If there is ever a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for fictional bands, the likes of Spın̈al Tap and the Rutles will be guaranteed a place. Less certain is the fate of the duo created by Toronto college friends Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol in Nirvana the Band the Show, a 2007-08 mockumentary web series that was later picked up for two seasons by Vice TV. Johnson and McCarrol play incorrigible no-hopers Nirvana the Band, nothing whatsoever to do with Kurt Cobain’s grunge pioneers, who pin everything on securing a gig at Toronto’s Rivoli club. Undaunted by a total lack of songs, they pull off one cockamamie stunt after another, many filmed among unwitting members of the public, to promote their as-yet-nonexistent show.
From smashing a display case in the Royal Ontario Museum and being pursued by security guards to jumping on to the tracks of the Toronto subway, they are willing to do anything – except simply ask the venue for a gig. Then again, common sense isn’t their strong suit. Receiving a cease-and-desist letter pertaining to their name, they are incredulous: “There’s already a band called the Band?”
