Elliott Smith- "Pitseleh" live at the Knitting Factory, NYC 1/1/00

Elliott Smith, one of our favorite artists, live at the Knitting Factory on New Year's Eve 1999 into the year 2000 (after midnight). I was at this show and obtained this video footage from the person who was filming it at the time. eventually i had the VHS tape transferred to digital, and now i'm sharing it with all my fellow elliott smith fans.
This is one of my favorite songs of all time.
you can get elliott smith vinyl & merch here: killrockstars.merchtable.com/s...

[@Magicpositions]

This is beautiful, he almost never played "Pitseleh" live. Happy Birthday Elliott Smith

[@booognish]

Happy birthday to me too

[@Gumby_Gumba]

Me too

[@jerrodbutali3990]

@@booognish why would ppl care about you tho? Are you good at your 9 to 5 or something?

[@booognish]

@@jerrodbutali3990 Im pretty good at what I do, it’s hard work though and it doesn’t pay well enough. but I share a birthday with Elliott

[@jerrodbutali3990]

@@booognish oh

[@jenniferreynolds1565]

I was there but I kept my damned mouth shut. Respect

[@readorblead9344]

what was it like? I've read he didn't mind people talking when he played, though he looks a little annoyed with the demands. It must have been amazing to see him play live?

[@jenniferreynolds1565]

reador blead it was amazing, he’s an amazing musician, I felt kind of immature only bc I didn’t know his material well, the freebird people are the jokes of the crowd. I was young, maybe 23? I didn’t know the history the man was going to make

[@readorblead9344]

Haha rad. He absolutely was a profoundly high caliber musician and writer. I would have really wished to have seen him live. Did seeing him get you into his music? The longer I listen to his music the more thoroughly I appreciate it.

[@jenniferreynolds1565]

reador blead yes and strangely enough, he got me through the 9/11 era I lived through there and when he left us I found out that am in 2003 when I logged onto my favorite music blog and I was devastated and confused His music was and is such a comfort to an aching heart. Didn’t realize that then but I always knew not to talk through the show... must be my background who knows

[@readorblead9344]

Word w/r/t his music's ability to comfort one during a dark time. I'm sure that was very difficult to live through. I'm glad you had such music on your side and that you were able to get through that time. I never discovered his music until after he died and I progressively became more and more into it until now I really don't go a day without listening to him or watching a performance. It always helps. Props to you for not talking during the show and for respecting stellar art!

[@oldaccount5217]

“Play ur favorite song” yes Elliott.. give us even more of your soul. I like how Elliott politely allows Angeles guy to get done yelling lol

[@aviside2900]

We want angeles man!! No dude....

[@breadmoneyarchival]

"Just play your favorite!" I don't know if that is the nicest or the most condescending thing a musician is ever told at a live concert. For me, it's the first one.

[@foolishonboards]

Definitively the first one.

[@kaijuking333]

It is nice, but to an artist, they generally love all their songs the same amount. No "favorite." I believe Elliott said Pitseleh was just a long boring song (when he played solo). I still think he likes the song though, as it is so beautifully written

[@user-hw4hf2zb3t]

Ed as an artist, i disagree. i have favorites of my songs and my musician friends have favorites of theirs. some songs just have a special place in your heart like no other. and yeah, elliott did call this long and boring which blows my mind. i love him

[@kaijuking333]

bee I understand. Yes artists have favorites, but it’s typically the songs that they have just worked on/written (coming from a musician myself). I do think it’s a bit of a condescending thing to yell at an artist. It’s about the same when an audience member yells out song titles. The artist usually has a setlist. If they do want audience feedback, then they will ask the crowd (which I know Elliott did a lot... he liked to please an audience). Just really annoyed with how some people feel privileged enough to yell stuff at one man on stage.

[@noverrr4508]

@@kaijuking333 I find that personally, my favourite songs are whatever the newest is. I often prefer newer songs i write because its more exciting. If you have ever written a song youre proud of you will understand you spend every minute of everyday thinking of that song until you write another one.

