Bronco Bowl
Dallas, TX
May 8, 1999

The Dallas Morning News
Love struck
Hole's lead singer lets loose at Bronco Bowl

05/09/99
By Thor Christensen

At a Hole concert, music is almost an afterthought - you go mainly to see just how gonzo Courtney Love will get.

And Hurricane Courtney didn't disappoint Saturday night at the Bronco Bowl. After finishing a version of the Lemonheads' "Into My Arms," she took off her electric guitar and hurled it at the feet of guitarist Eric Erlandson, whom she felt wasn't playing up to snuff.

After being berated for "not feeling" the music and lacking "female intuition," Mr. Erlandson angrily shouted back at his former girlfriend that he couldn't hear her instructions.

The singer apologized to the crowd, thanked it for "putting up with our wrestling match" and moved on. But it was a classic Hole moment: The unpredictable Ms. Love strikes again.

Although you're never quite sure whether Ms. Love will mix it up with a bandmate - or punch out an audience member - you can always count on her for some comic relief. After dishing up a story about the time she made out with Matthew McConaughey, she wove the incident into the lyrics to "Miss World." A few minutes later, she was lying on the stage with two roadies trying to pull a pair of uncomfortable boots off her feet.

". . . [Expletive] Gucci boots," she blurted out. "At least they sent them to me for free." Between humorous outbursts, she led Hole through a tight set of new pop gems ("Heaven Tonight," "Awful"), raging oldies ("Violet") and arsenic-laced ballads ("Northern Star"). New drummer Samantha Maloney thrashed out a solid beat, and bassist Melissa Auf der Maur made "Boys on the Radio" and "Dying" come alive with her wonderful high harmony singing.

Even Ms. Love's sour yelp of a voice sounded convincing. Uncorking a horrific banshee wail in "Doll Parts" and bawling and moaning her way through "Northern Star," she proved that emotion and chutzpah can be just as important as actual vocal talent.

San Francisco's Imperial Teen, which opened the show, shares with Hole a love for punk rock wrapped in irresistible pop melodies. But as jagged as some of its songs were, the quartet was light-years removed from singer-guitarist Roddy Bottum's previous band, Faith No More. Where Faith snarled and roared, Imperial Teen played precise, minimalist new wave that sounded like Wire trapped inside the body of the Go-Go's.
(Thanks Nanna!)

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