Shrine Auditorium
Los Angeles, CA
Dec 11, 1998

From Rolling Stone (January 21, 1999) Random Notes by Anthony Bozza:

The halls were decked at KROQ's two-night Christmas show at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium, as Depeche Mode, Korn, Barenaked Ladies, and others filled the joint with enought fa-la-las to raise tens of thousands for abused children. Billy Corgan stole the show with stirring acoustic renditions of "Muzzle" and "Disarm," but Santa's real surprise came during Hole's set, when Courtney Love and the band were joined by capable guitarist-actor-boyfriend Ed Norton for a song. Before heading off to do a secret show at the Roxy, Love took time to sort the naughty from the nice. "I'm looking in the front row and there's huge music-industry executives' daughters - the fucking great underclass of L.A.," she said. "These radio shows are the new payola, although I don't feel involved, and if I felt I was being blackmailed, I just wouldn' fucking do it, would you? But I like KROQ - they played us when we were really, really punk rock." And to all a good night.

From Sonicnet (Thanks Nanna!):
Hole Play After-Hours Show At L.A. Club
Set at Roxy followed Friday night appearance at 'Almost Acoustic Christmas' festival at Shrine.
Contributing Editor Teri vanHorn reports:
LOS ANGELES -- Hole played a surprise doubleheader here over the weekend, including a rare club gig that gave about 500 lucky fans a chance to experience outrageous frontwoman Courtney Love up close and personal. After joining thrashers Korn, punk-rockers Offspring and other bands at the Shrine Auditorium for the first night of KROQ-FM's two-night, "Almost Acoustic Christmas" festival Friday, the punk-pop band moved to the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip for an unannounced, after-hours set the following morning. "It was the best time we've had in, like, 10 years." -- Eric Erlandson, Hole guitarist "It was the best time we've had in, like, 10 years," guitarist Eric Erlandson said after the latter show.Fans tipped off to the unplanned performance paid less than $10 for a ticket and began packing the Roxy shortly after midnight. Many had learned about the club show when Love made the announcement during the Shrine performance. The club holds about 500 people; the Shrine, in comparison, seats 6,000. "It was super cool. I got to see Hole twice in one night," Angela Doyle, 18, who caught both gigs, said. "This one was better, though. Courtney was a lot more open and closer -- she was kind-of snotty at the Shrine -- and here they played better songs and more songs." If it were up to Hole's frontwoman, more people would have had the chance to enjoy the rare club gig. About mid-set, the club's side door swung open, revealing about a dozen fans stuck outside. Love urged them to gate-crash the show. "Chaos is good," she said, jumping up and down. But the club's security force had the door slammed shut within seconds. Hole took the stage just after 1:30 a.m., and began with "Pretty on the Inside" (RealAudio excerpt), the enraged-punk title track to their 1991 debut album. Then they played a roughed-up version of "Heaven Tonight," a love song from their latest release, Celebrity Skin. In case anyone missed the point in juxtaposing the songs, Love told the audience: "See, there's no difference between those two songs. That was a lesson." Love wore a low-cut, long, black leather dress, glitter on her face and shiny decorations in her blond locks for the two-hour performance. And despite a more intimate atmosphere, her dynamic take-charge and often contradictory nature was in full bloom, whether she was scolding an unruly fan or blaming Erlandson for a musical mistake she actually made. Only after thoroughly chewing him out did she admit that the fault was her own. Actor Edward Norton, with whom Love has been romantically linked, accompanied the band on guitar for three tunes. Earlier, at the Shrine, he joined Hole for an acoustic version of the single "Malibu." "Like we need another boy on this stage," Love said as she watched Norton, in a black T-shirt and black pants, take his position behind her at the Roxy. Love told the crowd he had won a contest to play with Hole. Norton played "Malibu" again at the club, and remained onstage for the B-side, "Beautiful Son" (RealAudio excerpt), and the new album's "Boys on the Radio." "It seemed like he really could play," Janese Nelson, 20, said. "He's an awesome actor, but maybe he should quit acting and join Hole." Love ended the show by tossing her guitar into the crowd -- a new habit that seems to have replaced her ritual of plunging herself into the crowd. But as fans fought over the instrument, Erlandson and some stagehands retrieved it. Then they picked a female fan and, swapping the original guitar for a pink one with the word "Dork" written on it, presented her with the prize. "I had to throw beer on a guy to get it back," Erlandson said. "But Courtney likes a girl to get the guitar."

