Watch Kurt Cobain’s Iconic 1992 Concert Protest—Find Out Why He Sabotaged His Own Show

A Reddit video capturing a viral moment from Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain shows a memorable act of solidarity, and the story behind it is fascinating.  In the viral clip, Cobain is in the midst of a performance, putting on a less-than-stellar show. Why would he sabotage his own set, you ask? As an act of rebellion, of course. 

The 1992 Buenos Aires performance started on a sour note when the opening act, all-girl punk band Calamity Jane, faced intense hostility and sexist remarks from the crowd.  The all-girl group from Portland was met with abuse hurled at them from the crowd, boos, sexist remarks and hostility. So bad was the treatment from the crowd that the up-and-coming punk group fled in tears. For Cobain, this treatment of his opener was unacceptable. “It was terrible, one of the worst things I’ve ever seen, such a mass of sexism all at once,” Cobain recalled in Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects, as reported by Far Out Magazine. 

when kurt cobain ruined his own show to annoy the crowd after they booed off a female band that opened for nirvana
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Instead of responding with anger, Cobain and Nirvana channeled their energy into a subtle protest against the crowd’s sexist behavior. “We ended up having fun, laughing at them (the audience),” Cobain recalled. “Before every song, I’d play the intro to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and then stop. They didn’t realize that we were protesting against what they’d done.”

In his unique way of frustrating the crowd, Cobain and Nirvana played nearly 40 minutes of lesser-known songs from Incesticide, a compilation album by the band, meaning barely anyone knew any of the songs that were being played for a good chunk of the show. 

“We wound up playing the secret noise song (‘Endless, Nameless’) that’s at the end of Nevermind, and because we were so in a rage and were just so pissed off about this whole situation, that song and whole set were one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had.”

While the group did eventually play a few of their well-known tracks, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” arguably their most popular song, did not get performed that night. The recirculating video on Reddit had people reminiscing on both the specific moment, as well as Kurt Cobain as a person, over two decades since he passed away at the age of 27. 

“We lost so much more than a great artist when he died, he really seems like he was an all round lovely human being too,” said one user. “Kurt Cobain the consistent feminist icon,” wrote another. 

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