Kurt Cobain | When did Nirvana play their last live show and what did they play during it?

Today marks 30 years since Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain passed away; he would have been 57 years old this year and since his death, there has always been a notion of “what Kurt Cobain would have continued to do” in the music industry. 

From previous interviews with the pop cultural icon, it would have appeared that things with Nirvana post “In Utero” might have slowly wound down, admitting that through his love of The Vaselines he’d want to record an album with his wife, Hole frontperson Courtney Love.

But before Nirvana had a chance to break up, Cobain was found dead at his Washington home on April 8 1994, with coroners confirming that a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head with a gun bought for him by Dylan Thomas had occurred three days prior on April 5 1994. Cobain was 27 at the time.

Nirvana’s last tour, in support of “In Utero,” was a torrid affair for both Cobain and the band, with Cobain suffering a drug overdose while in Rome during the band’s European leg of the tour. However, Cobain continued with the performances - leading to his final live appearance on stage in March 1994; one month before his death.

When did Nirvana play their final live show?

Nirvana’s final show occurred on March 1 1994, as part of the beleaguered European leg of their “In Utero” world tour. The band performed in Germany’s Terminal 1 Flughafen München in Munich

What did Nirvana play during their final live performance?

Setlist.FM has detailed the songs that Kurt Cobain played during his final live performance - though the tour was to promote “In Utero,” the band actually played more from their breakout album “Nevermind” than they did their more abrasive follow-up

Nirvana’s last live performance setlist

Albums that the songs appeared on in brackets

• “My Best Friend's Girl” (The Cars cover)
• “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” (In Utero)
• “Drain You” (Nevermind)
• “Breed” (Nevermind)
• “Serve the Servants” (In Utero)
• “Come as You Are” (aborted due to power failure and played again - Nevermind)
• “Sliver” (Bleach)
• “Dumb” (In Utero)
• “In Bloom” (Nevermind)
• “About a Girl” (Bleach)
• “Lithium” (Nevermind)
• “Pennyroyal Tea” (In Utero)
• “School” (Bleach)
• “Polly (Acoustic)” (Nevermind)
• “Very Ape” (In Utero)
• “Lounge Act” (Nevermind)
• “Rape Me” (In Utero)
• “Territorial P***ings” (Nevermind)

Encore:

• “The Man Who Sold the World” (David Bowie cover) (Unplugged In New York)
• “All Apologies” (In Utero)
• “On a Plain” (Nevermind)
• “Blew” (Bleach)
• “Heart-Shaped Box” (In Utero)

Is there any way I can watch or listen to Nirvana’s final performance?

Unlike their celebrated performances at Reading 1992, Pier 46 in San Francisco as part of MTV’s “Live and Loud” program in 1994 or their show at the Paramount Theatre, there has as of yet been no official release of Nirana’s final performance.

However, Nirvana collectors (nee: bootleggers) have been kind enough to upload the full audio from the show on Dailymotion in two parts (part one here - part two here) while Live Nirvana states that a CD bootleg of the show was released under the title “The Final Curtain,” so a scout on Discogs might be worth your while.