Photos by Jane Briggs
To grasp what Courtney Love's performance was like this past Sunday at the 930 Club, let me frame it with a brief story. My first boyfriend was a race car driver. While I never developed the same enthusiasm for stock car racing that he brought with him to work, on our third date he did introduce me to the thrill of racing's most delicious dirty pleasure - the demolition derby.
In a demolition derby, nobody cares what your facade looks like, or how smoothly you operate your instruments. The point is to survive the night, to slam your colleagues, to entertain the crowd despite (if not because of) your crumpled and tattered state, and to ensure that your audience leaves the arena with wild, unbelievable tales. Courtney Love, perhaps, remains mainstream rock's last remaining demolition derby - as she aptly demonstrated by wrecking herself onto the stage of the 9:30 Club on Sunday night.
By the time Courtney Love and Hole took the stage nearly an hour late on Sunday, the audience had long taken to booing the canned prelude music. "Sorry. I have a friend who is a Senator who can't really be photographed with me, so we were hanging out and I'm late," Love drunkenly explained to her fans. "What? I'm allowed to have friends!"
To say that the band Hole took the stage is a bit of a historical stretch. Love is the band's only remaining member, with her new ensemble largely brought on as hired hands. It showed. When Love would reference an obscure, demo song from Hole's past, her band would shrug their shoulders in ignorance, leaving the lead singer to reminisce by singing to her audience acapella. Throughout the night, Love would converse with fans, her tour manager, her bandmates, photographers, voices inside her head, anyone really in order to determine which song to play next. While the set list was not solid, the performances by Hole's members largely were. And despite her inebriated state, Love applied a constant talent to her guitar ("This isn't just some big, wooden necklace," she said of her instrument and of the talent to which it was strapped).
Love's inebriation actually seemed to put her audience at ease. Prior to Hole's set, a rumor had spread through the audience that Love would appear clear and sober. Fortunately, that was not the case.
It's important to pause and to note (perhaps by hyperbole) that no one who pays to see Hole pays to see Courtney Love sober. Just as no one who pays $45 to see Hole should expect to see a polished performance. That would be missing the point by a wide mark. Any critic who expects the same should reexamine their angle of critique (Of course, Love twice telling the Washington Post from stage to go fuck itself probably didn't help dissuade the paper from trashing the band's performance it its review).
Casual fans expecting a pop-punk performance may have found regret, but Courtney love never promised them a dancefloor and her life has long validated that she will do whatever-the-fuck she wants, whether onstage or off. If you don't expect to encounter that dynamic, then perhaps a Hole show isn't for you. Just as many current suburban teenagers would consider themselves fans of the Notorious B.I.G. by being quick to scream "Biggie! Biggie! Biggie!" on the dancefloor, most would be shocked - or downright frightened - to encounter the edge of potential violence at an actual B.I.G. performance back in his day. Just as Biggie was street, Love is punk. There is no apology needed for being the same person she has always sold herself, and her art, as. Love can be critiqued for the professional nature of her set, but that standard wouldn't be a fair assessment.
It would be a mistake dismiss Love's performance as merely a minstrel show of addiction. To be fair, Love propagated her share of bad moments. She questioned the allegiance of one fan due to the color of her skin. "Are you really into rock? Because, I mean, you're African American. It would kind of be like me being at Lil Wayne." Love later apologized for her "momentary lapse in prejudice," and asked the fan to sing with her on stage. Other fans were chosen by Love to sit near her on stage for random reasons, including requesting that one fan know the lyrics to her demo songs and that another know who J.D. Salinger was. "You, dude you're cool," Love said pointing at me. "We're gonna Springsteen it." Shocked, I was pulled up on stage to sit behind love on the floor of the stage for an hour-long encore. She would whisper things to me between songs, questioning "Did we play that song already?" But, I couldn't understand most of what she said.
While some were oft-put, most of Love's audience (let's stop pretending this show was about Hole) didn't see Love's state as a freak show. Rather than morphing into an object to be gawked at, Love's fucked-up state connected her with her audience. Indeed, it was the bridge that allowed Love to share her complexity, insecurity, manic thrills and private fears.
In introducing Hole's new single "Skinny Little Bitch," Love asked audience members to respond if they had ever struggled with anorexia or bulimia. While a few applauded, Love continued to goad the rest by asking "None of you ever threw up after a meal? Never felt fat or complained to a friend that you felt fat? Never criticized yourself for it?" More hands went up - including from numerous men. Love then launched into the song, having given her audience a broader context for the meaning of both "Skinny Little Bitch" and of eating disorders in general.
