Watch surviving Nirvana members play classic tracks with St. Vincent, Beck and Dave Grohl’s daughter
Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear perform a searing five-song set
Nirvana’s surviving members - Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear - reunited over the weekend to perform a five-song set, with special guests St. Vincent, Beck and Grohl’s daughter, Violet, filling in for Kurt Cobain.
Held at the Hollywood Palladium, the set was in aid of the 2020 Art of Elysium Gala, which pairs artists with communities in Los Angeles undergoing emotional life challenges.
The set opened with Lithium, followed swiftly by In Bloom, where Beck unleashed a fiery, chorus-drenched lead.
Been A Son came shortly after, before 13-year-old Violet Grohl took the mic for Heart-Shaped Box. The reunion ended with the band’s cover of David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World.
St. Vincent mostly stuck to using a gold-finished version of her signature Ernie Ball Music Man model, as well as the Fender Lead II she recently employed for her spot-on cover of Little Wing.
Beck, meanwhile, opted for his Silvertone 1448, the $60 particle board guitar he used to record most of his albums.
Grohl, Novoselic and Smear previously reunited in 2014 for Nirvana’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which featured guest vocals from St. Vincent, as well as Joan Jett, Lorde and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon.
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.
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