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Courtney Love Bounces Back With First Hole Show in Over a Decade

After years of half-arsed promises, motherly tweets about hook-ups with uber-pop songwriter Linda Perry and tabloid pictures of Courtney Love's skeletal unlooked-after form, hope for Hole's first gig in 11 years at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on Wednesday night (Feb. 17) weren't necessarily high.

Taking the stage soundtracked by Ravel's 'Bolero' -- could Love possibly have been after Torville and Dean's straight 10s, considering the current winter Olympics? -- the new Hole immediately rocked it.

Bearing in mind that Love's first comeback gig was cancelled due to her being holed up in the centre of a middle-class rave-riot, it seemed that the diva in residence had saved up her bile for the Empire's gig.

Looking like former Italian porn star and politician La Cicciolina with her cascading blonde pre-Raphelite curls and jeweled head band, Love emerged bang on time resplendent before a jaw-dropping coat-of-arms.

Her trademark growl nailed a cover of the Rolling Stones' 'Sympathy for the Devil.'

Melissa Auf Der Maur's harmonies and Eric Erlandsson may have been missing, but Love's new cohorts kept it so tight it was difficult to hear anything different from the Hole vinyl back catalogue.

Love's vocals held it all together. She wailed and her voice broke and howled and cracked. The pneumatic lips seemed to fade in the lights of the the Empire too, leaving memories of riot grrrrl days or feminist tendencies, and the crowd was left wondering how Courtney ever landed in L.A..

New tracks like 'Pacific Coast Highway' were stunning in their wide-screen Americana. "This is a b---- of a song," said Courtney after, still working on her guitar licks. No surprise, as most new songs boasted big riffs and chant-out-loud choruses, all stuff Courtney should get used to. 'Samantha' -- dedicated to an absent Samantha Ronson -- was a case in point, with a shout-out-loud rock chorus of "People like me suck! People like you suck!"

But the biggest cheers and abandon were saved for old Hole staples 'Malibu,' followed by 'Celebrity Skin,' which if nothing else, should remind folk Love grunge Yoko Ono. She writes it, lives it and still makes you realise she's the kind of proper rock star that most can only dream of being. Then she dropped the awesomely huge feminist-grunge staple of 'Doll Parts' for the encore. There are no words ...

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Justme

I gotta give it to her. Her show was so damned good it was better than one big, fat fuck you to her critics!!!!!!!! She couldn't have said it in better style!

BTW, just for those of you who don't get it, the woman is on the very high side of the IQ scale. That's part of the reason she talks a lot and her thoughts jump around. She just thinks fast...either that or she's schizo, and I highly doubt that!!!!

Glad to see her looking hot too. She looked like Grunge Barbie!!!!!

February 26 2010 at 5:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
WILL

JODY WTF ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT??? THIS IS AOL NOT BBC

February 19 2010 at 8:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jes

are you kidding? courtney love is uber smart. she skipped two grades in school before dropping out. she wrote all her own songs. which shows what a beautiful, raw lyricist she can be. she did "leave it" to the new guys and they are a bunch of american idol pop tarts. who killed rock n roll. courtney love is keith richards in a short skirt. the joan jett of the grunge era when rock still rocked. she is an icon that cannot be sloughed off as 'somebodys widow', but a great artist in her own right. that can't be faked or don't you think there would be alot of 'wives' cashing in?

February 19 2010 at 8:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
johne

AND, Punk might be an attitude and a culture but it sure aint music. Some of punks greatest icons could barely play their instrument. Sid Viscious ring a bell.

February 19 2010 at 7:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Josh

I'm glad that she's starting to get it back together. I grew up with her music in middle/high school, and watched her movies. Hopefully, she can get back to the Grunge Queen she once was.

February 19 2010 at 7:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
PLR

Love isn't the best but she showed us all she's not the worst.
Drug addiction and alcoholism are rarely ever 100% cured. There's always an underlying cause and honestly, some of the greatest music was written and performed by people with substance abuse problems.
Give kudos to the fact that she did amazingly well. And let's hope she stays at least reasonably clean for awhile.

February 19 2010 at 6:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Lola

"She should retire gracefully and give the next two generations after her their stage."

F you. Music is for everyone.

February 18 2010 at 3:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Benjamin Goble

oh, i just wanted to say on behalf of my prior post, it's a truth for consider of those whom have drugged themselves into like coma thru compulsivity +/or other. i had such a hobby w. narcotics that i had to have special actions taken by a specific clausing in the medical field practicion, in no way at all. it depends. it is true though that apamorphine is way better than cyboxin after methadone, but who gets that?
it's not sad when people get high, it's when they don't want to, + live. it's not free to live for free. it's not free (in the US) to leave early. there's a cause to die from.

February 18 2010 at 12:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Benjamin Goble

fuckin right. let this be known in the spirit of the holy substance that you can go on h + rock rally, clear out for a while then get out of the happy hour death bed on some superior genetic steroid (#?) + some purile crystal meth. keep in mind it's none of that slack jawed yokel camper meth protected by shotgun shells in the light fixture. no, not that.

February 18 2010 at 12:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John

She should retire gracefully and give the next two generations after her their stage. She's so rude and crude in real life, I wouldn't listen to her music even if WAS good, and truly hers. She hypes herself like grasping for straws. And rides anyone's coattails she thinks will get her somewhere, re: Stevie Nicks, Keisha, Perez Hilton etc and name drops desperately. A big bag of wind. Hey, maybe she could blow a trumpet or horn with all that hot air. She sure can't play guitar. Buying quality or quantities of guitars does not make you a musician. Somebody should tell her that. And from her youtube demos, I'd say she's tone deaf.

February 18 2010 at 7:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to John's comment
Karl Renaud

sorry but if youve got something critical of last nights show ,fair enough,but if you want to jump on the courtney Love hate wagon then my friend take a hike.I was there last night and after all her ups and downs of the last 8 years i wasnt expecting much.In truth Hole were awesome the kind of straight ahead rock and roll that is absent in this day and age

February 18 2010 at 10:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply