Courtney Love Rocks First Avenue

I went down to "the hole" (First Avenue nightclub) to see the band Hole Friday night, and despite their very late start, was glad I went. Courtney Love turned 46 the day before the show, making her my contemporary. She still has the Seattle Grunge style, and really rocked out, playing her hits such as "Doll Parts," and even a Replacements song. She came across as a "female Kurt Cobain" -- raw, voicing her frustration in screams that punctuated her songs. I did not care for her free use of profanity, but admired her ease at talking to the audience. She talked about Minneapolis landmarks that no longer exist, such as Goofy's bar, where she wrote one of her songs. At one point during the show, she stopped a song to berate her 20-year-old guitarist for not understanding how significant First Avenue was in her life (she "basically lost her virginity in the bathroom!"). Then she apologized to the guitarist and the audience for her difficulty with intergenerational communication. The only weak part of the show were her two ballads, and I took that opportunity to duck next door into the 7th Street Entry to check out a band I know that was performing there called "Gotterdammerung." Friends watching that show were interested to hear my review about Courtney's show, as they did not buy tickets so could not "cross over" as I could. I loved how she strutted onto the stage in six-inch heels, then announced that she was done wearing those and would not change into flats, which she pulled out of her purse. ("These are cute flats, not practical shoes!, she said defensively.") Courtney ended the show with an acoustic ditty she called "Good Night Minneapolis" -- a send-off as sweet as a good-night lullaby.