However, the surprising success of the band's second album, Nevermind, which had been released the previous month, led to Nirvana being moved to the headlining spot.

The Seattle show, which also featured American rock band Bikini Kill on the bill, also had to be moved from the smaller Moore Theatre to the Paramount due to the demand for tickets.

[1] The Paramount show was attended by approximately 2,800 people, making it the largest audience the band played to during the first part of the Nevermind tour.

The show also featured a cover of "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" by Scottish rock band the Vaselines, and an early version of "Rape Me", which Cobain wrote while Nevermind was being mixed.

[4] Cobain had invited Ian Dickson and Nikki McClure, two friends of his from Olympia, Washington, to dance onstage, and they wore shirts that read "Girl" and "Boy", respectively.

[6] Seattle photographer Charles Peterson, acclaimed for his role in documenting the rise of the city's grunge scene, recalled that "the record label, unbeknownst to Nirvana, had set up a big film shoot.

Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote that "the joy of Live at the Paramount is hearing the charge of this moment: a great band newly famous, still reeling and flooded with nervy adrenaline.

"[8] Mark Deming of AllMusic compared the release to the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night in that they "captured the artists at a moment where success was a pleasure, just before it became a burden.

[11] Amazon has posted a statement from Universal that denies the problem exists,[12] but the review at the website Blu-ray.com gives the audio a score of 0/5 because of the sync issues.

The concert was released as a double LP vinyl set on April 12, 2019,[24] which came with a 12x24" poster and a replica of the VIP pass that was used on the night as a download card.