Almost everyone who calls themselves a fan of Nirvana, alternative music, or music in general has heard Nirvana’s classic acoustic release “Unplugged in New York”. If not, then it is about time they pick up a copy of one of Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums of all-time. The clear musical capabilities and raw emotion that front-man Kurt Cobain delivers on this album are simply unparalleled.
Regardless, the recent DVD release of Nirvana’s live set at Sony Music studios was one of the greatest ideas the music industry has cooked up in a long time. More than 13 years after Cobain’s death, this show looks like it could have been filmed yesterday. The lasting impression that Nirvana has made on the music industry is immeasurable and their talents shine through on this film.
Cobain is visibly nervous as they open up the set with “About A Girl”, the third song on their debut album “Bleach”. The rest of the band seems very relaxed, as bassist Krist Novoselic bobs his head to the rhythm and drummer Dave Grohl just chills on the drums. This is the feeling throughout the DVD. Cobain seems to be pretty nervous, but is also pouring an incredible amount of emotion into the songs that he is playing, many of which were not written by him or the band.
The band plays some of their more popular and famous songs such as “Pennyroyal Tea”, “Dumb” and “All Apologies”. Cobain’s voice is haunting, and he makes a comment about how he’s been “screaming all night”. The emotion that comes across is seriously substantial.
The band then invites fellow musicians and friends The Meat Puppets on stage to play a few covers. A fan favorite is “Lake of Fire”, originally on the Meat Puppets II album. This is the last song the Meat Puppets play with Nirvana before saying goodnight to the selectively invited crowd.
Before closing the show, Cobain jokingly states “Fuck you all, this is the last song” to the crowd, who’ve spent the last few minutes blurting out requests. The highlight of the DVD by far is this final song, Cobain’s rendition of Lead Belly’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”. The “screaming” that he described earlier in the recording hits a peak here, but the viewer is not taken back or turned off by it. Instead, one can feel the raw power that Cobain and his music hold. He really lets himself go towards the end of the recording. Even when he is not playing his own songs, he is putting all he’s got into it. With the final notes resounding, one can almost sense the tragic end that Cobain would meet almost a year and a half after the tapes stopped rolling in New York and the crowd filed out of the small theater that had just played host to one of the greatest minds of alternative music.
This DVD is a must own for any Nirvana fan, or alternative music fan in general.
