Nirvana was still at the height of their career when news broke on April 8, 1994, that Kurt Cobain had passed away, having died just three days earlier, on April 5, at the age of 27. The announcement shocked fans around the world and marked the end of an era in alternative rock. Five weeks before Cobain’s body was found, the band performed what would become their final show. On March 1, 1994, the band played an intimate show at Terminal 1 in Munich, Germany, for an audience fortunate enough to witness it. It came on the heels of the commercial and critical success of their third studio album In Utero, which featured some of the band’s greatest hits, including the very song Cobain would last play in public: “Heart-Shaped Box.”
“Heart-Shaped Box” Drew the Curtain on Nirvana’s Final Show
“Heart-Shaped Box,” released in 1993 as the lead single from Nirvana’s third and final studio album, is widely regarded as one of the band’s most iconic songs. Written by Cobain, the song is often interpreted as exploring themes of love, with many fans and critics speculating that it reflects Cobain’s complicated relationship with his wife, Courtney Love, as well as his struggles with fame and personal demons. Beyond its lyrical depth, the song made a major impact on the 1990s rock scene, topping charts and becoming a staple of alternative rock radio. But it wasn’t just the song that received recognition. The music video for “Heart-Shaped Box,” directed by Dutch artist Anton Corbijn, also earned acclaim, winning Best Alternative Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards and further cementing Nirvana’s cultural impact. It was, by all means, the defining rock sound of the year 1993 with its haunting guitar riff and Cobain’s raw, emotive vocals. Decades later, “Heart-Shaped Box” remains an important track for fans, emblematic of Nirvana’s enduring influence on alternative rock music.
Their performance in Germany, unknown to both the audience and bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl at the time, would take on a haunting significance in the weeks that followed. The band performed a total of 23 songs during their 80-minute set, excluding their biggest hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” At that point, the grunge classic had already spread like wildfire. And it had become somewhat of a burden for the band and sadly a source of frustration for Cobain. It had become too successful, too mainstream, to the point that he would intentionally butcher it on stage or sometimes refuse to play it at all.
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Cobain believed it was far from the best song he had ever written. In his final moments, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” — the song that catapulted them to fame — wasn’t one he revisited on stage. They instead opted to play a cover of The Cars’ “My Best Friend’s Girl” and David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World,” with “Heart-Shaped Box” closing the set as the final song. The full setlist was as follows:
- “My Best Friend’s Girl”
- “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter”
- “Drain You”
- “Breed”
- “Serve the Servants”
- “Come as You Are”
- “Sliver”
- “Dumb”
- “In Bloom”
- “About a Girl”
- “Lithium”
- “Pennyroyal Tea”
- “School”
- “Polly”
- “Very Ape”
- “Lounge Act”
- “Rape Me”
- “Territorial Pissings”
- “The Man Who Sold the World”
- “All Apologies”
- “On a Plain”
- “Blew”
- “Heart-Shaped Box”
Cobain valued his artistic vision and often struggled with the pressures of fame. He dealt with ongoing depression and heroin addiction, and he tragically died by suicide in 1994. His death ultimately led to the disbandment of Nirvana, leaving Cobain’s legacy intact. After the band disbanded, Grohl even considered leaving music altogether. Instead, he started Foo Fighters as a way to process his grief and create music on his own terms. Reflecting on this period, he told NPR: “I was heartbroken. I didn’t really know if I ever wanted to play music again until I realized that music was the one thing that had healed me my entire life.”
Even today, Nirvana’s songs continue to inspire new artists and listeners, ensuring that Cobain’s influence endures far beyond his years. While he was an artist taken too soon, his legacy still lives on. But one can’t help but wonder what could have been.
