1993 - Nirvana - The Forum

Went with Bianca, Ron and Shawn.

Opening bands, Chokebore and The Butthole Surfers.

MC for the show was Bobcat Goldthwaite.

We parked next to the ramp that leads under the Forum and saw the tour buses. We called out for and waved at Courtney and Kurt as they walked into the Forum. I remember it being a good show. They sounded very good. I liked looking at the ununsal In Utero set items they had. We had Colonnade seats but I remember them being at the side so there wasn't a huge distance to the stage so we could see really well. I know Bianca has some stories to add to this one!

Set list
Radio Friendly Unit Shifter/ Drain You/ Breed/ Serve The Servants/ Come As You Are/ Smells Like Teen Spirit/ Sliver/ Dumb/ In Bloom/ About A Girl/ Lithium/ Pennyroyal Tea/ School/ Polly/ Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle/ Rape Me/ Territorial Pissings/ Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam/ The Man Who Sold The World/ All Apologies/ On A Plain/ Heart-Shaped Box/ Blew



1993 - Pearl Jam - Aladdin Theatre

Opening Bands - Urge Overkill and Mudhoney

Pearl Jam mega-post!  In spite of what people think, I did encourage Bianca to have her own musical likes.

She went through phases with bands.  She loved them for all they were worth then she was done with them and moved on to the next.  This was the Pearl Jam phase.  

These shows were right after her 13th birthday and I wanted to do something special so we went to Las Vegas to see them.  We went by train.  Amtrak!  It was so fun.  It took forever to get there, but it was well worth it!!  We nearly missed the show.  We stayed at the Aladdin Hotel so we would be right there at the venue for the concerts and to make it easy for us to get around.  We got into the show at the end of the second opening band.  We had great seats but the problem with any show in Las Vegas is that the crowd is there to socialize not watch the show.  They are drinking and talking loudly, and just being a pain.  They also have a tendency to sit through shows.  I guess this is from being in a city full of shows all the time and they don't appreciate it.  So we are there and its Pearl Jam.  They were very good.  But they always are.  

It is a tight band and the sound is always amazing.  

Set-list First Night

Even Flow, Once, Deep, Jeremy, Dissident, Daughter/(Instant Karma)/(Across the Universe), Go, Animal, State of Love and Trust, Tremor Christ, Black, Blood, Alive

enc 1: Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Leash, Porch/(Tearing)

enc 2: (Green River reunion): Swallow My Pride, Ain't Nothing to Do, My Way

'Tremor Christ' premieres. An apparent Beatles tribute is the 'Daughter' outro, with a series of tunes ended with Ed whispering "Get Back" at the very end. In a near Green River reunion, Mudhoney's Mark McLaughlin and Steve Turner join PJ (with Urge Overkill's drummer, Chuck Treece) for 'Swallow My Pride' and 'Ain't Nothing to Do.' 'Swallow My Pride' and 'My Way' (written by Paul Anka, featuring Terry Presley, an Elvis impersonator assisting on vocals)
 
Set-list Second Night
Release, Go, Animal, Why Go, Jeremy, Glorified G, Daughter/(The Real Me), Even Flow, Garden, Blood, State of Love and Trust, Alive, Footsteps, Porch, Jam, Rearviewmirror, Alone, Rockin' in the Free World, Indifference

notes: Urge Overkill and Mudhoney join PJ for 'RitFW.'  
 
We only had tickets for the first night and after it being so good we want to go to the second night which of course is sold out.  I scalp tickets for the show.  I think I ended up paying $100 for two tickets.  Oh well it was worth it for the fun Bianca was having. 
Staying at the hotel the band is staying at can be very fun.  When you go to catch the elevator and the door opens up and its Eddie Vedder standing there can be awesome.  Well, thats what happened the whole time we were there.  They were the nicest people on the planet.  And very nice to a 13 year old girl.  I will leave it to Bianca to write some of the stuff she remembers.  The Urge Overkill band members were amazing to her.

1993 - Pearl Jam - Empire Polo Club

This was an epic show.  Was supposed to be in LA but PJ were having their war with Ticketmaster and so they refused to do a show there.  This venue is now home to Coachella.  This place is a two + hour drive from LA and is south of Palm Springs.  It was a beautiful day for a concert.  Pleasant temps and a full moon. I will really never forget it.  Mom drove us.  She loved the show.  For some reason she liked Pearl Jam.  Bianca was passing out stickers and stuff.  This was the start of her band promo jobs!  11 was the opening act.  

