Well, the Youtuber known as Alt Copperpot5 has done it again, uploading more amazing, previously uncirculated live footage of Nirvana. We told you about two of the other recent times Alt Copperpot5 has premiered such video (see links at the end of this post), and like those clips, the footage is superb.

This Nirvana performance was recorded at the “No More Wars” benefit concert, held on the campus of Evergreen State College, a liberal arts school in Olympia, Washington. Nirvana headlined the event, which took place on January 18th, 1991, not long after the US-led Gulf War began in Kuwait. Before Nirvana played, bassist Krist Novoselic gave an impassioned speech about the war. Dave Grohl is on drums, having replaced Chad Channing in September.

Here’s Paul Kimball of Helltrout, the group that played right before Nirvana that evening:

Evergreen was a very socially conscious environment, sometimes to a fault. But we and other bands were really feeling it. It was an intense moment. Krist Novoselic spoke at length from the stage that night, and though I remember it being less than eloquent, it was definitely right on…The big difference at this one was Dave Grohl. All of sudden what Nirvana had been trying to do finally became undeniable. The songwriting, the time on the road…The fact that Dave could harmonize with Kurt is something that pushed the songwriting way up front, and his drumming—well, c’mon! (from I Found My Friends: The Oral History of Nirvana)

Someone videotaped Nirvana, and a couple of songs (and perhaps even more), including “Breed,” aired on a public access TV program in Olympia. It’s believed that Nirvana’s entire 33-minute concert was captured, but very little has circulated.
 

A photo from the show. Can you spot the videotaper?

On March 15th, Alt Copperpot5 uploaded a nine-minute collection of clips from Nirvana’s set—partial video of six songs, as well as a portion of Krist’s speech. The recording contains performances of new tunes that were unreleased at that time, including the earliest known live versions of “Territorial Pissings” (with a guitar solo not heard in the familiar studio take) and the unnamed hidden track on Nevermind, a song later titled “Endless, Nameless.” The taper did a nice job, and the footage looks great, appearing to have been sourced from a low generation tape. As Paul Kimball noted, the band sounds incredible. 

Here’s the order of the clips:

1. Tuning
2. Krist’s speech
3. Aneurysm
4. Breed
5. Pay to Play (early version of “Stay Away”)
6. School
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Endless, Nameless

As the video comes to an end, Kurt can be seen smashing his guitar to bits with a hammer.
 

 
By the time this show happened, Nirvana had made the jump from indie Sub Pop to DGC Records, the major label that would release Nevermind in September. Nearly a year to the day after the “No More Wars” benefit, the record would top the US Billboard album chart.
 

The first image of the group a purchaser of the ‘Nevermind’ CD sees after opening the package.

A couple more photos of Nirvana from the “No More Wars” gig, then the video:
 

 

 

 
As a bonus, here’s the full version of “Breed,” taken from the aforementioned public access TV broadcast:
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Blistering, previously unseen Nirvana footage captured the night before ‘Nevermind’ was released
A young Nirvana opening the ‘Sup Pop 200’ record release party in 1988—newly unearthed footage!