA
September 25, Providence, RI
September 26, New Haven, CT
September 27, Trenton, NJ
September 28, New York, NY (two performances took place on this date)
September 30, Pittsburgh, PA
October 1, Philadelphia, PA
October 2, Washington, DC
October 4, Chapel Hill, NC
October 5, Athens, GA
October 6, Atlanta, GA
October 7, Memphis, TN
October 9, Columbus, OH
October 10, Cleveland, OH
October 11, Detroit, MI
October 12, Chicago, IL
October 14, Minneapolis, MN (two performances took place on this date)
October 16, St. Louis, MO
October 17, Lawrence, KS—Paw
October 19, Dallas, TX—Sister Double Happiness, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
October 20, Houston, TX—Sister Double Happiness
October 21, Austin, TX—Sister Double Happiness (two performances took place on this date)
October 23, Tempe, AZ—Sister Double Happiness
October 24, San Diego, CA
October 24, Tijuana, Mexico—Hole, Sister Double Happiness
October 25, Los Angeles, CA—Hole, Sister Double Happiness
October 26, San Francisco, CA—Sister Double Happiness
October 27, Los Angeles, CA—Hole
October 29, Portland—Mudhoney, Sprinkler
October 30, Vancouver, BC—Mudhoney
October 31, Seattle, WA—Mudhoney
November 4, Bristol, UK—Midway Still
November 5, London, UK—Captain America, Television Personalities
November 6, Wolverhampton, UK—Captain America
November 9—Nirvana records a radio session at the BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, UK, for the Mark Goodier Evening Session
November 10, Berlin, Germany
November 11, Hamburg, Germany
November 12, Frankfurt, Germany
November 13, Munich, Germany
November 14, Vienna, Austria—Skin Yard
November 16, Muggia, Italy
November 17, Mezzago, Italy
November 19, Rome, Italy
November 20, Baricella, Italy
November 23, Ghent, Belgium—Hole
November 25—Nirvana records their last-ever radio session at the NOB Audio Studio, Hilversum, the Netherlands, for the Nozems-a-Gogo and Twee Meter De Lucht In shows
November 25, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
November 26, Bradford, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
Nirvana appears on the Top of the Pops TV show in Borehamwood on December 27
November 27, Birmingham, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
November 28, Sheffield, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
November 29, Edinburgh, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
November 30, Glasgow, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
December 1, Edinburgh, UK (as Teen Spirit)—the Joyriders
December 2, Newcastle, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
December 3, Nottingham, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
December 4, Manchester, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
December 5, London, UK—Captain America, Shonen Knife
Nirvana appears on the Tonight with Jonathan Ross TV show in London, UK, on December 6
December 7, Rennes, France
December 27, Los Angeles, CA
December 28, Del Mar, CA
December 29, Tempe, AZ
December 31, Daly City, CA
1992
January 2, Salem, OR
Nirvana rehearses on January 9 in New York, ready for their TV appearance on Saturday Night Live on January 11
Nirvana records a performance for MTV in New York on January 10
January 24, Sydney, Australia—Tumbleweed
January 25, Sydney, Australia
January 26, Gold Coast, Australia
January 27, Brisbane, Australia
January 30, Adelaide, Australia—Tumbleweed
January 31, Melbourne, Australia—the Guttersnipes, Tumbleweed
February 1, Melbourne, Australia—Tumbleweed
February 2, Melbourne, Australia—Tumbleweed
February 5, Canberra, Australia—Tumbleweed
The Hormoaning EP is released in Asia/Pacific on February 5
February 6, Sydney, Australia
February 7, Sydney, Australia—Crow, Nunbait
February 9, Auckland, New Zealand—Second Child
February 14, Osaka, Japan
February 16, Nagoya, Japan
February 17, Kawasaki, Japan
February 19, Tokyo, Japan
