Like Liverpool in the 1960s, the grey, rainy town of Seattle produced a musical rock and roll movement in the 1990s. Suddenly, bands that were just playing for their friends around the Pacific Northwest were thrust into the hottest spotlight possible. Many thrived, others succumbed to tragedy.
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Thankfully, though, for fans of the genre, some of the best concerts of all time live on today thanks to online outlets like YouTube.
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Here below are three grunge concerts every fan should see.
Pearl Jam (1993)
While Pearl Jam remains one of the few grunge bands from the 1990s that is still making music and touring the globe, this concert hearkens way back to 1993 just as the band was becoming one of the biggest in the world. Shot at the then-annual music festival Sunfest from Gimli Motorsport Park in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, this show includes hits like “Evenflow,” “Jeremy,” “Daughter,” “Black,” and “Once.” Check it out here below.
Soundgarden (2012)
Performed just five years before Chris Cornell took his own life in a Detroit hotel room, this concert showcases why Soundgarden had such fame and staying power. Between the dark riffs from guitarist Kim Thayil to the banshee-like growl from lead singer Cornell, Soundgarden was for a time an unstoppable force. Check out songs like “Spoonman,” “Jesus Christ Pose,” and “Black Hole Sun” from this show at London’s Hyde Park.
Alice in Chains (1990)
While perhaps the least known or remembered band of grunge’s big four (along with the two listed above and Nirvana), Alice in Chains just might have been the most talented in their heyday. Featuring the incomparable singer Layne Staley, the group was a torrent, a force of nature. In this show from Seattle’s historic Moore Theatre, the band performs songs like “Man in The Box” and “Sea of Sorrow.” Check out the shorter set here below.
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