The only artist that Kurt Cobain enjoyed seeing in an arena
Some artists seem destined to play in arenas and stadiums. Take Bruce Springsteen, for example. The Boss has been playing truly mammoth venues for decades now, drawing in tens of thousands of fans each and every time he takes to the stage. It’s almost impossible to imagine him playing a smaller venue — the length and size of his shows has become part of the experience. But there are other artists who thrived in underground, DIY spaces, such as grunge pioneers Nirvana.
Like many alternative rock bands, Nirvana started out playing at house shows and punk gigs around the grunge scene of Washington. It’s easy to imagine their sludgy sound prospering in this kind of setting, completely enveloping crowds of 50 or 100 people, urging them to move no matter how cramped and sweaty their surroundings. But Nirvana’s success would extend far beyond the walls of those DIY basement venues.
Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic managed to push beyond the boundaries of their close-knit alternative scene and into the mainstream. Their grunge sound proved to hold much wider appeal than anticipated, capturing the attention of the masses with a mix of catchy melodies and a slight edge. Tiny DIY venues were no longer big enough to hold the hordes of fans who loved ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Come As You Are’.
As their music made its way from the suburbs of Washington into charts across the world, the band’s crowds grew. They were playing to audiences of thousands of people rather than hundreds. 50,000 people gathered to see the grunge band at Reading Festival. But Cobain never quite fell in love with arena shows, preferring to play (and attend) much smaller, more intimate performances.
As the Nirvana frontman explained in a 1993 interview, the band never intended to play in front of such large audiences. In fact, Cobain even divulged that he didn’t really enjoy being a part of the audience at those shows, either. “I’ve hardly ever enjoyed watching an arena rock show,” he admitted, “I’ve only seen a few…” But there was one arena-size show that stuck out in his mind as a stand-out.
“I really liked Aerosmith when I saw them about ten years ago,” he remembered, “And that was a really big show.” Cobain’s enjoyment didn’t stem from the scale of the show, but rather from his love for Aerosmith. “That’s just because I like the band so much,” he explained, “I was real familiar with the songs and everything.” Although he enjoyed the show, he admitted that he would have preferred a more intimate setting.
“I would have rather seen them in a club or a theatre of a few thousand people,” he concluded, “For sure.” It’s easy to see why. Seeing a band you love in a small venue is a much more intimate and immediate experience than watching them perform from the stands of a stadium. Sure, it’s a little sweatier, and there’s a little less room to move, but that only adds to the experience.
Particularly for rock bands like Nirvana, DIY venues are the prime live setting. Steeped in community and creativity, they provide a much more fulfilling gig-goer experience than the more removed experience of standing at the back of an arena, struggling to see through the thousands of people who got there before you.
