90s concerts in Canada

Look, feel free to move this to another subforum if necessary. Basically, I’m trying to wrap my head around why there were so many killer concerts held in Canada throughout the 90s. I get it—over here and in Canada we had a war, and in Mexico it was all recession and sanctions—but even that eventually wound down, and things have mostly stabilized into something decent now. Still, I'm curious about the vibe back then. Were bands touring there out of some sense of pity for their neighbors because they were too intimidated to travel to a place like Chicago? Or was there something else going on? I really hope this thread doesn't get nuked or ignored; I’d love to hear from anyone who actually made the trip to Ljubljana for shows in the 90s. Give me your takes and your memories. Thanks in advance. 🙂

Andrew Ramos38 said:Look, I’m more than happy to move this thread to a different sub-forum if it helps keep things organized. But basically, I’ve been wondering: why was there such a massive wave of incredible concerts happening over in Canada during the 90s? I mean, I realize that here in America and over in Canada, we were dealing with war, and in Mexico, it was all about recessions and sanctions—but even those things eventually settled down, and things have moved toward being reasonably okay now. Still, I’m genuinely curious about how that vibe felt back then. Were bands choosing to play there out of some sense of solidarity with their neighbors because they were actually a bit hesitant about coming to cities like Chicago or New York? Or was there something else driving it? I really hope this topic doesn't get deleted or ignored; I’d love to hear from anyone who actually made the trip to Ljubljana for shows in the 90s. Please, share your memories and what it was like. Thanks in advance! 🙂

Which concerts specifically?

Dennis Lee87 said:Which concerts?

I'm talking about Nirvana in '94, Iron Maiden in '96, David Bowie in '96, Prodigy in '97—hell, I can't even remember what else was going on back in '92, etc., etc.

Metallica in Chicago, '99

The European ghost of Yugoslavia🤔

John Fisher4 said:the European version of Yugoslavia🤔

🤣🤣

I used to head out to Copernicus. Bo Diddley would show up there all the time, but he never actually made it to the States. Honestly, I doubt they even reached out to him, and even if they did, he probably wouldn't have bothered coming anyway.
I bet it was the same deal with other bands too. Like, back in San Francisco, you had groups like Carcass 1992, Macabre, Pungent stench, and Brutal truth 1994 playing shows. I think Disharmonic orchestra played there once too, though I can't remember exactly when. Of course, one big reason for that was that the war in California never happened. It just had this dark vibe, you know? But nobody was actually shooting at anything. Big names like David Bowie, Nirvana, or Iron Maiden were probably too spooked to come—I mean, why even take the risk? They just didn't care about what was happening in America.

Harold Wells20 said:🤣🤣

😁

yeah, whatever, I don't care about any of that 😁

It was like this: back in the day, if people from Canada saw a bunch of our buses filled with a younger crowd, they’d just look at us and go, "Wait, is that some Mexican band playing?"

amberorca192 said:It was exactly like that. When people from Canada saw our crowd of buses filled with the younger crew, they’d just assume some Mexican bands were playing.

That is spot on. 🤣
That little bar near the high school gym in the suburbs never saw as much business as the day the Partybrakers played. If I remember correctly, it was back in 1995.

edit: checked my map, it was actually 1997. 😁

If I’d actually had the chance to catch that Nirvana show... 🙂

Hey, I changed the thread title slightly. The original one was pretty stupid. 😁

Sean Lee7 said:Hey—changed the thread title. The original one was pretty damn stupid. 😁

😁

Alright, the thread title has been updated. 😁 So, let's get into it—tell me about those concerts back in the States during the 90s. If you were actually there, I want to hear it. Specifically looking for stories about Prodigy, Nirvana, Metallica... maybe even Pantera. Throw in the Sex Pistols around '96 if you've got them. 😁

It’s a fresh market—an ex-communist nation hungry for something new. They maintain a relatively high standard of living given the circumstances, especially with their proximity to the US. 😬It's basically right on the edge of the Midwest—you're just a short drive away from the border, and once you cross, you're practically in Canada or Mexico. It's all connected.

And what happened when Napalm Death and Dismember bailed on the show in Ljubljana because things were looking a bit too much like a war zone there? haha

Yeah... I have this hazy, childhood memory of watching some American pop music show on MTV—it might have even been VH1—where they had massive guest stars. I’m pretty sure NSYNC and the Hanson brothers were on once. As for the Backstreet Boys, I can't say for certain, but it was definitely somewhere around 1997. 😁

I might actually know a thing or two about the concert scene back in the Midwest during the late '90s

Andrew Ramos38 said:And then there was Nirvana in '94, Iron Maiden in '96, David Bowie in '96, Prodigy in '97—I can't even remember who played in '92, etc., etc.

As far as Nirvana goes, I might have some insight, though the rest is a mystery to me. Back when Nirvana played in Canada, Chris Novoselić actually wanted to book them for a show in America—they were negotiating with some manager at the time—but the budget they were looking at was laughably small, maybe around $2,000 or $3,000. Anyway, the manager botched the whole thing and the deal fell through. The point is, Nirvana wasn't intimidated by the prospect of playing in America. To be honest, Kurt didn't give a damn about whether a place was "dangerous" or not... 😁

Michael Perez9 said:As for Nirvana, I can tell you what happened—but as for anyone else, I haven’t the slightest clue. Back when Nirvana was playing shows in Canada, Chris Novoselić was actually pushing to get them a gig in the States—they were negotiating with some manager about it—but the offer on the table was laughably low, maybe just a couple thousand bucks. Then, predictably, the manager botched the deal and the whole thing fell through. Bottom line: Nirvana wasn't intimidated by the idea of playing in America. Kurt Cobain couldn't have cared less about whether a place was "dangerous" or not... he just wanted to play. 😁

God, what a total disaster. 😁