The show was messy, but this is punk (whether labeled alternative, noise rock, grunge-punk, whatever...the ethos of Hole is still punk) after all. Don't like the mess? Hole's 1998 Celebrity Skin album is easily accessible to fans wanting a slick, studio-produced pop album...and what a dazzling pop-punk album it is. Or, they could turn to RCA's pre-fabricated and carefully orchestrated faux mess that is Ke$ha, the poor man's Courtney Love. Punk as an artform isn't about polished performances. You won't see it at Wolf Trap. Some of the greatest punk sets are performed in the same inebriated state of mess that Love demonstrated on Sunday night. That adds - not detracts - from the genre. Love played a set at the 930 Club consistent with what many talented punk bands would be proud to play in a squat house show.
Love flashed a clarity at times that ultimately soared her uneven technical performance despite its flutters of confusion, ripped-up songs, and forgotten chords . She trashed family members and friends, and shared insights into her writing and career (such as noting that she wrote both Malibu and Pacific Coast Highway for Stevie Nicks before "snatching them back," or that the worst song she ever wrote was a song that she wrote with Lil' Kim - it was given to the band aNy giVen suNday, who quickly shelved it away to never record it because of what Love labeled terrible lyrics like "All good girls are born bad, born bad").
Love's brightest point came early in the band's set. Without mentioning Trent Reznor's name, Love warned her audience that she was about to do a cover of a song by a former tourmate who would "lose his shit" once he found out about the performance. What followed was mesmerizing. Love spliced a hauntingly slow ballad cover of Closer with an equally somber cover of Judy Garland's The Man that Got Away from the 1954 musical A Star is Born. Unexpected, and with a voice briefly reminiscent of Eartha Kitt, Love turned the two songs into a single ode to passionate longing and regret. The audience went eerily silent upon it's conclusion, before enthusiastically erupting into applause. It was personal, painfully poignant, and brilliant.
Of course, Love's spats of brilliancy came wrapped in what could pass for bat-shit crazy. That itself isn't a critique, as the whole experience blended together into a somewhat beautiful mess. Towards 1:00am, Love simply announced that she was concluding the show to go have sex with a groupie. "Guys, I've left him waiting for three hours!" she said before walking off stage.
The music industry has once again found itself employing an age of carefully crafted career images. It's a nescesity. With such small profit margins, there isn't much room left for labels to allow their artists off leash. Yet, for lovers of the history of modern rock, it's almost comforting to know that - in that tightly controlled environment - people like Courtney Love still exist to wreck hotel rooms and to trash their sets with abandon.
-------
Post note: Other critics have noted an annoyance with an assistant who filmed Love onstage with an iPhone throughout the night. Love told her audience up-front that this would occur and to not "give her any shit." Since, the audience replied with an enthusiastic response prior to the set, this review chose not to mention that.
Previously in Live DC:
- 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
- 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
- 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
- 2/7: LiveDC: Augustana/ Graffiti6 @ 930 Club
- 2/6: LiveDC: All Things Go Presents: Reptar/ Casual Curious/ Fort Lean @ Gibson Guitar Showroom
- 2/6: LiveDC: TYCHO/ Beacon @ RNR Hotel
- 2/6: LiveDC: The Kills / Jeff The Brotherhood @ 9:30 Club
God loves a cheerful giver.
Hot. Hot. Mess. Exactly what it should be. I don't think I would want Courtney Love anyway else.
I saw her at SXSW and I was THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINED. She knows what you want her to (not) do- and she delivers
you are a terrible writer.
You see, this positive review of this train wreck is why I hate hipsters.
Open story, insert self. You left out the part where you guys all sang Tiny Dancer on the busride to the next town and you had to talk Courtney off the roof of some highschool kid's house, but she jumped in the swimming pool instead.
Also, probably not best to start a war wtih the Post.
P.S. Cash is punk by your standards, Love is not by anyone's.
I wonder how many cans of PBR or "ironic" clothing Ms. Briggs was able to purchase after being paid for penning this article. Or does BYT just pay its writers in PBR and "ironic" clothing and just cut out the middleman?
David Malitz reviewed this show, but I'm pretty sure it was Joe Heim that gave her album the terrible review.
And there is nothing punk about a washed up 45-year-old. And you should maybe reevaluate your definition of "art." Art is done with purpose, she's just a walking shitshow.
All of this aside, the point of this show was for her label to make money by exhibiting the effects of a life spent self-destructing. They know she's terrible, and they know that everyone loves to see a life that's more fucked up than their own.
I couldn't even finish reading this article because it was so stupid and AWFULLY written.
awesome review, awesome
Hanging out with a senator before a show is NOT PUNK. Being drunk at 46 while telling the world you are sober is NOT PUNK. Charging $45 for a ticket and showing up an hour late and fucked up IS NOT PUNK. You got this all wrong. She hasn't been punk since Pretty on the Inside and you're just fooling yourself and trying to give your indie cred a handy by saying otherwise. This show was horrible and she lost many a long time fan. End of story.
Courtney is the hot mess that we all love. I wish there was audio of the NIN cover she did. She's brilliant in her own right, Great article, I'm going to have to start following your posts Mike.
Terrible review. No credibility. My friends and I left this concert halfway through. Your attempt at writing an article trying to make the Courtney Love show seem as something "not to be missed" is simply pathetic. The Washington Post probably doesn't want people to read this for fear that someone will read the BS written here and take it as real journalism.
Apparently any performer who plays guitar-driven music and gets really drunk to the point where can't remember their own songs is "punk". David Malitz's review for the Post was well written and honest as opposed to this load of nonsense. Terrible playing can sometimes just be terrible playing and all of the people who were pissed off have a right to be. I get the sense that the reviewer here would have been pleased if she took a dump on stage... because that would have been such a punk move and everyone else just doesn't get why it's cool to be a self-absorbed drunk who doesn't have any regard for her own "art" or her fans.
Y'know Peter, just insisting that it is "awesome" won't make it true.... Just sayin'.
DCBrent,
Mike A. wrote the article, Jane Briggs took the photos. Pleas learn basic reading comprehension before criticizing the review. Just sayin'
You're right! Now that *MIKE* wrote the article, it is suddenly taut and well executed! Jesus Christ. A shitty article is a shitty article is a shitty article no matter who writes it. Go back to contemplating the intricacies of the Neon Indian album. Please.
"Other critics have noted an annoyance with an assistant who filmed Love onstage with an iPhone throughout the night. Love told her audience up-front that this would occur and to not "give her any shit." Since, the audience replied with an enthusiastic response prior to the set, this review chose not to mention that."
From what *I* hear, people were yelling at her assistant to move the whole time. When people complained, Love screamed "FUCK YOU, SHE'S WITH ME!" or something to that effect. Yeah...sounds like the audience was totally cool with it. WICKED!
I think this review was a concept piece meant to mirror the awful train wreck that was the Courtney Love show. In that regard, it succeeds. Total punk rock move.
If Courtney Love is punk, then I'm L'il Wayne.
I love all the tight-ass responses to this piece. It's funny how worked up people are. I didn't read this as a positive review of the show, or a negative one for that matter. I walked away from this show feeling half-and-half and I think this review pretty much does the same.
157808 @DrGatewood: I couldn't even finish reading this comment because it was so stupid and AWFULLY written. Just kidding. I have sex with your mom.
How is this review half-and-half? At what point is she criticized in any way for wasting her fans' time and money? The gist of this review was: If she plays a song well, that's AWESOME! If she fucks it up hardcore because she hasn't been sober since about 1982? Well, that just proves how PUNK RAWK and GRRRL POWER and HARD CORE she is. In other words, everything is awesome. Always.
In fairness, I know @DrGatewood, and we ALL have sex with his mom. That's hardly offensive to him, I assure you.
i loved the show.. . who the fuck goes to see hole thinking it will be anything other than courtney love being...courtney love??? she gave em what they wanted.. a train wreck of a performance..
i loved it..
xoxo
157836 @DCBrent: I don't think this review excused her shittyness at all, just put it in context. I thought she was great. I thought she was shitty. I read it as = here was a bunch of bad points in her performance that were flawed. Also, you should have expected that =
How do I have sex with DrGatewood's mom?
157811 @pocketPATRICK: Pocket off? CHALLENGE!!!! Now thats PUNK!!
Wait, so since when can someone judge a review of a show they didn't attend? Unless you were there, quite simply, you don't fucking know. Courtney was a shitshow. Total mess. But who in the fuck pays $45 to see anything but that?
Label motivations, Courtney's motivations, and all of that other bullshit aside, there's no way anybody in their right mind would spend $45 to see Hole (as far as I know, ticket purchases are still voluntary) and NOT expect Courtney Love to be a rolling clusterfuck.
I was at this show and I completely agree with this review. It was strange and messy, but Love clearly spent the first hour of the show attempting to drive off people who she felt didn't really love her and then preceded to put on a much better show once she got the audience she wanted. It was a strange thing to do and I wouldn't want every show to be like that, but I haven't been to a show that felt quite so raw or where the performer so clearly needed the audience. I will never forget it and I felt like I got far more than by $45 worth. When can you spend that little money to get a story that you will still be talking about ten years from now.
@#$#^%$&^%&^%, that's what you @^&%#^$. Like I told the Washington Post &*^*&@#!!! Follow me on twitter.
"There is no apology needed for being the same person she has always sold herself, and her art, as."
