Review Summary: This DVD really shows what Nirvana can put out: Messy grunge that is great to hear. With Kurt's paranoid vocal style and lyrics, Dave's hard-hitting drums, and Krist's stage energy, this trio makes this DVD a great listen and watch for anyone willing to.
LIVE! TONIGHT! SOLD OUT! Wow, wouldn’t it be great to actually go back to that period, and have a ticket, knowing you would get to see one of (if not the) biggest bands of the 90’s, Nirvana. I know I’d be thrilled. This DVD/VHS showcases Nirvana in several concert settings and even has some footage of them just on the road and hanging out in ’92 and ‘93. It’s actually quite nice to see this from a band like Nirvana, that they actually have a silly and entertaining side backstage. The songs presented on here give a healthy dose of their popular and not so popular music, inviting the listener/watcher on a journey of raw Nirvana. When you pop this in, and the messy Star Spangled Banner by Kurt starts playing, you know what you are headed for: a steaming pile of grunge goodness.
What Was Good About this Recording:
The first song you hear out of the whole thing is one of my personal favorites by Nirvana,
Aneurysm. This has to be the best opener for this album that I can think of. The strummed chords suddenly get powered by Kurt’s distortion and song gets driven by Krist’s thumping bass and Dave’s hard-hitting drums. The song is catchy, and has no repetitiveness in it, quickly switching from clean to distortion and full of many Cobain “…Uhh-huhs…”’s to make this track enjoyable. The complaint I have about this is how the recording switches to a different venue midway through, and I personally loved the sound of the first venue a lot more. Not to mention Dave and Kurt are wearing girl clothes and Krist is wearing purple tight spandex pants and a shirt that dates WAY back on the second venue. Well, it also shows the guy’s really know how to mix it up in concerts.
There are many other good mentions in songs that went really well for them on this recording. The song
Dive takes a good turn on this recording. Though it is at the same venue that I complained about Aneurysm, it sounds better on this recording. Kurt’s raspy vocals and the overall sound of the three instruments make an atmosphere that shows Nirvana as the muddy grunge band that we all know. The short-lived, but very soothing recording of
Something in the Way, showed what a great idea they had(which I will explain later).
The always hard-hitting
Negative Creep shows Kurt’s enraged screams at their best, and the wailing guitar of
Breed is different from the low and murky sounds that the band usually chugs out.
Lithium also shows great force on this, being one of the best recording I’ve heard of it because of it’s clarity. That catchy bridge after the second and third chorus always gets me. The last song that just gets me on this is the last listed which is
On a Plain. Again, everything was clear and it was executed perfectly, and I haven’t heard this live electric before until this tape, which is another plus.
The stuff behind the scenes is also cool also, and just plain funny. Krist has to be hands down the funniest guy in Nirvana. He is just so out there and is just making stuff up all the time. Grohl is next in line, his little cadence thing on the plane was pretty funny with just how random it was. Even Kurt has his moment, and I would’ve thought him to be a somber guy the whole time, but that’s why I said it was good they had these on here. It showed the viewer that they all had a sense of humor and were still real.
Finally, I would like to commend the guys on great performances. These guy’s really nail the performances on this, and Kurt’s vocals sound really good here, which I wasn’t expecting from him live. They don’t change up too much stuff, but just the mold of the three members is perfect for the kind of music they play. The energy they put out is great too. Krist never looks bored, always jumping around. Dave and Kurt are more subtle onstage, but their style of playing just breeds energy and sends it to the crowd.
What Wasn’t So Good:
Now there wasn’t too much bad about this, but this definitely isn’t perfect. The first problem I have is that
Smells Like Teen Spirit isn’t really played by the band. This isn’t a personal gripe by me, because I don’t love the song, but people that really love that song might be a little mad seeing an imitation band play it at this little awards thing with a singer that sings an octave lower than Kurt. When Nirvana plays it before it skips to the little awards thing, it looks like Kurt breaks a string and Krist says, “I guess we’ll skip that one!”
Another complaint is how they play some of the songs. Like on
Love Buzz, they get all the way to the second chorus, and during the bridge Kurt jumps in the pit and then gets surfed back up, hitting the security guard with his guitar on the way, causing a fight. This ended the performance, and I thought it was pretty cool seeing the fight, but then we go to another venue and they start the song at the 2nd verse again. I don’t know, that just bummed me out, because it just got repetitive. The vocals on
Come As You Are are also sketchy, and I mean sketchy by screaming-as-loud-as-you-can sketchy. Kurt just unloads on this song, and I’m kind of sad to see this, being another one of my favorite songs. This does provide a change-up though, and it shows just how much energy they have in venues. It’s weird how one of the softest songs they’ve done was sung the loudest on this recording. Also,
Something in the Way is amazing, with Kurt smashing on the distortion for the chorus, making this sound epic. This track is full of emotion, and if they only made it last longer, this would be one of the highlights of this DVD.
The last complaint I have is the huge set of interview questions before
On a Plain. In fact, when I first watched this, I thought it was over when all of these things went on. The feedback in the background gets a little irritating also, though I’m all for noise music. If they cut out maybe 2-3 minutes of the interviewing and put it at the end of the DVD, that would’ve been great.
Secret!!!
They also play the secret song from “Nevermind”,
Endless Nameless. The performance is good, and Krist tells the audience, “Since it’s Halloween, we’re going to play the secret song!” It was great to see them perform this and then just smash their equipment to pieces after they played. Another enjoyable (secret) track.
Overall, this is a very decent DVD/VHS, and rarely becomes repetitive. The performances by they guys are spot on, the behind the scenes stuff is always enjoyable (I still laugh at the stuff the members do). This just shows that the poppiness of “Nevermind” really was a fluke, which might turn some people off that really liked the “clean” Nirvana. To those that like Nirvana or grunge in general, I would pick this up if you can. It’s an enjoyable watch for me after having it for awhile now, and if you don’t diss it immediately saying “It’s Nirvana”, you might be surprised.
4/5
This Message Edited On 09.21.06
