Hole Lotta Love: Final Thoughts on Courtney's Triumph

Hannah Levin

A fan gets psyched (and nearly topless) before Hole's set. And yes, it does say "Feminista" in gangster lettering across her shoulders.

On the night before Hole's semi-headlining, pseudo-homecoming show on the Bumbershoot main stage, I played the song "Plump" on my radio show. Usually, if one dares to play Courtney Love on KEXP, the phone lines light up and angry emails flood the in box. I hit play, and waited. Nothing. Crickets. It was refreshing. When we did get feedback, it was all positive.

Perhaps people have grown bored with the pastime of villifying the Widow Love. I doubt it, but at least she has been given a respite, and at thank heaven she disappointed those in the audience hoping for a trainwreck. Love and her hired guns completely delivered. Watching sidestage with Mad Rad's Buffalo Madonna and Fences' frontman Chris Mansfield, I was bemused by their embrace of her performance (neither had seen her prior or were familiar with her material), and heartened by the fact that "Malibu" (from 1998's Celebrity Skin) has somehow retained its sun-kissed, melancholic beauty, and that the touchstones of Live Through This (including "Plump") remain solid pop songs that soar and slay when the lady is at the top of her game. She may be mad at SW at the moment (side note: I hope she looked beyond the cover to read Ma'Chell Duma LaVassar's excellent, and very pro-Courtney essay), but I say, Long Live Love.

Naturally, video has been popping up all over the place, though most of it doesn't do it justice, sound-wise. A decent clip of "Malibu" is after the jump...