Hole Concert Checklist
Crowd surfing? ✓
Yuppies reliving the 90’s? ✓
Moshing? ✓
Experiencing the legitimate fear of getting trampled by a crowd after getting hit in the face and hair pulled? Most definitely check ✓✓
Courtney Love doing something bat-shit crazy? … Surprisingly, not so much.
Love, the front woman and only member left from the original line-up of Hole, is a scandal in a baby doll dress. The crowd was buzzing with anticipation of what she would do that night, recalling some memorable C. Love moments from her “glory days” like when she exposed her breasts or threw her make-up at the crowd. Unfortunately for some of us, Courtney was well-composed, well-dressed, and limited to only a few expletives (at one point she called us “motherfuckers”). The set itself was also far too short – only 45 minutes – which left us painfully craving for more. Maybe girlfriend is getting old. They made sure Love’s vocals were the foreground of the music, with all the other instruments as the background. There’s a scratchy, untouched quality about her voice. And especially during the slower songs, it’s violently vulnerable. Despite the short set, the show was rock n’ roll goodness, especially because I was caught up in the moshpit and singing my lungs out to her old tracks like “Doll Parts” and “Violet.”
They made me check in my camera, so I couldn’t take any pictures on my own. Thankfully, I met a kind boy named Erik on the subway, who was generous enough to send me his photos. Enjoy!
nice work!