Nirvana Unplugged in New York
Prior to writing this review, part of me was hoping that this DVD would suck so I could make some horrible play on its name like ?Nirvana:Unawesome in New York? or ?Nirvana:Unplugged in hell?, but much to my dismay, it wouldn?t be fitting. The DVD is approximately one hour long, and features various dialogue and two additional songs not originally aired on TV. The extra features also include some song rehearsals and a few fan interviews both from then and now giving an interesting insight into what the mood of the whole time was like.
The DVD begins with some minor set meandering before diving into the first song ?About a girl?, and then rite into ?Come as you are?. But this is simply a ploy to snag the viewers. The rest of the set list features a mixture of covers and lesser known Nirvana songs, including three Meat Puppets songs actually played with the brother?s meat themselves.
The whole set and atmosphere and dialogue is a glimpse into Nirvana at the height of their short lived careers maturity level. Three years after ?Nevermind? climbed the charts and nearly a year after ?In Utero? was released, it was the band in the phase of just beginning to prepare to release another album, obviously postponed due to their late singers suicide.
Musically, the band is proficient, not a single mistake that was noticeable during the entire set. Kurt Cobains drawl had a few hiccups here and there, but ultimately it?s too hard to call whether it was intentional or not. The band members here play there typical instruments, with the exception of Krist Novelsic actually playing and accordion on ?Jesus doesn?t want me for a sunbeam(Vaseline?s cover)? and Kurt Cobain giving up guitar to the brothers meat for their three song performance.
As already mentioned, interspersed between songs is the band talking amongst themselves and sharing humorous anecdotes with the audience which adds a lot of character to the band and the performance. Upon not being able to decide what the last song to play should be, after much arguing, Kurt Cobain laments and jokingly tells the audience and band ?F**k you all, this is our last song? before performing it.
Kurt Cobains vocals are of special note here, he maintains his raspy drawl throughout, and even though there are rough patches it seems to add an intimate organicness to the show. His voice is especially chilling on the last song, a leadbelly cover called ?Where did you sleep last night?, in which towards the end of the song he is nearly yelling and his tone is in full effect.
For a band as big as Nirvana was, I think it is telling of the band that they wouldn?t go the normal route for an unplugged performance and just roll through there hits. It displays some basic humility in playing completely obscure covers from bands most of the audience had probably never even heard off, but its what makes the show such a unique experience.
This performance DVD manages to be what most aren?t, spontaneous, humorous, uplifting and ultimately chilling to know that only a few months later that very man would be dead. The set itself was ironically arranged to have funeral flowers, almost as if it was a last goodbye for the band to the world.
Final Verdict: Buy It
Prior to writing this review, part of me was hoping that this DVD would suck so I could make some horrible play on its name like ?Nirvana:Unawesome in New York? or ?Nirvana:Unplugged in hell?, but much to my dismay, it wouldn?t be fitting. The DVD is approximately one hour long, and features various dialogue and two additional songs not originally aired on TV. The extra features also include some song rehearsals and a few fan interviews both from then and now giving an interesting insight into what the mood of the whole time was like.
The DVD begins with some minor set meandering before diving into the first song ?About a girl?, and then rite into ?Come as you are?. But this is simply a ploy to snag the viewers. The rest of the set list features a mixture of covers and lesser known Nirvana songs, including three Meat Puppets songs actually played with the brother?s meat themselves.
The whole set and atmosphere and dialogue is a glimpse into Nirvana at the height of their short lived careers maturity level. Three years after ?Nevermind? climbed the charts and nearly a year after ?In Utero? was released, it was the band in the phase of just beginning to prepare to release another album, obviously postponed due to their late singers suicide.
Musically, the band is proficient, not a single mistake that was noticeable during the entire set. Kurt Cobains drawl had a few hiccups here and there, but ultimately it?s too hard to call whether it was intentional or not. The band members here play there typical instruments, with the exception of Krist Novelsic actually playing and accordion on ?Jesus doesn?t want me for a sunbeam(Vaseline?s cover)? and Kurt Cobain giving up guitar to the brothers meat for their three song performance.
As already mentioned, interspersed between songs is the band talking amongst themselves and sharing humorous anecdotes with the audience which adds a lot of character to the band and the performance. Upon not being able to decide what the last song to play should be, after much arguing, Kurt Cobain laments and jokingly tells the audience and band ?F**k you all, this is our last song? before performing it.
Kurt Cobains vocals are of special note here, he maintains his raspy drawl throughout, and even though there are rough patches it seems to add an intimate organicness to the show. His voice is especially chilling on the last song, a leadbelly cover called ?Where did you sleep last night?, in which towards the end of the song he is nearly yelling and his tone is in full effect.
For a band as big as Nirvana was, I think it is telling of the band that they wouldn?t go the normal route for an unplugged performance and just roll through there hits. It displays some basic humility in playing completely obscure covers from bands most of the audience had probably never even heard off, but its what makes the show such a unique experience.
This performance DVD manages to be what most aren?t, spontaneous, humorous, uplifting and ultimately chilling to know that only a few months later that very man would be dead. The set itself was ironically arranged to have funeral flowers, almost as if it was a last goodbye for the band to the world.
Final Verdict: Buy It