What the fuck did you people think Courtney was going to do? This show was the Courtney Love experience I always dreamed of.
157806 @DCBrent: PBR and irony! Damn son, you sure gave it to those stupid hipsters!
ps. next time make fun of their trucker hats too - that will REALLY work them up LOLZZZ!!!
157841 @iandc: anyone can read a review and tell you it is poorly written, regardless of the merits of the review. And this review is just like most of the content on this site - very poorly written and clearly not edited. You don't have to be at a show to judge a poorly written review of a show.
It's very easy and and a little boring to "hate" Courtney Love for no good reason, especially if you weren't at the show and never met her and shouldn't give a shit what she does and doesn't do. It's also boring to pepper your anti-Courtney Love diatribe with references to "hipsters" and "PBR." I don't even know what that all that is supposed to mean
You know, I don't even think Courtney was drunk Sunday night. That's just what she's like, apparently.
All of this hatred directed at a woman and any person who would dare to enjoy her music or be at her show is a little disturbing. It comes from a dark place. It reminds me of all the people who hate Hillary Clinton just because. I guess any woman who doesn't behave in a ladylike manner and who tells you to go fuck yourself every now and then is a "bitch" worthy of nothing but neverending scorn.
157849 @My Sweet internet name: We should all write as graciously as you! we should start our sentences without capitalization. And we should begin sentences with "and." That way, we can critique reviews with the same elegance and confidence as you.
I actually LOVED Courtney and Hole when I was in high school in the 90s. I had every CD, even the rare demo recordings. That doesn't mean I would want to pay $45 to see a train wreck, and then have people be like "Oh, well, showing up one hour late, drunk, and then blocking the view of fans with an assistant recording the performer on an iPhone is the DEFINITION of a good show." You don't need to be there to know that. Knowing enough people who WERE there and reading enough accounts is good enough. And, for the record, this isn't some anti-woman (or womyn, or whatever the fuck is the proper feminist spelling nowadays), it's anti-asshole. Any performer, regardless of gender, shouldn't be praised for being this kind of fucking mess. And yet, here we are, defending it, because to do anything less would be anti-woman. Oh well.
157849 @My Sweet internet name: not editing is so punk
157851 @Grammar: But I didn't purport to write a review of the show, did I? And I didn't pretend that I EDIT a website or it's content, did I? If I were going to give FREE tickets to a website's writers and photographers, I'd expect them to know how to do the jobs they claim are qualified for.
p.s. your antiquated grammatical rules don't even begin to describe why this review is as bad as that show on Sunday night was
What is this "Courtney Love Experience" trip a lot of you are on? Sounds like you went to see a sideshow freak - and that does not make you a fan. Recent shows and shows from the 90's even at her most fucked up have been described as "raw, powerful, vitriolic, cathartic". That is what I paid $45 to see. What I we got was a drunk girl who took some pilly pills before the show and that's that. Her band was annoyed as fuck. Did you not see her drummer's face the entire time he sat there - biting his nails. She went off script and it showed. She insulted her bassist. She insulted the crowd. Not in a punk rock way but in a drunk sorority girl I'm better than you way. It was boorish, rude and not funny. At 46 its just sad and she owes her fans more than that I think.
@JPK just watch YouTube clips of recent shows where she only played an hour or so. If she wasn't drunk on Sunday then I'm Billy Corgan.
PS Did anyone else see the Dave Grohl look-a-like?
What was the deal with the "assistant" anyway? Why was a local DC hairstylist documenting a 930 Club show for Courtney Love on an IPhone?
157854 @My sweet internet name: Are you a virgin? Because your twat is so goddamn tight.
And the "you have bad blog comment grammar and spelling" bullshit begins. Stick to the topic at hand.
157858 @pocketPATRICK: Topic at hand: Having sex with DrGatewood's mom?
157854 @My sweet internet name: Mike A. paid for his ticket actually.
157856 @Lisa?: It's something RAW and PUNK RAWK that no one can or should complain about, lest you want to be declared anti-woman or something.
157856 @Lisa?: It's something RAW and PUNK RAWK that no one can or should complain about, lest you want to be declared anti-woman or something.
Trashing the Post is fine, but trashing David Malitz is not. The man absolutely knows his shit.
Furthermore, having attended the Titus Andronicus show put on by Positive Force earlier this year with Malitz (to which he gave a well-deserved and well-written glowing review), he pretty clearly knows much better than you do what is punk and what is not. Those guys played a fiery set, got a DC crowd to go nuts, covered Rebel Girl with aplomb, displayed a knowledge and reverence for local legends, and got payed nothing for it, with all the cash going towards charity. That is fucking punk, this is fucking bullshit.
Nostalgic, celebrity-baiting, delusional bullshit.
