Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, early in his career, would go out and socialize with other performers. He would listen to other performances and Nirvana would just enjoy themselves after their set was finished.
Nirvana’s longtime sound engineer Craig Montgomery shared stories of Cobain trolling journalists and being laidback after their performances. He also recalled Cobain’s hilarious “prank” on Ramones in an interview with American Songwriter.
Montgomery said that when they were at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium, they got to have a lot of fun by hanging out with other people from bands and crews after they were done playing.
Black Francis and Ramones were also playing at the festival. Francis was traveling with two people but Ramones had their big touring party band and crew. In the catering, Montgomery recalls, they had tables set up for each group with placards on them.
So Cobain switched Francis’ placard with Ramones’. Since Francis was traveling with only two other people, his table was small, and Ramones had a large table for 20 reserved for them.
Montgomery said someone probably figured that out before too long, but it was a funny prank for him.
He also recalled the time when Nirvana appeared at the Reading Festival for the second time in 1992. There was tabloid speculation on whether Nirvana would play or not. To troll journalists, Cobain came out in a wheelchair on stage, pretending he cannot perform.
