Let me start off by saying: I’m the worst.

I have a deep, visceral appreciation for puns, and I love cover bands.  Genuinely.

Knowing this about me, you can imagine my unbridled delight when I came across a group called Nearvana.

You can probably glean exactly what you’re in for with Nearvana from their name alone: they’re a Nirvana cover band.  They bill themselves as a Nirvana experience – meaning they intend to recreate the full… well, experience of seeing Nirvana play a live show.  Ripped 90’s jeans, angry energy, and all.

And this Friday, they’re performing the entire Unplugged in New York album at The Wise Hall.

(Promotional art by Kat Tzingounakis / Facebook)

Nearvana boasts their status as the only Nirvana experience given the blessing of the three surviving former members of Nirvana.

The special thing about a Nirvana cover band performing the Unplugged album is that Nirvana also covered a lot of tunes on that album.  There’s some Bowie, some Meat Puppets, even some Lead Belly.  It’s truly going to be cover-ception.  A meta-cover bonanza.

Doors for this show are at 8 o’clock, and Nearvana has sourced some killer local talent to kick off the show.

The local “Base layer wearin bass player”, Timmy P takes the stage at 8:30.  You might recognize him and his bass stylings from the Vancouver-based metal/fusion group Ninjaspy, but you’ll see him work wonders with a loop pedal solo on Friday night.

Next up is Vancouver five-piece heavy, grungy rock band Sleepcircle, who count Nirvana among their influences.

Then at 10:30, Nearvana swoops in, starting with About a Girl.

You can get your tickets here for Nearvana’s November 19 show, or there will be some cash-only tickets available for purchase at the door.

I would go as far as saying this is the coolest time you can have for fifteen bucks in Vancouver on a chilly Friday night!