157862 @DCBrent: You've repeatedly say that people are labeling those like you "anti-woman" but I don't see that in this piece or in the comments.
157863 @THIS IS BULLSHIT: How does this trash Malitz? Saying that a critic should consider reexamining their angle of critique? SLAM!! =)
I might have cried had I been present to see this cunt failing to cover an Alex Chilton song so shortly after his death.
She's clearly a witch. We should round her up and burn her at the stake.
Jane - really nice piece. Enjoyed reading it. Also, music snobs and those who determine what is and is not punk are assholes.
157851 @Grammar: For the sake of spreading good style and not just good grammar, it should be noted that beginning sentences with "and" in any non-academic work is a perfectly acceptable form of emphasis and helps convey human thought and speech more effectively. Your high school English teachers may have taught you a little too well.
This comment is not meant to be snarky in the slightest (I'm not gonna get into whatever inter-feud is going on here), just to clear up a common misconception.
Ha - at first I was like - damn, our new format doesn't convey who the writer of the piece is cause everyone thinks Jane wrote this - and tried to brainstorm better ways of displaying the author. Then I realized the real reason is because Mike starts talking about his boyfriend in the first paragraph right next to Jane's name.
157864 @Jeremy: http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/comments/157850.htm
Listen. I was also at that show and I am so fucking happy you wrote this article. As funny as the Posts opinion of the show was (and partially truthful about facts but very biased because of ommisons) I loved the show.
I didn't expect it to be perfect. She's being herself and herself uis a mess and so is her show. And he band doesn't care except for the guitarist who played with her all night long and kept assisting her in songs and memory.
But I also went into 930 club telling my best friend, "I don't care if she sat on stage and read bad poetry all night. I just want to see this fucking woman." I wanted to worship her. And I did. And I loved it.
157865 @Jeremy: Well, the (probably intended to be humorous) subtitle reads a little petty and the intimation that his negative slant might have been connected to her Post-baiting wasn't terribly classy. No harm meant, this was probably a difficult one to review.
It just seems a little off-base that you'd criticize a guy who could teach most music journalists a thing or two.
Still a better review than the Post. Can't expect much from them anyway- they whine about ev-uh-rything.
157868 @Alex Nicholson: I'll eagerly await Alan's return, so that he can question your reading comprehension as well. Something tells me I'll be waiting a while, since you agree with him.
What boggles my mind about this is... 45 dollars... I wouldn't pay 45 dollars to see a lot of shows I expect to be good.
Congratulations, BYT. Your ride on the Post's proverbial coattails is going well on this one. That's what you were going for here, right?
It seems to me you WANTED to attract controversy from those readers who really liked Malitz's review, which is why you labeled it "the real review" on Twitter, no? Clearly, you're suggesting some other review already exists... Perhaps, that's the problem with this review -- it's based on some smug sense that you're RIGHT, as if opinions were facts and facts didn't exist. It should tell a reviewer something when the majority of an audience walks out of a show...(Yes, I got the information from the Post's review, not here.)
Honestly, this is bullshit. This review isn't about the show at all. It's about Malitz's review. The fact that you even mention other critics' points of view in your review says it all.
And for the record (and yes, you can start a sentence with "and"), I don't give two shits about Courtney Love. What I care about is journalistic integrity and this is shameless.
Enjoy the bump in hits today because, unlike Malitz, whose reviews I'm going to bookmark and read again, those new readers won't be there tomorrow.
WOAAAH. You people are mad insane, you people commenting that is. You have this much time to trash BYT? It'd be convincing if maybe, there were more than five of you. I didn't go see this show. I've never seen Courtney Love. I don't own any of her albums. She intrigues me. I was tempted to see this show, but run off by the ticket price. However, I would have stayed for the full set and it sounds like it was a blast.
You naysayers remind me of exactly the reason I hate going to shows in DC. Everyone here has such a fucking stick up his/her ass! I was told at one show that I must be from Virginia — where there's a lot of space, since I was dancing. At Passion Pit, people just didn't seem genuinely excited. You people could never handle shows in real places. Why don't you listen to this shit on your sofa instead? DC, land of opportunity, political correctness, and fans not excited enough to show what they're made of. Thank god Love drove you idiots out of the 9:30 Club. You complain about not getting your money's worth when you're willing to shell out $7 for a single beer. Get back to your roots and love something less than perfect.
Basically, you're the same people who at Coachella told me to go see Jay-Z over P.I.L.
Very sad to see her drunk (or whatever) again. Shame on all of you .
Somebody, save the Rickenbacker from that junkie bitch.
