| Sound: |    8.5 |
| Setlist: | 8 |
| Enthusiasm: | 8 |
| Banter: | 5 |
| History: | 6 |
OVERALL: |
   71% |
10/25/89 - Duchess of York Public House, Leeds, UK
| Sound: | 8.5 |
| Setlist: | 8 |
| Enthusiasm: | 8 |
| Banter: | 5 |
| History: | 6 |
OVERALL: |
71% |
With a few tours of America and a debut album under their belts, the band Nirvana were just another Seattle grunge band signed to Sub Pop. They had been under some scrutiny in the press around the release of their debut album 'Bleach', and were embarking on their first tour of Europe, cooped up in a van with TAD. The latter band were another north-west grunge band with a singer whose 300lb weight must have made living conditions even more cramped.
The first stop on the tour was the UK, a country in which Nirvana would gain a strong following. Regrettably, the last show they played over here was to be only three years later.
The band must have been nervous. This gig was only their third show in Britain and they had recently reduced their number back to three, firing Jason Everman who had played second guitar through the summer. It must have been preying on their minds whether or not they would regret this decision in the crucial tour that followed. However, the show must go on!
At the beginning of this show, there is somewhere in the region of a minute of crowd noise, people talking and the band tuning up. Kurt and Krist tune their guitars briefly, before Kurt gives a long, low "Hey…" over a chord. The band then launches into their long-time set-opener, 'School'.
While the guitar intro sounds crisp and clear, Krist's bass overpowers it for a couple of bars. However, this minor fault is soon rectified to produce a pretty good performance, notably vocals and a great sounding guitar solo. The scream at the end of the bridge is almost spine chilling!
The next song is 'Scoff', which appeared in most 1989-1990 setlists. Chad drums strongly, and generally the instrumentation is good. Kurt's agonised vocals really bring out the meaning behind the song.
Krist plays a few notes, possibly checking that his bass is in tune, before segueing smoothly into 'Love Buzz', which is played energetically and with fierce drive. The guitar distortion is particularly well done. The crowd claps enthusiastically as Krist jams on something similar to the 'White Boy Funk' jam from 10/31/91.
'Floyd the Barber' follows this, and its seems to take Kurt most of the first verse and chorus to get under the skin of the song. However, the performance quickly works itself up for a brilliant solo and excellent finish, Chad's drumming in particular standing out.
Kurt announces "This is a new song" over Krists bass playing, as the band kick into 'Dive'. While not the best performance of this song, it is still inherently powerful enough to work well. The last chorus is especially energetic, and the bassline stands out fittingly.
Having quickly checked the tuning for the main chords of the song, the band plays 'Polly'. It is the heavy 'Bleach'-era version, which is more aggressive than the 'Nevermind' and 'In Utero'-era performances, but this in itself lends the song a different, if less subtle, power. Kurt almost screams the last verse and chorus. There is more appreciative applause.
'Big Cheese' comes next, opening very strongly with vocals slightly softer than some other performances of the song. While Kurt's guitar very briefly goes out during the second chorus, the song is done well. The mocking anti-management anthem seems particularly appropriate considering the problems and arguments between bands and label during the tour.
There is another brief bit of tuning before Nirvana plays their earliest, 'Fecal Matter'-vintage song: 'Spank Thru'. A fast paced, passionate performance of the song ensues. The solo is mostly improvised, and it is possibly this that makes it so fitting with the song, and indeed the spirit of the whole show.
There is another short bass jam before a slightly rocked-up version of 'About A Girl'. The song is excellently performed, with a fast solo and strong vocals, which, however, do not impede the melody of the song getting through.
Next comes the gem of the show in terms of the setlist: a rare and early performance of 'Token Eastern Song'. With the song only one or two months old, the lyrics are still sketchy, with Kurt repeating the line "I'm long gone but I'll let you through / You might decide there's something there" throughout the verse. The song is performed really energetically, with a chorus whose paradox of simplicity and raw power demands attention. The solo is also handled very competently.
The crowd applaud, and rightly so, as Kurt coaxes a little feedback out of his guitar before messing around a little prior to the penultimate song of the evening: 'Negative Creep'. The performance is frenziedly fast and explosively energetic, and although it slows down slightly by the second verse, it is still incredibly raw and passionate.
Krist tunes his bass down half a step, and someone in the crowd can be heard talking about Leeds, the city in which the gig is taking place.
Krist thanks the crowd for "Coming to this place" before opening 'Blew'. Towards the end of the intro, another crowd member mentions a gig in Huddersfield to which he intends to go. 'Blew' is performed as well as the rest of the set has been, with Kurt's tormented vocals underlining technically near-perfect performances from all three band members. The solo is, as ever, very well done. There is feedback and some random drumming as the crowd applauds what has truly been an excellent performance from a band only three dates into their first European tour.
Review written by David Duell, Submitted January 2003