Nirvana – Drain You (Live On “Nulle Part Ailleurs”, Paris, France/1994)

Nirvana has been one of the most successful Grunge/Rock bands of all time. Within less than a decade they made three albums, two of which have some of the most recognizable covers of all time.  

Nirvana was known not only for their music but also for their live performances. They did nearly 400 performances, some of their more famous ones being, Live at Paramount 1993, Live at Reading 1994, MTV Unplugged, Nirvana Live and Loud 1993, and the one I’ll be talking about, Nirvana Live in Paris, France, 1994. 

Each of these performances had specific things that made them stand out from one another. Paramount was on Halloween. They added a small detail to the vinyl when it was released. They used their recognizable logo, the inebriated smiley face, but instead of its typical design, they made it in the shape of a pumpkin. MTV Unplugged was arguably their most widely known live performance, where most songs would be done acoustically, or “unplugged.” 

Live at Reading was a really interesting performance, the crowd had thought the show was going to be canceled. There had been rumors spread about Kurt falling ill, and that the show would be delayed if not cancelled entirely. The band heard of this rumor and played along with it. Kurt had dressed in a hospital gown and long wig and rolled out in a wheelchair. He’s placed in front of the microphone, where he speaks to the audience. The crowd goes wild before he can even say anything. “Some say love, it is a real…” he begins to sing but then passes out on the floor. After a few seconds, he stands, picks up the guitar, and begins to play. The audience goes insane. The show goes on like normal. 
One of my favorite parts of the performance is when they begin to play “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” However, what sounds like Teen Spirit turns into “More than a Feeling” by Boston. 

One specific performance I want to talk about in this article, and that would be “Nirvana - Live in Paris, France, 1994” This Live performance has to undoubtedly be my number one favorite performance by Nirvana of all time, and that’s because of a specific track. My favorite song by Nirvana is, Drain You. 

Drain You is a pretty self-explanatory song, it depicts the relationship between two people, one being incredibly selfish, and “draining” the other of love, money, and time. In my opinion, I think the song uses the words opening lyrics “One baby to another said I’m lucky to have met you” because now it can “drain” it of its resources. Likewise to how twins could absorb one another in the womb. One of my favorite tracks off the album, and I think this performance made it so much better. What I hate is that this specific performance can’t be found on Spotify, so I had to download it off YouTube. 

In this performance, the band goes through the song like normal, Dave on drums, Chris on Bass, and Kurt… sort of on guitar. And what I mean by that, is halfway through the song, before the drop, right before the vocals pick back up, Kurt’s guitar breaks. Kurt tries to fix it in the short time he has before the drop, but it’s a lost cause. So he drops the guitar. He takes the mic. It’s funny watching Chris’s face during this part because he looked utterly confused. Kurt waits till the drop, then released one of the best vocal screams I’ve ever heard in grunge. They go through the rest of the song like normal, Kurt’s guitar still broken. 

What I love about this performance is how Kurt’s effort, if you watch the video, he doesn't really worry or care that his guitar is broken. He just goes, “Oh well” and does what he can. And I think it’s that effortless style that makes Nirvana one of the best bands of all time. 

Author: William Hillman

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