From Los Angeles Times (Thanks Sean!):
KROQ Christmas Benefit Turns Into Smashing Love Fest
Day One Courtney the celebrity shines at the Shrine, but even a later, longer set at the Roxy raises questions.
By POP MUSIC REVIEW ROBERT HILBURN, Times Pop Music Critic
Was there really any doubt that the ultra-competitive Courtney Love would steal the spotlight during the opening night of KROQ's weekend pair of Almost Acoustic Christmas benefit concerts at the Shrine Auditorium? Hard-rock melodramatists Korn charmed the mostly teenage crowd by walking on stage with a squad of Scottish-clad bagpipe players. And streetwise Offspring caught everyone off-guard by teaming up with pop's unhippest figure, rapper Vanilla Ice, during its hip-hop-styled satire, "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)." But Love, who has begun to slowly retest live performances with her band Hole after a lengthy hiatus devoted to acting and recording a new album, simply outmaneuvered them. First, she guaranteed herself a choice spot in Rolling Stone's "Random Notes" by bringing out actor Edward Norton, her reclusive beau, to play guitar on "Malibu," an enchanting song from the band's new "Celebrity Skin" album. Then, Love, who has resisted even acknowledging a relationship with Norton, gave him a kiss and climbed aboard for a brief piggy-back ride. To capture the night's spotlight even more, Love announced that Hole's short Shrine set would be followed by a full-length, after-midnight performance at the Roxy. Suddenly, the KROQ benefit was no longer the most exclusive ticket of the night. As prized as the tickets are, 6,000 fans got to see the Shrine event. Fewer than 500 could crowd into the Roxy. More important, the Roxy set's additional length would give us a glimpse of how Love and Hole are progressing at a time when many in the industry feel the band is at a crossroads. The transformation of Love from punk goddess to Hollywood glamour puss has shattered her credibility in some pop-rock circles, and the question is whether she can win it back. The "Celebrity Skin" album is a great start, but the battle will be won on stage and the Roxy show underscored the challenge. In both the Shrine and Roxy sets, Love showed she is one of rock's most charismatic and electric figures, someone capable of bringing passion, risk-taking and individuality to her own music. There were flashes of brilliance in the loose, informal 90-plus-minute Roxy set, which ended at 3:15 a.m. But the raggedness of the latter set--the pacing was off, the "Celebrity Skin" songs didn't soar melodically the way they do on record and Love failed to step into the emotional heart of some of the new songs--pointed out the difficulties of being a part-time musician. By the end of the Roxy set, which included such surprise covers as Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," you wondered whether Love, with her acting options and her A-list celebrity status, is willing to pay the price that rock 'n' roll demands. For all the valuable things she brings to the music, she's not irresistible enough to captivate us by simply stepping on stage. Talent and inspiration are key elements of rock excellence, but so is commitment--and that's what Love needs to demonstrate, preferably with a tour that begins answering questions.

From MTV news (Thanks Nanna!):
Hole Caps Off Promo Tour With Surprise Roxy Gig
Hole played a semi-surprise, late-night show at the Roxy in Los Angeles last Friday night, and the sold-out crowd witnessed Courtney Love and company rock, if ever so fashionably, through a two-hour set. The group also tossed out a wildly varied batch of covers during the show, including the Lemonheads' "Into Your Arms," Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and the Velvet Underground classic, "Pale Blue Eyes." Frontwoman Courtney Love also brought her current boyfriend and "People vs. Larry Flynt" co-star, Ed Norton, onstage to play guitar for a few songs. As we previously reported (see "Courtney Plans Hole Tour, Talks About New Guitarist Needs"), Hole is reportedly looking to recruit a third guitarist for a spring tour -- but it's not likely to be Norton. The performance at the Roxy marked Hole's last show of its December mini-tour, and the band is set to enjoy a little holiday downtime before traveling to Australia and New Zealand in January for The Big Day Out festival.

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