Nirvana were on a North American tour in pursuit of their third studio album, In Utero, when they arrived in Akron, Ohio on October 31, 1993, with the Breeders and Boredoms as their opening act. The Barney and Slash routine kicked off the set, with Cobain carrying a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey onstage with him before putting it down and dueling Smear with an impromptu jam of guitar noise and squealing feedback. “They had a fight between Barney and Slash. It was a ‘Guitar Battle to the Death!” recalled Meat Puppets drummer Derrick Bostrom in the book ‘Nirvana: The Day to Day Illustrated Journals.’ “Barney died, of course.”
The show began with an impromptu introduction with the band members dressed up for Halloween. Kurt was Barney (with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in hand, which he apparently drank through the mask’s mesh mouth and tail tied between his leg), Pat was Slash, Dave was a mummy, and Krist was an “inverse”. “white-faced. Ted Danson” with “P.C.” on his forehead for “Politically Correct.” (Recently, actor Ted Danson had been ridiculed for making a public appearance in blackface with his girlfriend, Whoopi Goldberg.) At some point, Kurt He changed his costume and returned to the stage with fairy wings and a large black mustache drawn on his face.
After About A Girl, someone in the audience threw a shoe at Kurt. He took the shoe, urinated on it and then asked who it belonged to. The owner of the shoe replied that someone else threw it on stage. Kurt apologized and said that he would have to buy the person a new pair of shoes.
Tensions were reportedly high in camp Nirvana at the time, so when Kurt donned the Barney outfit and Pat the Slash costume, that on-stage hijinx brought some much-needed comic relief to the tour
Nirvana then proceeded to tear through a blistering 21-song set that included Bleach tunes ‘School‘ and ‘About a Girl‘; Nevermind hits ‘Lithium‘ and ‘Come as You Are‘; In Utero cuts ‘Heart-Shaped Box‘ and ‘Pennyroyal Tea‘; ‘Sliver‘ and ‘Dive‘.
Nirvana at James A. Rhodes Arena, The University of Akron, Akron, OH, US. (October 31, 1993)
Setlist:
1. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
2. Drain You
3. Breed
4. About A Girl
5. Heart-Shaped Box
6. Sliver
7. Dumb
8. In Bloom
9. Come As You Are
10. Lithium
11. Pennyroyal Tea
12. School
13. Polly acoustic
14. Milk It
15. Rape Me
16. Territorial Pissings
17. All Apologies
18. Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam acoustic
19. Dive
20. On A Plain
21. Serve The Servants
NIRVANA
Kurt Cobain: (vocals, guitar)
Krist Novoselic: (bass)
Dave Grohl: (drums, backing vocals)
Pat Smear: (guitar)
Lori Goldston: (cello)
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994).