This show became legendary for the tirade that Eddie Vedder threw because of the shoe throwing.  It was pretty bad.  People were pelting the bands with shoes and anything else they could find.  Eddie Vedder threatened to wait at the gate and kick the shit out of whoever was barefoot.  They got spit on, Eddie sarcastically asked for that though .  They finished the show playing behind their amps to keep away from the shoes.  Don't know what triggered all the rowdiness but it started in the lines before the show even began.   I will never forget the enormous full moon rising behind Pearl Jam as they played Indifference.  His voice echoing across the polo grounds was amazing. 

Set List:

Release

Go

Animal
Why Go
Deep
Jeremy
Glorified G
Daughter
Alive
Rearviewmirror
Improv (Thank You)
Blood
Rats
Once
Porch (Tearing)
Fuck Me in The Brain
Encore 1
Sonic Reducer
Even Flow
Indifference
Baba O'Riley       

1993 - Belly - The Palace

special report by ron:

this was a show i went to.  me and my local grocery clerk whom i forgot her name and a great affinity to Belly.  this was during my big pixies, breeders, belly, throwing muses incestuous thing.  let's call it boston college rock sponsored by the 4ad record label.

anyway, i found out this girl and i both liked belly, so i got tickets and we went to the show together. we drove from cerritos to hollywood.  funny to recall this story because i was living in a hotel room at this time, which was why i ended up going to the grocery store at the time.  only a microwave and a small refridgerator so i couldn't stock up on groceries. 

i knew radiohead was the opening band, they were just catching on here in the states.  creep was playing on the radio at KROQ.  at the time i didn't care for the song, it sounded like a pixies' gigantic rip off (which to them probably was and what makes me enjoy the song more now).  so neither of us were in a big rush to see the opening band.  we got to the palace mid-way through their set and hung around outside for awhile. 

i remember going in towards the end. i heard blow out and was really quite impressed.  one of my favorite radiohead songs now....

belly played and it was a great show. 

it was great that tonya donelly got some recognition after playing guitar in throwing muses and the breeders.  her songs were great.

thom yorke came out and sang a duet with her on one of the songs but i don't remember which.

aside from the story surrounding the show, i don't remember too much about the actual music. 

looking back, the most significant aspect of this show is that it was the first radiohead show that i went to and didn't really see them.  funny since they have become one of my favorite bands and what i believe to be one of the best bands ever, standing close to the beatles.

Radiohead's setlist: 

You

Prove Yourself
The Bends
Yes I Am
Vegetable
Creep
Ripcord
Pop Is Dead
Inside My Head
Anyone Can Play Guitar
Stop Whispering
Thinking About You
Blow Out  

1993 - The Breeders - Troubadour

Ron followed all the former Pixies in their solo efforts.  Love the Troubadour.  Such a great place and the history can overwhelm you.  This was more of an industry show cause their cd Last Splash was just releasing.  I can't find a setlist online anywhere.

But we know that Yo La Tengo opened and that they had to do Cannonball!   

Pop Music Review

The Breeders' Relaxed Jam
September 23, 1993
LORRAINE ALI
The critically acclaimed alternative-rock act the Breeders seemed so comfortable on stage at the Troubadour on Tuesday that you got the feeling you were sitting in on a no-pressure jam in one of their living rooms rather than a major-market showcase in support of their high-profile new album.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" singer-guitarist Kim Deal asked chatting audience members between songs. She and her twin sister, guitarist Kelley Deal, bantered back and forth in front of the receptive, often laughing audience, then nonchalantly launched into walls of fluid sound with a creepy, '50s sci-fi soundtrack edge.
The Breeders' enticing, wobbly melodies escalated into full-blown rushes of warm, euphoric sound, and the charmingly lopsided surf feel was more three-dimensional live than on the flatly produced new "Last Splash" album, thanks to the powerful sound and the band's sense of relaxed spontaneity.
The ecstatic crowd seemed to know every word of each song, and shouted them aloud like a big stadium crowd. The quartet soaked up the admiration and returned it with big smiles.
The very Breeders-compatible Yo La Tengo preceded the headliners with flails of '60s-style organ and shards of refined noise that set the tone for this night of finely crafted pop distortion.