| Sound: |    6 |
| Setlist: | 5 |
| Enthusiasm: | 6 |
| Banter: | 3 |
| History: | 3 |
OVERALL: |
   46% |
02/09/94 - Palau Municipal dels Esports de Barcelona, Barcelona, ES
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| Sound: | 6 |
| Setlist: | 5 |
| Enthusiasm: | 6 |
| Banter: | 3 |
| History: | 3 |
OVERALL: |
46% |
After the Madrid date the band played their final Spanish concert. Barcelona was, Melora notes where "It started to become a little more fun. We got to hang about in Barcelona, maybe that's why it was more fun." Melora notes that the backstage antics were often far removed from what people would have expected from the band. As well as the bittersweet aspects of the band's fame it was also a rare opportunity for Kurt to show off the practical joker inside him. "People would ask later about the groupies and this and that, but it wasn't like that at all. The fans were nice, people you would want as friends in this weird situation of super rock stars. Some fans would be in painful ecstasy (over the music). Some people would give Kurt drawings and drugs and I know that would make him feel weird, drawings like him as Christ. It was really sick. And whenever he could, I think it happened in Barcelona or Madrid, he would start stuff from the dressing room. They (fans) never know you are in there, but if he could see the line outside the window he'd throw beers down there and they would see he was up there and everyone would go crazy"
When evaluating the show itself I found, as with 02/06/94 that the show's bad recording quality makes it difficult to judge it accurately. Fortunately I can make out enough of the show to offer an opinion (only just though).
The show starts with Breed sadly cut into around the chorus; it does seem very good despite this though. This is followed by some dialogue by Krist unfortunately the recording is too bad to make it out (as is the case with most of the other dialogue).
The bad recording also mars many of the more delicate songs in the set. About A Girl sounds a mess, Polly sounds worse and Lithium is ruined by a guy who insists on singing very near to the mike during the chorus.
The set initially is good, as good if not a shade better than the previous night. However, as the band progress the band's early enthusiasm appears to wane with only Very Ape and Rape Me seeming above average in an otherwise patchy middle section.
The set seems to pick up as it usually did when the band chose to play The Man Who Sold The World, which lends the set added energy that continues through closing 3 songs All Apologies, On A Plain and of course Heart Shaped Box.
As you have no doubt noticed despite my best efforts an accurate review of this show is difficult. Thankfully I have Lithium, Rape Me and Territorial Pissings from the soundboard radiobroadcast. This is a great help as it gives me at least 3 songs to judge how good this show is and whether the bad recording quality had led me to believe it was a better show than it was. The soundboard more or less confirms my opinions of the show both are very good but as they are just 3 songs I will not draw any more conclusions from them than that.
The Verdict
Well, it is in my opinion a good show, which tails off in mid set before picking up towards the end. It was a very difficult show to review due to the recording problems, which left transcribing dialogue and indeed reviewing many of the songs very difficult. This means that I have to more or less fill in the blanks so to speak but it is in truth a patchy show in my opinion but one I feel that can only truly be judged if a better version or indeed a video surfaces.
Review written by Matt Seward 2002