In September 1990, a band known formerly as Fecal Matter had just deposed their latest and longest-serving drummer, Chad Channing, citing frustrations with his ability as they worked on their second album. Meanwhile, a young sticks man from Warren, Ohio was left without a band after the dissolution of Washington D.C. hardcore punks Scream.

Following some intervention on the part of Melvins frontman Buzz Osbourne, the two parties were introduced to one another and after a short audition, Nirvana had a new drummer. A mere month later, Dave Grohl, now the frontman of arena giants Foo Fighters, was sitting behind the kit during his first performance with Nirvana at the North Shore Surf Club in Olympia, Washington.

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Footage from the performance has now surfaced, featuring Grohl keeping the beat during a raucous performance of ‘Love Buzz’, a cover of the Shocking Blue tune which served as the band’s first single and appeared on their legendary debut full-length release, Bleach. During the performance, the trio played 20 songs, five of which were covers of acts ranging from the Wipers, to Devo.

The footage, which readers can check out below, also depicts a sadly truncated cover of Devo’s ‘Turn Around’, and provides a unique snapshot of the band just before they merged onto the highway towards superstardom. Grohl is a fresh-faced 21-year-old, bassist Krist Novoselic’s political aspirations are still but a pipe dream, and Kurt Cobain is just a flannel-clad songwriter in a local band.

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