February 21, Honolulu, HI
February 22, Honolulu, HI
The “Come as You Are” single is released March 3
The Bleach album is reissued in April
April 7 and one unknown date—Nirvana enters the Laundry Room Studio to record B-side material
The Eight Songs for Greg Sage and the Wipers compilation is released in June, featuring Nirvana covering “Return of the Rat” by the Wipers
June 21, Dublin, Ireland—Teenage Fanclub
June 22, Belfast, Ireland—Teenage Fanclub
June 24, Paris, France—Teenage Fanclub
June 26, Roskilde, Denmark—Teenage Fanclub
June 27, Turku, Finland—Teenage Fanclub
June 28, Sandvika, Norway—Teenage Fanclub
June 30, Stockholm, Sweden—Teenage Fanclub
July 2, Valencia, Spain—Teenage Fanclub
July 3, Madrid, Spain—Teenage Fanclub
July 4, Bilbao, Spain—Teenage Fanclub
The “Lithium” single is released on July 13
August 30, Reading, UK—Björn Again, Pele, Shonen Knife, Teenage Fanclub
Nirvana rehearses on September 8 in Los Angeles for their TV appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony on September 9
September 10, Portland, OR—Calamity Jane, Jello Biafra
September 11, Seattle, WA—Fitz of Depression
October 3, Bellingham, WA—(unannounced guest show) Mudhoney, Medelicious, Saucer
October 4, Seattle, WA—(
unannounced guest show) Mudhoney
October 25–26—Nirvana enters the Word of Mouth Productions studio, Seattle, WA (formerly Reciprocal Recording) to record the first demos for their next album
October 29, Buenos Aires, Argentina—Novoselic and Grohl join Pirata Industrial onstage at a nightclub
October 30, Buenos Aires, Argentina—Calamity Jane, Los Brujos
November—Cobain enters the Laundry Room Studio to record the guitar part for a single to feature William S. Burroughs. He also joins Melvins in San Francisco for the Houdini sessions
The “In Bloom” single is released on November 30
The Incesticide compilation is released on December 14
1993
January 16, São Paulo, Brazil—Biquíni Cavadão, Defalla, Dr. Sin
January 19–21—Nirvana enters the BMG Ariola Ltda Studio in Rio de Janeiro to record further demos for their new album; Cobain also takes part in a demo session for Hole on January 21
January 23, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—Biquíni Cavadão, Defalla, Dr. Sin
February 12–26—Nirvana enters the Pachyderm Recording Studio near Minneapolis, MN, to record In Utero
The “Oh the Guilt”/“Puss” split-single with the Jesus Lizard is released on February 15
April 9, Daly City, CA—Benefit for the Tresnjevka Women’s Group
May—Cobain enters the Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, for the remixing of the “Heart-Shaped Box” and “All Apologies” single A-sides
The single “The Priest They Called Him” is released on July 1, featuring Cobain’s guitar work backing William S. Burroughs’s reading
July 14–15—Nirvana stages their first rehearsal since In Utero with cellist Lori Goldston and second guitarist “Big” John Duncan
July 23, New York, NY—the Jesus Lizard
August 6, Seattle—Hell Smells, Kill Sybil, Tad
The “Heart-Shaped Box” single is released on August 30
September 8, New York, NY—Cobain and Courtney Love duet for Rock Against Rape
The In Utero album is released on September 13
Nirvana rehearses on September 23 in New York, ready for their TV performance on Saturday Night Live on September 25
October—Cobain joins Hole at Triclops Recording in Atlanta, GA, for a demo session
October 14–16—Nirvana enters Hayvenhurst Studios in Van Nuys, CA, to rehearse, ready for the In Utero tour
October 18, Phoenix, AZ—Mudhoney
October 19, Albuquerque, NM—Mudhoney
October 21, Kansas City, KS—Mudhoney
October 22, Davenport, IA—Mudhoney
October 23, Chicago, IL—Mudhoney
October 25, Chicago, IL—Mudhoney
October 26, Milwaukee, WI—Mudhoney
Nirvana song “Verse Chorus Verse” (aka “Sappy”) released on the No Alternative compilation for the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series on October 26