LIVE! TONIGHT! SOLD OUT!, the NIRVANA "home video" Geffen released on November 15, will both suprise and shock those who have been selling the band like corned beef on rye. (Step forward those who plague the fans on alt.music.nirvana with their fake -- and they ARE fake -- death certificates and corpse photos). As conceived by Kurt Cobain and carried out by Kris Novoselic, Dave Grohl and fave Nirvana video-maker Kevin Kerslake, the video proves once again that no-one knew what this band were about better than they did.
Its juxtapositions, humour and the choices it makes are certainly the best presentation AND critique of their music yet. And its visual style, although assembled from many sectors, is compelling.
Footage ranges from monster arenas to flashes of band members "at home",
yet the action barrels along at a pace which takes breath away. As with the
band's work, no overt comment is offered. Yet it is clear everywhere, from
the speed with which things build, to the creeps with which the band are
thrown (step forward, bewildered host of MTV USA's "Headbanger's Ball"), to
the clearly-encroaching frustration, ennui and distance which do become
part of the picture. Since this document jumps forwards and backwards in
time, and since many, many choices were involved in the making of it, one
can only offer a thanks to survivors who have both broadened the band's
legacy AND done it justice.
From its opening joke (which concerns the Seattle Art Institute) to its closing moment (Kurt crawling offstage half in drag), it speaks directly and most clearly to the fan him/herself. Yes, the live footage is compelling, rivetting, singular. But then, it would be. The more impressive accomplishment is how, even now, Nirvana can maintain their compact with the listener, the fan and the youthful idealist. Yes, Nirvana records did change the music industry. But, despite the terrible price involved, this band also still stand completely outside of it.
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