MARCH 1, 1994 – Nirvana played their final ever concert when they appeared at The Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany. The 3,050 capacity venue was a small Airport Hanger. It was far from an ideal venue for a rock show and the acoustics were terrible, though Cobain didn’t realize this until the performance began since he skipped out on the soundcheck. Cobain was suffering from bronchitis as a result of the rigors of their European tour. The night seemed to begin smoothly enough, with an impromptu cover of the Cars‘ “My Best Friend’s Girl” before moving into “Radio Friendly Unit Shifte” and “Drain You.” But a few songs later, during “Come as You Are,” the power went out.
Bassist Krist Novoselic noted the Spinal Tap-like circumstances and said, “We’re not playing the Munich Enormodome tonight. ‘Cos our careers are on the wane. We’re on the way out. Grunge is dead. Nirvana’s over. . . our next record’s going to be a hip-hop record!”
After a brief delay, the power returned, and the band picked up where they left off, but removed the next song on the printed setlist, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The 23-song concert ended with “Heart-Shaped Box.” At 80 minutes, it was the shortest show of the tour.
Because of Cobain’s health, Nirvana canceled the rest of their European dates and Cobain flew to Rome to recuperate. Three days later, he was rushed to the hospital after overdosing on champagne and Rohypnol, which he had been taking to relieve the chronic stomach pain he had been suffering from for much of his adult life. At the time, it was suspected that overdose was accidental, but in the aftermath of his death, it was acknowledged that it was a suicide attempt. A month later, on April 5, Cobain shot himself in his home. His body was discovered by an electrician three days later.
SETLIST:
1) My Best Friend’s Girl (The Cars cover w/”Moving in Stereo” sung as outro)
2) Radio Friendly Unit Shifter
3) Drain You
4) Breed
5) Serve the Servants
6) Come as You Are (aborted due to power failure and played again)
7) Sliver
8) Dumb
9) In Bloom
10) About a Girl
11) Lithium
12) Pennyroyal Tea
13) School
14) Polly (Acoustic)
15) Very Ape
16) Lounge Act
16) Rape Me
17) Territorial Pissings
ENCORE:
18) The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie cover)
19) All Apologies
20) On a Plain
21) Blew
22) Heart Shaped Box
sources