[@michaelsheilsmcnamee1416]

It's weird that a lot of really drunk rowdy people went to Elliott Smith concerts back in the day.

[@xXWorldgamefunXx]

Michael Sheils McNamee Otherwise it would be boring, believe me. You don't want a low energy crowd, wether you're idk Converge or Elliott Smith..

[@jespersahnerpedersen]

In this case it was New Year's Eve.

[@mlsfilms-er6bc]

​@@xXWorldgamefunXx Low energy concerts are boring, but Calm energy concerts can be blissful indeed. This music brings me to a place of deep, but true sadness within that isn't often accessed in the daily grind. I don't wanna scream and shout when listening to this. I just want to lay back and feel it's raw beauty.

[@lexremillard2549]

it was new years in NYC....of course everyone was hammered.

[@user-hw4hf2zb3t]

god, he looked and sounded so angelic in this (as he always was.)

[@Missjunebugfreak]

He really did. One of my favourite performances of his.

[@levelanchorage]

Before spotify/youtube, before Good Will Hunting, there was Heatmiser and a couple solo albums and somehow at 14, I was one of his biggest fans. I cry once or twice a year thinking about loneliness and how much he touched me.

[@aoldatabase548]

that is really cool you knew about him back then

[@medweb8690]

Show me on the doll where he touched you?

[@davewilson9738]

The silence listening to him exudes the love we have for his music, Pitseleh will always break my heart.

[@chippchipp1]

I love this man.

[@killatay2818]

Same, I have a tattoo on the underside of my forearm that is my mom's fav. flower with "Pitseleh" just below it.

[@Gabes47]

The greatest artist of all time

[@Missjunebugfreak]

My favorite Elliott Smith song.

[@littlepunkpeople]

Same here.

[@user-ub8vx8zd1d]

the banter from the crowd at the beginning is so funny “we want angeles, man!!!”

[@Sy2S]

Hello Elliott, wherever you are (and I hope that your spirit is somewhere) I just want to say to you that you probably didn't imagine to help a stranger like me but you did. You did so many times with your songs. So thank you Elliott.

[@user-vm4ci1sc7l]

This is one of the best songs ever written

[@Live4Cudi]

i just wanna yell i love you... miss you.

[@shivx1]

I found out about Elliott nearly a year after he died. That was 20 years ago. RIP buddy

[@TheresNothingToSee123]

how captivating this man is

[@SmittenKitten.]

This makes my heart just bleed and bleed...

[@syfyguerrero1536]

afrer all these years of not listening to his songs it brings back old memory damn this cat was really somthing

[@jef_with_one_L]

always looked so sad, while so adored

[@freesolja1]

god damn crowds like that did not help with him hating playing live

[@threebythestreet]

This is a beautiful lullaby that only a special few get to hear. Especially this live version. Better than the original. Us Elliott Smith fans.

[@itsgonnbeok7249]

Idk man that piano break is pretty beautiful on the album version!! i do love the live ones though

[@threebythestreet]

Yeah. The live performances feel special. Like he was playing specifically for us.

[@bacardi119]

What a great performance. R.I.P.

[@Sprtschk]

I love how it's both calm and angsty

[@rvic11]

Such a great song.

[@jala1081]

