Paul McCartney Says Playing With Nirvana Was ‘Powerful’
Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana threw an impromptu rock concert for McCartney’s fans at Seattle’s Safeco Filed on Friday night.
The surprise performance occurred during McCartney’s encore performance. It was only the second time Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic have played together in Seattle since Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994. It was also only the second time the men of Nirvana have shared a stage in 15 years.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, McCartney explains:
“We hatched that plan a couple of weeks ago. Dave was going to come up to Seattle with his family, and I said to him, ‘Do you think there’s any chance the guys would fancy [a reunion]?.”
Sir Paul adds:
‘”He said’ ‘Well, let me ask.’ And they fancied it. So we thought, ‘Let’s go and flip ’em out.'”
Nirvana’s surviving members took to the stage where they backed Paul McCartney on Cut Me Some Slack, the original song they recorded last year for Grohl’s Sound City documentary. Grohl and Novoselic then played some classic Beatle’s tunes.
McCartney says the men didn’t rehearse except for a quick test run during Friday’s soundcheck. McCartney says of taking to the stage for a Nirvana reunion:
“When you’re playing with guys like that, you realize that they’ve been to the heights of fame, so they’re used to it – they’re not gonna freak. And they’re hell of musicians, so we learned everything really quickly. That’s what’s great about playing with guys like that.”
45,000 fans packed into Safeco Field for the McCartney concert, and, after their special treat, the Beatles singer revealed:
“They’re powerful, you know. It’s a great power to have them on stage with you. I mean, my band’s great – but when you augment it with Nirvana, that’s greater.”
Here is a video of Sir Paul McCartney and Nirvana performing Cut Me Some Slack:
In case you’re curious, Pat Smear is a touring guitarist with the Foo Fighters.
So what did you think of the bands performance? Is “Sirvana” an act you would pay to see?
