In 1989, Nirvana took the stage in Budapest for the first and last time at Petőfi Csarnok – but it was far from an epic moment. For one, they were the opening act for TAD, and for another, their performance fell flat, witnessed by barely 200 people. Well, this just shows that even grunge gods had humble beginnings. Only a year later, though, they released the anthem of the MTV generation, Smells Like Teen Spirit, which skyrocketed them to global fame.
The Budapest concert remains one of the least documented chapters in Nirvana's history, with only a few photos emerging years later. Reports from Urban Legends and Recorder shed some light on the backstage details: Kurt constantly complained about the lighting and sound, his sweater sleeves kept hanging over his guitar, making it hard to play, and the trio – minus Dave Grohl at the time – earned just 10,000 forints for their performance. Afterwards, they grabbed a few sausages near Nyugati railway station.
A few days ago, the band's album designer, Robert Fisher, shared a photo on Instagram, which was most likely taken before this very concert.
The image on the 'nirvanabucket' profile was noticed by Recorder, which had previously published photos from the concert (you can check them out here and here). In the newly surfaced picture, Kurt Cobain doesn't look too cheerful. According to the graphic designer's memories, he seems to be flipping off to the Krist Novoselic, the photographer for some reason.
While Kurt Cobain is sadly not around anymore, the surviving members of Nirvana did take the stage twice this year. So, it’s not entirely out of the question that, despite his absence, Nirvana could one day make their way back to Budapest.
(Cover photo: nirvanabucket - Instagram)
