And when MTV Unplugged came out on CD I bought it instantly. Pepper, Nevermind was so powerful and fresh and new with the dynamics of the songs, it completely blew me away. I believe I was 11 years old and in a way it was my introduction to my music hobby. I still remember when a friend of mine brought Nevermind on a casette home to me and we listened to it. I listen to Nirvana like once in two months but they have a special place in my heart. Nowadays I listen to Pearl Jam a lot more. I think his last public performance may have been when AIC opened for Kiss in 96 for a few dates but can't remember.Īll 3 were damn good in their own way for a variety of reasons. It was also one of the last public performances for people to see Layne before he pretty much dissapeared. Seeing Layne look like death, and still be able to pull off such an epic performance is really sad, but their music worked really well acoustic, and honestly before seeing the unplugged I didn't think it would cause AIC is pretty heavy musically.
I do wish they had done some more bleach and incesticide songs though. (Lee Ranaldo of sonic youth is one member of the audience interviewed). The actual unplugged is interesting because you get the stage banter, and there is an interview with people who were in attendance. They really stepped outside the box and utilized unplugged for what a special occasion it is: to play covers, and songs in their catalog you wouldn't think would work well unplugged. However, Nirvana's unplugged is incredible. But they are my favorite band, so I guess I am biased. Relive Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance with select songs available on the band’s YouTube page below.I like Pearl jam's best. The latter of which performed three of their own tracks, including “Plateau”, “Oh, Me”, and “Lake Of Fire”. The group opened up with “About A Girl” (the only number performed from the band’s 1989 debut album Bleach) and continued with a setlist that strayed from their more commercial hits, outside of “Come As You Are” from 1991’s Nevermind.Ĭobain, Grohl, and bassist Krist Novoselic were joined by guests including future guitarist (and future Foo Fighter) Pat Smear, Lori Goldston (cello), and both Chris and Kirk Curtwood of The Meat Puppets on acoustic bass and guitar, respectively. The band’s Unplugged performance has become so well-known within rock history, in fact, that the 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic guitar played by Cobain was recently sold at auction for a world-record-setting $6,010,000. The participation of Nirvana drummer and future Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl was also in doubt, as his notoriously intense drumming style wasn’t translating well to the more relaxed, unplugged vibe of the show.ĭespite the issues, and Cobain’s clearly fragile state of mind during that time period (roughly six months before his untimely death), the one-take, no-frills performance has since become one of the most popular acoustic performances of the 1990s. The band also went back-and-forth between MTV’s producers as to the overall direction of the performance and the band’s choice on having members of the Meat Puppets join them on stage. The days leading up to the taped performance-which took place on November 18th-didn’t go without their fair share of issues, with Kurt Cobain being beyond tense and nervous to perform a completely acoustic show (he demanded the use of effects pedals).
#Nirvana unplugged series#
Over the course of its run on MTV, incredible performances from a myriad of musical acts including 10,000 Maniacs, Aerosmith, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Stone Temple Pilots, Eric Clapton, aired on the television program, in addition to one of Alice In Chains‘ final performances as a band. Arguably one of the most popular episodes from MTV’s Unplugged series belongs to Nirvana when they put on an acoustic performance that aired on December 16th, 1993. MTV Unplugged will go down in pop culture history as one of the most beloved live performance shows of its generation.