Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!

Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! is a live video by the American rock band Nirvana, directed by Kevin Kerslake, and released on November 15, 1994 on VHS and laserdisc. It was re-released on DVD on November 7, 2006.

Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
Video by
Nirvana
ReleasedNovember 15, 1994 (VHS)
November 7, 2006 (DVD)
Recorded1991–1993
GenreGrunge, alternative rock
Length83:00
LabelGeffen Records
DirectorKevin Kerslake
Nirvana chronology
Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
(1994)		 Classic Albums: Nirvana – Nevermind
(2005)

Background

Conceived by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain, the film was intended to document Nirvana's unexpected rise to fame following the release of their second album, Nevermind, in September 1991.[1] After Cobain's death in April 1994, it was salvaged for release by surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, who completed it with editor Steve MacCorkle.

Kerslake, who had been in communication with Cobain during the film's development, revealed that Cobain's concept for the video was "much more evolved" than the version that was released, featuring "more of an interior sense of what it was like to be in the band," but "obviously, we never got to the point where that part was shot."[2]

Content

The video includes live performances, as well as interview clips, news footage and the band's home movies.[1] The live material is drawn largely from the band's 1991 Nevermind tour, with their shows at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington, on October 31, 1991, and Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on November 25, 1991, featured most prominently. This tour is also represented by appearances on the British music show Top of the Pops on November 27, 1991, and the British talk show Tonight with Jonathan Ross on December 6, 1991.

It also includes footage from the band's Pacific Rim tour in early 1992, and from their headlining appearances at the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark on June 26, 1992, the Reading Festival in Reading, England on August 30, 1992, and the Hollywood Rock festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 23, 1993.

The songs "Aneurysm," "Love Buzz" and "Territorial Pissings" are edits of two different versions, with the Paradiso version being used as one of the two versions for all three songs. The first version of "Love Buzz," recorded at Trees in Dallas, Texas on October 19, 1991, ends after Cobain dives into the crowd with his guitar during the solo, then gets into a physical altercation with an overly aggressive bouncer as he attempts to get back onstage.

The "Aneurysm" edit, which features the Paradiso and Hollywood Rock versions of the song, was used as a music video for a different live version of the song in 1996, when that version was released as a promotional single from the band's live compilation, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.[3] The Muddy Banks of the Wishkah version was recorded at Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California on December 28, 1991.

In 2002, an unsent letter to "Kevin & co" was published in Cobain's Journals, which contained numerous requests for changes to the film, none of which appear in the final version. Among Cobain's instructions were the inclusion of the song "Sifting," from the band's show at Rhino Records in Los Angeles, California on June 23, 1989, and "Molly's Lips," from their appearance at the 1991 Reading Festival on August 23, 1991.[4]

Reception

Allmusic's Greg Prato wrote that the film showed "how great the trio could be on stage," and offered "great insight into the group, just as they were hitting it big."[5] Charles Aaron of Spin wrote that it captured "the dizzying silliness of the times, as well as Nirvana's fractious magnetism."[6] According to Noah Davis of PopMatters, the film showed that despite the band's "position as world beaters," they were rarely serious, and "never played along" to the traditional rules of fame.[7] Dan Martin of the NME wrote that it showed "Nirvana as they should have been experienced: a raw, visceral, devastatingly sexy way of life."[8]

Track listing
  1. "Aneurysm" (In two parts: 1991.11.25 - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland, and 1993.01.23 - Hollywood Rock, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Incorrectly labeled 1993.01.16 São Paulo, Brazil on inlay)
  2. "About a Girl" (1991.10.31 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington)
  3. "Dive" (1993.01.23 - Hollywood Rock, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Incorrectly labeled 1993.01.16 - São Paulo, Brazil on inlay)
  4. "Love Buzz" (In two parts: 1991.10.19 - Dallas, Texas / 1991.11.25 - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland)
  5. "Breed" (1991.10.31 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington)
  6. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (1991.11.27 - UK TV show Top of the Pops)
  7. "Negative Creep" (1992.02.22 - Honolulu, Hawaii)
  8. "Come as You Are" (1991.11.25 - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland)
  9. "Territorial Pissings" (In two parts: 1991.12.06 - UK TV show Jonathan Ross / 1991.11.25 - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland)
  10. "Something in the Way" (1992.02.14 - Osaka, Japan)
  11. "Lithium" (1992.08.30 - Reading Festival, England)
  12. "Drain You" (1991.11.25 - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland)
  13. "Polly" (1991.10.31 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington)
  14. "Sliver" (1991.11.25 - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland)
  15. "On a Plain" (1992.06.26 - Roskilde Festival, Denmark)
  16. "Endless, Nameless" (1991.10.31 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington) (Not listed on VHS release)
  • "Lounge Act" from Nevermind plays over the ending credits.
  • Numerous other fragments appear throughout the video, including pieces of the band's 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live.

DVD bonus tracks

The DVD features the same track listing as the VHS release, as well as footage from Nirvana's performance at the Paradiso Club in Amsterdam on November 25, 1991, featuring the songs:

  1. "School"
  2. "About a Girl"
  3. "Been a Son"
  4. "On a Plain"
  5. "Blew"

There is also a secret "easter egg" bonus feature at the end of the credits, a rehearsal of "On a Plain" from early 1991.

Chart positions and certifications

See also

References
  1. Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! All Music Guide. allmusic.com. Retrieved on January 12, 2013.
  2. Soulsby, Nick (31 March 2015). I Found My Friends: The Oral History of Nirvana. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 272. ISBN 9781250061522.
  3. Billboard - Video Monitor (PDF). Billboard. October 12, 1996. p. 104. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  4. Cobain, Kurt (2002). Journals. USA: Riverhead Books. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-57322-232-7.
  5. Prato, Greg. "Nirvana - Live Tonight Sold Out". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  6. Aaron, Charles (April 2004). "Selling Out". Spin.
  7. Noah, Jones (7 December 2006). "Nirvana: Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! [DVD]". PopMatters. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  8. Martin, Dan (5 January 2007). [Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! Vs Foo Fighters: Live In Hyde Park/Skin And Bones "Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! Vs Foo Fighters: Live In Hyde Park/Skin And Bones"] Check |url= value (help). NME. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  9. "UK Music Video Chart" (PDF). Cashbox. December 3, 1994. p. 21. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  10. Top Video Sales (PDF). Billboard. December 24, 1994. p. 72. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  11. "Nirvana - Chart History - Music Video Sales". billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  12. "ARIA Report - ARIA Top 40 Audiovisual" (PDF) (1311). April 13, 2015: 24. Retrieved September 8, 2019. see Highest Position "HP" Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 DVDs". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
  14. "Canadian video certifications – Nirvana". Music Canada.
  15. "Latest Gold / Platinum DVDs". Radioscope (record chart). Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  16. "British video certifications – Nirvana – Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!". British Phonographic Industry. Select videos in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  17. "American video certifications – Nirvana – Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Video Longform, then click SEARCH. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.