Nirvana, Live at the Paramount (1991)
On October 31, 1991, just weeks after releasing Nevermind, Nirvana took the stage at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre. (Fun fact: Tickets to this show, which also featured Mudhoney and Bikini Kill, were just a measly $10.) A film crew recorded the performance, which was later released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2011 as Live at the Paramount.
And now, in 2025, the ARTE Concert YouTube channel has released the video in its entirety, displaying the grunge legends in full 16mm glory. It’s a wonderful time capsule, capturing Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl in the early days of Nevermind’s cultural ascendancy.
The trio performs much of Nevermind, along with songs from Bleach and an early version of In Utero’s “Rape Me.” Here’s the full setlist:
- Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam
- Aneurysm
- Drain You
- School
- Floyd the Barber
- Smells Like Teen Spirit
- About a Girl
- Polly
- Breed
- Sliver
- Love Buzz
- Lithium
- Been a Son
- Negative Creep
- On A Plain
- Blew
- Rape Me
- Territorial Pissings
- Endless, Nameless
The full video will be available on YouTube until November 24, 2025.
On a personal note, my son is currently taking a guitar class, and so our house has occasionally been filled with the sound of “Come As You Are”’s opening notes. Thus, it seems more than just a little coincidental that this concert video popped up in my YouTube recommendations a few days ago.