KURT

Cabaret

Watching KURT is like watching a revived Nirvana in concert. The smoky atmosphere, shaggy-haired band members and heavy rock riffs lend to the feeling that the audience should be packed into a sold out stadium rather than the somewhat smaller stage of the Hayes Theatre. 

KURT is an energetic tribute to the life and music of Nirvana’s legendary frontman Kurt Cobain. The band’s grunge tracks are interspersed with breathless snatches of Cobain’s life story delivered by the phenomenal Justin Burford, who channels the spirit of the manic-depressive rockstar with his honey-gravel vocals and onstage mood swings. The narrative weaves its way from Cobain’s childhood, believing himself to be the offspring of aliens, to the wretched moment when media attention inspired child services to take his daughter away.

Surprisingly, the strongest emotional moments come not from the heartfelt renditions of Nirvana’s rich songs but from these brief interludes between. Hearing Kurt’s frank and unvarnished thoughts from his life lend an extra note of feeling to the already charged medley with which we’re presented. That’s not to say the music itself is lacklustre – far from it. The band’s sheer enthusiasm for the music is infectious and they had the audience rocking along to the pounding rhythm long before the first strains of Smells Like Teen Spirit were heard. KURT is a ferociously faithful tribute that delivers in full.