Suicide, heartbreak, separation, man when I'm sad I come to his music, when I'm "happy, gonna be productive, gonna do stuff" I cant listen to it because it will bring me down. I'm fucked up. He was too. Near his end in my opinion he was trying to leave his whole sadness behind him, probably wanted to write happy music and be happy, I can quote his song lyrics to justify, all I want now is happiness for you and me, and the redfest concert I can tell he was trying to be happier and engaged with the audience, he'd laugh with them and smile in between songs but as someone who has dealt with depression since adolescence knows it can come back, a passing feeling, took a long time to stand and an hour to fall. And he fell and committed suicide. I'm only 25 he lasted till 34. But you know that heavy sad feeling can come at 15 and you can have suicidal ideation and get down and that's it. Try not to kill yourself, like murder, if you're taught murdering is wrong early when you dont want to murder if ever the time comes when someone really does you wrong for example and you want to murder, just dont do it, that's what I say, just dont do it. With suicide if you wanna kill yourself say just dont do it, just dont do it. But cuz I gotta work, I have to ignore my emotions to work, if you're an adolescent or younger and you're stuck in your depression it can stay decent but get low, just dont do it. Elliott documented his life and got paid well by the end I think. Money didn't erase his depression. You know my belief he wanted to part with his past I quote a fond farewell, I interpret as a loving goodbye to his past depression, negative existence, sorrow, he wanted to change but it was a loving goodbye, like I know you suffered and couldn't help it but change is the answer. Imagine his sadness started on his first album and ended on his last. How many years was that? 1994 to 2003? Nine years of suffering. And it probably began in his adolescence, so earlier. One who was happy from 1994 to 2003 wouldn't understand how low you can go and how nine years of depression can really wear you down. His life was on the line and he wanted happiness at his end but couldn't maintain it.

[@chriscornellfan1366]

It’s on New Year’s Day. That explains a lot

[@caste0]

why do people shout and scream at elliott smith concerts? It's not the kind of music to shout and scream to

[@einalteshemd]

cause he was a normal guy and they knew and loved him and wanted to have a good time

[@caste0]

dude you're so right

[@heyou429]

Super weird to applaud a guy's pain. And he's got that look at the end like "the fact that they'll never get it only lightens their burden while each clap and holler adds more weight to my own."

[@copsarebastards]

@@heyou429 no, your understanding of elliott as a one-dimensionally miserable person constantly acting as some tragic figure is really much worse than any goofy crowd member enjoying themselves at a show. It's like you'd never read or listened to an interview with the man.

[@heyou429]

@@copsarebastards sorry, didn't realize that was my understanding of Elliott. It's just that I'm so angry and I don't think it will ever pass.

[@agreenfan14]

AMAZING. not the greatest audio but he still sounds like and angel.

[@dieseoderjeneLena]

thank you for sharing, it's a great song.

[@bluebird28tl]

My favorite. So beautiful. Such relatable lyrics.

[@bnowb]

Great upload.. I still miss him ❤ Elliott honored to have been a friend of you and your fiancé. I was first a fan buying 7”in records from “other music” in nyc ..

[@rodconaway]

one of the greatest ever

[@donovanjones7546]

are poeple fr "Whooing" to pitseleh? they gotta be a different breed

[@Sean-bz8ri]

Must be their favorite song idk

[@animalrevenge1058]

What a beautiful man in every ways...you would have been been good news for me no doubt

[@Topspin89]

He clearly was NOT good news to the women who actually got involved with him romantically. He caused incredible heartache and stress to these women from everything I've read. Poor Valerie probably needed years of therapy to pick up the broken pieces of her life afterwards! If you like roller coaster relationships where you're breaking up and making up all the time, then he would have been a prince to you! But for all those women who had to frequently soothe his insecurity and try to convince him that he wasn't worthless or fought with him constantly, I think they would say he got the bad news part correct.

[@klaatubaradanikto1490]

SHHHHHHHHH!! BE QUIET LET HIM PLAY DAMMIT

[@isabellarose1450]

❤️❤️❤️

[@LaFilleMange]

He looks like he's had enough of the shit people were screaming.

[@niamawar6685]

Rebecca Pink Hahaha 😂

[@kingshanethe1st]

from 4:15 on his face says it all.

[@floydlay9189]

heavy song,but beautiful again!

[@dcupach]

imagine being one of the six people to dislike this. it really makes me wonder what the fuck they had against Elliot, it really must have been personal. If you have history, even if it's bad history, (with Elliot) please just share it.

[@davidlowe9676]

Unbelievable

[@43sad3efs]

no one deserves it :'(

[@fondfarewell2]

Holy not Wheres this footage been??? Please more !

[@littlepunkpeople]

i'm uploading more now!

[@fondfarewell2]

Awesome man im the biggest Elliott fan ever. Its truly a gift to find new stuff i havent seen.

