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Nirvana Video Surfaces of Band Shocked Over Concert Ticket Prices in 1993

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

A video of Nirvana from 1993 has surfaced showing the band stunned about acts that charged $50-75 for a concert ticket.

The clip comes via Happy Mag, and when the off-screen interviewer broaches the topic of concert ticket prices, Kurt Cobain couldn’t help but express shock at a concert ticket costing $50.

“There are people that charge that much? Who charges that?” says a stunned Cobain. The interviewer responds that that was the price of Madonna’s tickets. Cobain, in disbelief, responds, “Madonna does? Madonna charges $50?!”

After this exchange, Nirvana asks their manager off-screen how much they’re charging for tickets. The price? Between $17 and $18. (For those wondering what that price would be today considering inflation, the price per ticket would be between $34 and $35.)

Krist Novoselic chimed in saying, “We were talking about, ‘Boy we should charge $25 and really milk it, and really take ’em for all they got.”

Oh…to think of a time where a $25 concert ticket was considered “milking it.” My, how things have changed.

 

Nirvana, Alice In Chains & 4 Other Classic 'MTV Unplugged' Performances

  • Nirvana

    Recorded just five months before the untimely passing of Kurt Cobain, the band’s performance would later be released as the live LP MTV Unplugged in New York.  It was Nirvana’s first release following Cobain’s death, and it would go on to win the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

  • Alice In Chains

    Equal parts extraordinary and bitter-sweet, AIC’s 1996 performance on MTV Unplugged was the band’s first performance together in over two years due to Staley’s issues with drug abuse.  It would also be one of the band’s last high-profile gigs with the singer.  In spite of that and Jerry Cantrell famously battling food poisoning, AIC’s set served as a reminder of why they were the first band to really break out of the fruitful Seattle music scene.

    https://youtu.be/nWK0kqjPSVI/

  • Stone Temple Pilots

    MTV Unplugged is just a goldmine of remarkable performances for anyone that loves rock from the ’90s.  Stone Temple Pilots recorded their set in 1993, which marked the first time they performed “Big Empty.”

  • R.E.M.

    R.E.M is responsible for two marvelous MTV Unplugged performances from 1991 and 2001, which were both released in 2014 as Unplugged:  The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions. Below is a performance of “Fall On Me” from their 1991 set.

  • Pearl Jam

    Pearl Jam simply crushes it in this set from March 1992, about seven months after the release of Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten.

  • Thirty Seconds To Mars

    Later episodes in MTV Unplugged’s history are tragically overlooked, but this incredible set from Thirty Seconds To Mars more than holds its own thanks to Jared Leto’s dynamic vocal performance.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter
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