Nirvana: Live at the Paramount (1991)

"Thank you very much… So two percent of you are in costumes, personally I think that' s very lame. Unless you are all supposed to be punk rockers…"


Live at the Paramount captures the influential alternative rockers during their stop at Seattle's Paramount Theater on October 31, 1991. On that memorable night, Nirvana performed a total of 19 songs, amongst them many of their greatest hits, including "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "About A Girl", "Lithium", and "Rape Me".

Live at the Paramount is undoubtedly Nirvana at their best – raw, energetic, angry, and still untouched by fame. The band does not appear detached from the crowd but it is clearly fixated on their music, at times looking completely unaware that they are being watched. Only Krists' occasional jokes and Kurt's casual but edgy announcements ("This song is about hairy, sweaty, macho, redneck men who rape"), as well as a few inspired stage dancers, spoil the magic.

Shot on 16mm film stock, Live at the Paramount looks rough and gritty – as it should. The camera movement is erratic and jumpy, the quick zooms almost nauseating. A few of the tech guys are often seen running up and down the stage, while the rest are looking straight at Kurt, mesmerized by his singing, understanding that something special is happening.

Technically, each song is perfect. In fact, a few sound far better live ("School" and "Lithium"). The vocals are intense but free of pressure, while the solos are about as crisp as they could be. The crowd noise is only felt during the short breaks between each song.

The stage is small and very simple. Behind Dave there is a large white screen with plenty of equipment on both ends of it. More equipment is seen on both sides of the stage, with various people standing around and enjoying the show. A couple of projectors occasionally follow Kurt and Krists, but are often overwhelmed by bright red lights covering the white screen behind Dave.

Note: Live at the Paramount is the only known Nirvana concert shot to film. For the Blu-ray release, Geffen Records sourced the concert from the 16mm film and multi-track audio. The original film was directed by Mark Racco and produced by John Linson. The original concert audio was produced and engineered by Andy Wallace. The restoration and editing of the original film elements was done by Lance Bangs and Kristina Davies (assistant editor).

ALL MY PUBLICATIONS

FILEFACTORY