The campus that rocked

The campus that rocked

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Shows That Never Happened

It was pretty rare for bands to cancel their performances altogether. Nirvana was one act that got away, after the band dropped itself from its 1989 show opening for The Flaming Lips in the grill of the old Brooks Memorial Union. Commissioners paid just $150 to book the grunge group, but Kurt Cobain reportedly came down with a stomach illness and had to cancel.

Five years later, Swartz had his own disappointment when Paul Westerberg of the Replacements had to call off a performance on campus. "When we booked him, tickets sold out in 15 minutes," Swartz recalls. "Within two days, we got word that he had slipped a disk in his back and we had to cancel the show. It was crushing."

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