"Just as many current suburban teenagers would consider themselves fans of the Notorious B.I.G. by being quick to scream "Biggie! Biggie! Biggie!" on the dancefloor, most would be shocked - or downright frightened - to encounter the edge of potential violence at an actual B.I.G. performance back in his day. Just as Biggie was street, Love is punk. "
Um... what? This is retarded on so many levels.
fanboi reviews of shows are way more credible than reviews by legitimate critics. I don't know why you would belittle the review in the post, when the content, humor, and general cohesion of this article are so poor. If you are going to cast stones, please assemble a solid product.
Don't listen to the haterade, Mike A. You are welcome to come review shows of my band, Mittenfields, any time you please. You can even stand on stage with a flipcam and record me.
Hold me closer, you little tiny dancer;)
booooooring. Our posts were so much better yesterday--especially on the better washington post article.
It overwhelmingly appears that although the unconventional show I attended Sunday night was not comfortably predictable, what comically was, were the low-class, uniformed, and transparent reactions to this review. True to form in WDC about 80% of you, by my admittedly cursory accounting, are keeping with the tragic Anne Taylor Loft / "party bus duchebag," mainstream current, that is utterly tragic. I have never been to this sight before, but get what "Mike A" spoke of, for no other reason, than because he got it and I got it too. Perhaps all you self-appointed, genius music critics, fluent in Yelp-ese, should have fled at the first signs of a non-airbrushed, American Idol-like, sacharinely-sweet, performance. Oh, but wait, as I recall to my great relief, there was a refreshing exodus of the uniniatiated to the exit and to no doubt the safe haven of much "safer" more "entertaining" spot in DC on a Sunday night. Adams Morgan? All you self-appointed copy editors and tasteless "music fans" can take great "Star Search-esque" comfort in knowing that any day now, Jessica Simpson will undoubtedly roll into town, performing as expected and right on lip-synching cue, a real musician....who oh wait, doesn't play an instrument and a real songwriter....who oh wait, doesnt write any of her own material. But gosh darn-it, in between penning damning critiques of others, you certainly probably pick up enough US Weeklies to get her pain, understand "who she is" and know exactly what your recently ill-spent $45 bucks will get you. She will probaly give you all some sassy jazzhands, middle-school choreography and some "as seen in In Style" costume changes! Do enjoy in advance, and let's all do hope she doesn't majorly fuck-up and forget her lines, like she did at the Kennedy Center Honors a few years ago, in her own Piggly-Wiggly trainwreck of a way. But at least in that instance, all you recovering punk-rockers, will likely have a comfortable seat from which to lightly aplaud along with Laura Bush at that forgivable artist's transgression. Likely, you will quickly forgive her, when she gives you a sparky, "...sorry Y'all," as that will certainly be the genuine, collagen-inflated, lip service you will likely feel she owes you. I am ruined with regret that all of you "true fans," didn't likewise get your ego's restored Sunday night. Because a true blonde and true artist like Jess, one after your own hearts and likewise made in your own, whiskey-tango image, couldn't possibly likewise break her unspoken promise to you, like Courtney. Please do chime in from the clueless wings, when those other "Rock Stars," come to town, so in the event I am unfamiliar with how lame they are, I will know by your promotion to take a pass. Thanks "Mike A" for being my second beacon early in the week, amidst the dim-minded, mainstream darkness. I had a blast and as mentioned got it too, and remain thrilled to be in the minority, as represented here. I'll be back. Thank you to Hole as well for likewise delivering exactly what I came for and needed. I'll be back.
Mike A...
You dismiss a complete disaster of a show by labeling it "Punk." You should punch yourself in the face for saying that, especially here in DC.
Here's your music lesson for the day...
Duane Peters is punk.
Courtney Love is a pathetic hack.
That show was nothing more than a codependent circle jerk between a used up has-been and her sycophants.
It's unfortunate, because back in the day Courtney actually knew how to put on a rock show. Now she just does her fake druggy, "I'm so irreverent", "You don't get me", TMZ gossip shtick and calls it a day - talk about phoning it in.
Remember
Duane Peters = 49 yo Punk Rocker
Courtney Love = 46 yo Hack
I'll save you the trouble of googling Duane Peters:
http://duanepeters.net/
You're welcome Douche
157921 @Hole in none / not a hipster: TO Hole in none / not a hipster
Oh it's all clear to me now the only people that didn't like that show are Jessica Simpson fans.
All of you sycophants do the same thing. You long ago traded your love of music for a sideshow and pretend in your little head that its the shitty performance that makes it "authentic."
You, Cale and Mike A wouldn't know punk if a Doc Marten was hanging out of your ass.
