What do you get if you cross a milestone grunge album with the town of Totnes in sunny Devon, I’ll tell you, you get NIRVANIA, a band formed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the critically acclaimed album ‘Nevermind’ by grunge pioneers NIRVANA.

I recall the day of release, September 24th 1991, I was stood in line in Torquay during my lunch break, it was the lower of the two OUR PRICE stores where I had pre-ordered the album on vinyl and I was there to collect my copy, stood amongst others, we waited in anticipation to finally get our hands on it. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ had been released a couple of weeks ahead of the album and this had generated mass interest, resulting in many stores selling out on day one. I read recently that only 35000 copies were initially shipped to the UK and this was on the basis that their debut album ’Bleach’ had sold well on UK shores.

 

To date, ‘Nevermind’ has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, certifying it as ‘Diamond’ by the Recording Industry Association of America and has gone on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time, up their with the likes of Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) and Thriller (Michael Jackson).

Fast forward 30 years from release day to 24th September 2021 and I find myself entering the NEW LION BREWERY who were hosting a night to celebrate the landmark of this classic album by putting on a local supergroup called NIRVANIA, a blend of the name NIRVANA and NARNIA (the twin town of Totnes).

As I approached the beer garden, I noticed that it was PACKED, the queue for PIZZALOGICA was almost biblical, every seat was taken and there were many folk donning T-Shirts from the early 90’s, I saw Nirvana (obvs), Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Pixies, Mudhoney and many more.

 

Inside the building, Christian Murison of THE BLACK BIRD COLLECTIVE was busy spinning a vinyl only set from the early 90’s including classics from the bands I mentioned above, the sound of the songs being played took me back to the various indie discos that I regularly attended in Exeter 30 years ago at The Lemongrove, Timepiece and of course, Boxes and The Warehouse on the quayside.

 

At 9pm sharp, the masses flooded into the building and the band took to the stage to kick things off. I had hoped that they were going to play the album through in its entirety but it soon became apparent that not all of the tracks were on the setlist, not a problem, the ones that were included were going to sound great if the sound check was anything to go by.

 

They played a great 40 minute set consisting of some amazing Nirvana classics including ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘Lithium’, ‘Come as you Are’, ‘In Bloom’, ‘Breed’, ‘Polly’ and my favourite of the evening ‘Territorial Pissings’ which opened up with the screeching dialogue of;

 

“Come on People now,

Smile on your Brothers,

Everybody get together

Try to love one another right now”

 

The audience got right into it, a mass mosh pit kicked off during their opening track and remained strong until the last notes of the second delivery of ‘Lithium’ rang out throughout the room, yes folks, you read it correctly, a mosh pit….in Dartington, can you recall the last time that happened?

 

It was great to see that some folk had come in fancy dress, one guy was wearing a full length dress, white sunglasses and had hair that looked similar to Kurt’s back in the day. It was also great to see so many youngsters there, one guy was stood at the front throughout the set and was really giving it some, oh to have half of his energy…..

 

The band played hard, maybe too hard as I found myself lying across the stage midway through their set holding the bass drum back as it had decided to go on a walkabout from its sheepskin rug! The rest of the band played their parts brilliantly, they managed to conjure enough feedback and fuzz to make their sound as authentic as possible, taking everyone in the room back to 1991.

After a frantic set, full of classics, the band left the stage to rapturous applause. Jess took over DJ duties, spinning more classics from the early 90’s, attracting many to the dance floor to throw some shapes and party like it was 1991 once again. I caught up with some friends who had managed to buy a ticket to this SOLD OUT event and we all agreed it had been a complete success and did a great job of celebrating this amazing album that was released 30 years ago.

 

Overall, an INCREDIBLE evening of live music, DJ’s, fantastic beer and pizza and great company courtesy of the NEW LION BREWERY, keep your eyes on future events in the future!

 

Words and Pictures by musomuso.com