Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

I've been trying to get my hands on this DVD for a long time. It's always fascinated me for two reasons: firstly like so many other music fans across the world the chance to see a legendary performance in all it's glory, with a clear and crisp picture from a band whose cultural impact is beyond repute and who, despite a thorough mining of their back catalogue has scant documentation of their live experience. The second reason, is more location specific, for me and thousands of others, Reading Festival was my first experience of the festival culture, infact Reading pops more "festival virgins' " cherries a year than any other music festival. It has a rich history in British culture, and the chance to see the a vintage performance from start to finish from the time that tv forgot remains a mouth watering prospect.

I have to admit that before reviewing this DVD my love for Nirvana was at an all time low, I've always thought they were overrated (please bare with me), their cultural influence and importance is unquestionable, but I felt as time moved on more and more holes appeared in their musically legacy. I always suspect that perhaps in ten years time a critical backlash would occur, once we were several generations away from Kurt Cobain's tragic death. So while I was fascinated by the whole notion of this DVD, I was expecting to be thoroughly tired of an overly played, and over stretched back catalogue (for those who don't know this performance was before the brilliant and disturbing In Utero). Yet all my fears were brushed away within seconds. When Kurt was rolled onto stage in a wheel chair, parodying the then recent and rampant media speculation about his mental health, adorning a blonde wig and hospital gown before struggling to his feet to sing "Well Love Sometimes It Is A River"; only to collapse and then launch into a visceral and thrilling version of Breed. I'm unashamed to say, I instantly feel in love with this DVD and Nirvana all over again.

The first half of the performance sees Kurt and co launch into a no thrills set of unrelenting explosive and utterly irresistible hits. Breed gives way to Drain You which merges seamlessly into Aneursym before the big guns Silver, Lithium, Come As You Are and About A Girl destroy even the most reluctant critics will. It's at this point that you realize what made Nirvana so brilliant, and what makes them an enduring force, beyond the iconic photographs, the wonderful ideals, the tragic death, behind all the theatre lies a collection of the greatest pop songs ever written. And that is what they are, infectious irresistible pop songs, they work on every level, the choruses are so well pitched so subversive and of chorus the riffs and fills feel like sky scrapers crashing to earth, quite simply this is the sort of music that makes you want to pick up a guitar and start playing. There's something so earthy, so simplistic and so loveable about these tracks that they strike a chord on both a deep emotional level and on a superficial catchy bounce around the room level.

Now as the gig goes on, you get a real sense of intimacy, the stage banter from Kurt is awkward, shy and slightly reclusive, but he seems happy and genuinely thrilled to be onstage, the camera work is excellent, it almost accidentally recalls Stop Making Sense as the audience is hardly ever shown (more due to lighting and camera angles than directorial intent). You are instead thrust into the madness, like a side of stage celebrity given the ultimate V.I.P. backstage pass for the extreme close up view. While at times you may wish to see the crowd going bananas, you're in fact given a refreshing insight devoid of the usual paint by numbers festival camera work. Krist Novoselic is clearly in an ironic mood, with some goofy onstage banter (including a terrible joke), but it's all very playful, if not deeply insightful. It's after all refreshing to see a band so associated with tragedy and turmoil, having a laugh and kicking out the jams. There are some great touches thrown in, Kurt's decision to play Boston's More Than A Feeling before Smell's Like Teen Spirit is a real highlight revealing the pinched riff and toying with his detractors, diffusing their wrath by knowingly poking fun at himself. It's all great stuff.

The second half of the gig is the real collectors item and a real bold statement, after firing through the hits at record pace (only matched by a Manic Street Preachers or Beck show) Nirvana then indulge their own dirty scratchy indie credentials. Opting to showcase tracks from the forth coming In Utero, obvious highlights now include All Apologise and Dumb but this was daring stuff for a major headline slot and their biggest ever live show (60,000 attendance). In between their new ones are a mix of B-sides and cuts from Bleach, it's suits both the show and the DVD perfectly as it shows off Nirvana's real visual and audio aesthetic. They go back to their roots with harsher more abrasive yet still eternally hummable punk. It's not quite hardcore but it's doesn't quite feel like grunge either, it's like getting the chance two see two gigs; '92's Nirvana kings of the pop charts and '89's Nirvana bright young independent upstarts with a fist full of tracks and few covers. They boldly finish their set with a seven track encore, with three fascinating covers, which are both extremely rare and incredibly revealing. It's always great to see a band willing to reveal their influences and enjoying the work of the artists who formed their child hood heroes. Fang's The Money Will Roll Right In reveals Kurt's love of the irresistible pop hook, The Wipers cover shows off Cobain's punk credentials while the Shocking Blue cover is a real surprise and a great thrill.

The show has it's truly touching moments, highlighted by Kurt's appeal to the crowd to say "We Love You Courtney" after her name was dragged through the mud in the tabloids in the run up to this gig. He is clearly taken aback by the crowds enthusiastic response, he was generally touched, his facial expression was priceless, and so will you when you see this heart warming moment. After the show Kurt meets a fan with Leukaemia and while shy and a little socially awkward comes across as a genuinely nice guy. Of course even in this brief meeting with a star struck fan we still get a glimpse into Kurt's dispear as he ask the fan if he likes Courtney, he responds enthusiastically, only for Kurt to reply with a tone of sheer resignation "Not many people do these days". These moments are far more revealing and emotive than the "rock and roll" instrument destruction that concludes the live show, it's captivating but rather forced, the real eye catcher is Kurt's decision to play Star Spangled Banner while the rest of the band tear shit up, Kurt seems like he's on another planet drifting away as Krist labels him sarcastically a "nationalist", again it's thoroughly fascinating stuff.

As a package does this DVD have any real weaknesses? No, it only leaves you wanting more, the DVD/CD's biggest flaw is inescapable; it's simply a shame they played Reading before In Utero not after as there are so many true masterpieces that were left unplayed (Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle immediately springs to mind). Of course this is hardly a complaint more a tragic regret, this was Nirvana at the peak of their powers, as a world straddling giant, of course In Utero would see dark creative high point, but unfortunately the Nirvana of '93 was sadly less healthy than the unstoppable monster that was on the Reading stage in '92. The only other failure is Sliver, it still serves as a classic singalong, but it lacks oomphf live and devoid of any bombast. It's the one and only disappointment in a near flawless set. Of course Nirvana don't play around with any of their arrangements and other than some interesting lead ins there's nothing unexpected, no surprises, or one off new varients, yet this hardly matters, that was never Nirvana's style. It's hard to pick a highlight from a set that is both incredibly strong and continually fascinating but it's hard to look past a earth shattering performance of Negative Creep and a mesmerizing debut of Dumb. Perhaps the DVD's greatest strength is in fact it's lack of sentimentality, there's no documentary portion, nor diatribe about Kurt's spiritual role in rock, no talk of tragedy, it's all fun, just a straight rock show the way it should be. Ultimately this is a DVD that all music fans should see, even a skeptic like me couldn't help but fall in love with Nirvana all over again and immediately "Pick Up My Guitar And Play, Just Like Yesterday".

Tracks To Download: Negative Creep, Dumb, Breed, Drain You, Annueryism & Let The Money Roll Right In.