Your hubris is quite entertaining. And yes all of that does make you a pretentious little hipster.
at least shane mcgowan can get through his shit, and remembers all the words even if you can't understand his banter.
hahaha
courtney bombed this one, clear from the other reviews on the tour - the dc show was... well... spehshul.
i wonder if those of you who are so stoked about how badly she bombed it would've been so stoked to be at any of the shows that went smoothly...
and if dcist pays their writers with PBRs and Ironic clothing, they're gypping the FUCK out of their photographers who don't get paid in shit.
Is the Shitshow back? I'm digging it.
Also, no one associated with this Web site has ever made mention to any sort of "journalistic" integrity. BYT is about parties, duh. Courtney Love is all about parties, too. So, thereyago.
Malitz 4 lyfe <3
Foxy Shazam rocked harder in one 3 minute song than Courtney did in 3 hours.
Mike A,
i was that African American fan from the Hole show. THANK YOU FOR FINALLY WRITING A REVIEW THAT GETS IT RIGHT!! I emailed the author of that Post review to personally give him a "fuck you" for taking Courtney's comment to me totally out of context, making her sound like a bigot, and purposely misconstruing the most awesome moment of my life with allegations racism because it makes for a sassier review. Do you know how many "that poor black girl must have been so insulted!" comments I've read online? Yeah, I was so insulted that my hero literally made my middle school fantasy come true by inviting me to sing on stage with her. it was awful, I was crying all night.
ALSO, i just think it needs to be said that I typically like Maltiz's reviews but I cannot stress enough that he purposely took Courtney's comments to me out of context for the sake of making her look like a racist in his review. When I called him on it via email, he didn't specifically respond to that criticism. Why do you think he didn't add that Courtney quickly apologized and worried that she'd been prejudiced? Why do you think he failed to add that Courtney brought me to the microphone to help her sing Big Star's Thirteen? Why would a seasoned concert reviewing pro who obviously knows his shit omit such important details to my interactions with Courtney?
157928 @yourpal: I don't know punk? Me?? Um, I owned at least two pairs of your beloved Doctor Martins in high school and my band covered Green Day aka The GOP (Godfathers of Punk) so I guess you're not anyones pal now, cause nobody would want to be your pal after that stupid comment!!!!!!!!!! HAHA
This review gets it fucking right! Omg, yes. Did people actually read this review? It isn't pro-Hole or even anti-Hole. It pretty much says that the majority of the audience paid for exactly what they got and to review it strictly from a technical aspect is a bit off. THIS is the conversation my friends and I were having right before the show. $45 ($56 with fees) was too steep, but we ultimately went because this is what we knew we would get. It was worth the entry price for the stories between shitilly (sp?) played songs - although some songs were technically outstanding. That audience was estatic. I saw Hole play back somewhere in 91/92 and Courtney Love was pretty much the same. RIGHT ON! This review gets it right.
I can't wait to see Jessica Simpson again. So fucking punk.
This review is pretty right.
There's an interview with Courtney some 10 years back in which she criticizes the so-called fans who longed to see her meltdown on stage. She said something like they got off on her grieving. I paid $45 to see the Rocking Courtney that I saw 16 years ago (Youtube search for Hole at WUST and you'll see what I mean) and that others have reported seeing at other stops where the music still came through. Those of you who thought you got something special because she was having a meltdown are deluded fools who get off on seeing someone they adore be brought down a notch. Shame on you!
If Courtney gave an interview 10 years ago criticizing people who wanted to see her meltdown - the SPENT THE NEXT TEN YEARS melting down - is that a fair criticism on her part now? It is no longer a meltdown, it is who she is. Her new album is a product of that. Her current tour state is a product of that. People aren't looking to see her meltdown - like Romans watching gladiators die before them - they're looking to see who she is, how she performs, and how she interacts with her audience as she does today. Just my thoughts.
157943 @Cale: "Green Day = The God Fathers of punk"
Well this explains why you and the other cultural tweeners posting here think that C. Love is punk.
Her act, is the hardest... fake.. "edge" you've ever seen.
i was gonna try to stay out of this but every time someone writes something along the lines of "the audience paid for exactly what they got" i feel compelled to comment. By that absurd logic, if Courtney Love had shown up on time, remembered the words to her songs and played them well and coherently, these people would feel like they had been ripped off.
It would be like paying to see Cat Power with the hopes that she would inaudibly mumble through her songs before leaving the stage with stage fright.
157977 @yourpal: Are you really this stupid, or are you just having an off day?
I still can't understand why some ditz that some dead guy fucked a few times actually has a record contract.
Comments on this review = You are TOO SOFT on Courtney Love. Comments on the Post review = You are TOO HARD on Courtney Love. Perception. Grass is always greener on the other side.