[@littlepunkpeople]

I JUST uploaded another video from the same show and I'm going to upload a cover that he did at Maxwell's in NJ in 2000...

[@fondfarewell2]

Oh sweet of what song? I'm very familiar with the Maxwell show just never seen footage. Awesome version of trouble by jon Brion elliott performed.

[@littlepunkpeople]

that's what i just uploaded, the "trouble" cover :)

[@andrewflanagan1410]

Jesus the beginning gave me anxiety

[@GB-dv4it]

They treat him like a circus animal

[@mugiwaralee9592]

Wow, this is legit sad, he even says, "I haven't played it in so long, it's so fucked up." And all the people just ordering him to play it anyways. Only thing missing is the cage.

[@golden-sun]

Mugiwara Lee ill just fuck it up*

[@jimevaldivia]

😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@Puppylov3]

The crowd needs to stfu, his songs were so personal. I can tell he didn’t like playing live :(

[@blueroslyn298]

Lol "ALPHABET CITY!"

[@mijadreams3486]

Joey Rizzo i fucking screamed 😂😂

[@ducksu_6243]

he looks so pissed

[@andreselorzav974]

2020?

[@harasssss1568]

... words nor music cannot even describe. fudge Elliott!!!! no one deserves it

[@thisis4573]

man he looks so depressed

[@ewartrob]

Probably because he's getting song names yelled at him by drunk fucks.

[@d.a.thorndike8772]

THis was around the time when he started his downward spiral, so yeah, he was probably pretty damn depressed @@ewartrob

[@kitpalmer1583]

@@ewartrob more to do with his pre-existing depression and increasing substance abuse problems than the people yelling out songs because he was *taking requests like he did at every fucking solo gig*

[@ewartrob]

@@kitpalmer1583 set and setting. There is a huge difference between asking for songs and getting screamed at when you're barely able to concentrate on being present. When you're depressed (depression from Afghanistan personally) it's incredibly difficult to interact the way you actually are, so back in the day when he was able to engage in that manner has no bearing on his ability to tolerate it at this moment. If you see a future of difficulty that's impossible to comprehend, you disengage to avoid the suffering.

[@jackwinkles3221]

He was a deeply sad person and unfortunately lost his battle, he may’ve been a brilliant musician and artist but he’s not that different from most of us commenting here and was dealing with his own pain, which he clearly had a lot of.

[@4LLT0G3TH3R]

Can anyone please give an idea what is being said before he begins playing?

[@alandavidlima]

"i dont play this in a long time, its fucked up"

[@immad60]

WE WANT ANGELES MAN

[@emanon2731]

0:42

[@somes3cretcat]

Anyone ever seen Jeff Buckley perform at the knitting factory?

[@ebbtide4233]

They all yell and then pitseleh hits them in the gut and they all shut up

[@LeslieSmith-nn3kf]

That poor sweetheart looks so uncomfortable!

[@hermeschbird]

Oatmeal Smith

[@sylviaamaral3845]

He looks so sad

[@melvaughn29]

Ya the audience sound obnoxious!

[@thecreaturewalks]

So many tools unaware of the legend that was trying to express his brilliance in front of them. It's frustrating to see that intro especially. You can see the uncomfortable-ness as he struggles to block out the bullcrap.

[@kitpalmer1583]

You're projecting. He's trying to remember how to play the song. This was a New Years Eve party and at least half the audience were friends of his and, like *every* solo gig he played, he *asked* them what they wanted him to play.

[@augustjohnnycrashed]

Free bird 😂

[@and3311]

It’s disappointing to see how often the people that go to live shows who would ostensibly give the artist respect & deference, instead resort to pelting remarks as a way to grab attention for themselves...

[@tereasia]

Jesus, the crowd is horrid.

[@michaelspoto8720]

man he looks so bad.

[@slaythembeforeme]

Yet he looks absolutely beautiful anyway.

[@michaelspoto8720]

@@slaythembeforeme yes agreed. i didnt mean it in a negative way. just can see the sadness and pain in his face