I'd just like to point out that people should not interchangeably use the words "Punk" to exclusively mean any of the following things:
A. Sloppy
B. Authentic
C. Great!
D. Chaotic
E. Independent
Punk can mean a lot of different things to different people. The reviewer here was using to mean: Loud, simple aggressive guitar-based rock and roll play haphazardly unfettered with anything like rational thought. It's a fair use, though there are other definitions. I didn't see the show and have never enjoyed anything C.love does but let's not impugn an entire genre by limiting it to characteristics from one slice of its varied and long (30+ years!) existence. Hole is punk rock, whether you like it or not. So were Screwdriver and the Rejected and various other crappy bands. No true scotsman would read this whole comments thread anyway.
157993 @Peter: wait, did you just call Screwdriver crappy????
I'd pay $45 bucks to see a Re-animated GG Allin Shit on Courtney Love while duetting a screw deriver song w/ Lil Wayne. So would anyone that loves "punk".
I almost went to that show. both reviews made me wish I had. This review reflects my point of view much closer than wapo. haters wanna hate. bloggers wanna blog. washington post writers wanna write well crafted reviews for regular people. BYT wants to give you free whiskey and take a bad picture of you.
pick your poison.
Another review:
http://www.weepingelvis.com/?p=454
157928 @yourpal: Hey "yourpal" you might want to consider changing your reply moniker to "yourtragic"...just a friendly suggestion. Thank you for bringing the comedy, as I laughed out loud when I read your comment. Truth be told, certainly more at you, than with you. I am sorry, I couldnt help myself at your ignorant expense. A little about me, since you seem so fixated. To be honest, I'd be hard pressed to shake "pretentious" as ascribed by the likes of you. Second, I'd be even harder pressed to confess that there is much that is "little" about me. Third, I'd be likewise challenged to put great distance between me and "hip," but am afraid the "ster" as something reaching, doesn't quite apply. Fourth, I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of Doc Martens now, or even back in the day when I was 13 on a fake ID seeing Corrosion of Conformity at the "old " 9:30, or 15 seeing The Dead Kennedy's at CBGB (that's in NYC cool guy), before it was a Varvatos store and the scores of arguably hardcore shows in the decades since. Why? Because they were the telltale sign of suburban poseurs like you. You who readily puts "authentic" in quotations, would certainly see the humor in being judged by my footwear, by some wannabe follower, who is probably downloading some Bangles greatest hits as we speak. Easy....not that there is anything wrong with that. Am certainly glad you found my hubris entertaining, wish I could return the compliment. Pathetically comic, to you I concede. Lastly, you seem awfully fixated on ass, maybe with any luck, if you keep featuring those hardcore Doc Martens, likely bought at Nordies, you'll get some in this lifetime. And to save you the hassle of the predictable response, no I don't think my having the good fortune to see some good live music over the years makes me "cool" or dialed-in more so than most...just some. Best to you, Your New Pal...Hole in None / Not a Hipster
Great pictures by Jane Briggs!
i love that this site covered this talentless cunt (who's responsible for kurt cobain's death)'s show but had nothing on the PIL show last month at the 930 club.
158074 @shitpipe: The great thing about BYT is that it is largely user-driven. If you want something covered, propose it to them and if they are short-staffed (short-volunteered, actually) then you can cover it yourself. No one owes you anything you fucking hipster hippie. xoxo
158101 @Alice: Best comment ever. And Alice is totally right.
yeah, she is totally right. BYT isn't lame as fuck for covering a hole show and not covering PIL, because the site is "user driven." are moonface and cocksmoker stryper t-shirt not running this place anymore?
158102 @Shauna: This is really only true if you know somebody personally. Otherwise, it assumes too much: that someone will actually read and respond to your email (they often don't), that they won't send somebody else to cover it after telling you they weren't sending anybody (they might), and that they will actually take the time to put the story up once you go to the trouble of writing it (they might not). Even now that I have direct contacts, I've still had good proposals stall or go unanswered more than once. Which is not an indictment of the site, I really don't think I care that much about how BYT does or does not choose to manage that. But it's really not as easy as just sending an email.
158107 @RIGHT: I speak only from my own experience, and I'll be honest I've never had the kind of roadblocks you've mentioned. Sure, I had to pay my dues and cover some things I wouldn't necessarily want to cover at first, but if you have enough insight to want to be involved that's what you do... you put in the effort so you can eventually be allowed creative and artistic freedom.
Providing you don't take the approach of "i want to only cover sold out shows or my personal friends' shows and don't really care about anything else" i'd say its a pretty open playing field in terms of contributing to byt. in fact, almost no one contributing to byt is anyone we personally knew before they started contributing.
158104 @shitpipe: Way to be a homophobic asshole. Your prickishness and prejudice just negated any argument you might have had. Just as no one would take an argument seriously by someone making racist comments, no one will take your argument seriously when you wrap them in anti-gay bullshit.