Hole… those shows were always a little dangerous.
I first heard them back in ’91 when somebody at the record store played me “Teenage Whore.” I remember stopping whatever I was doing and asking, “Who the hell is this?” Courtney sounded like she was either about to start a fight or fall apart in the middle of the song. Maybe both.
I bought Pretty on the Inside not long after that. It was ugly, noisy and hard to listen to in places, which was probably exactly why I liked it. I’ve had a soft spot for Courtney ever since.
By the time I moved to Seattle in ’92, everybody knew who she was, although half the conversation around her seemed to be about Kurt instead of her band. That always annoyed me. Hole had been making records before Courtney married Kurt, and anybody who’d actually heard Pretty on the Inside knew she had her own thing going.
I saw Hole at the Off Ramp on July 1, 1993. Adickdid and Sourpuss were on the bill too. The place was sold out and absolutely packed. Courtney asked how many people were there because of some story in the Seattle Times, then they went straight into the show.
That was the first time I heard some of the songs that would end up on Live Through This. “Violet” was already there, along with “Doll Parts,” “Plump,” “Softer, Softest” and “She Walks on Me.” They also played “Teenage Whore” and “Beautiful Son.”
Kurt was there that night too. I remember seeing him around, but honestly, once Hole started playing I wasn’t paying much attention to who was standing offstage.
That’s the thing people sometimes forget about Courtney. Whatever else was going on around her, when she was good onstage she could own a room.
Then Live Through This came out in April ’94 and it was everything I’d hoped that band could make. “Violet,” “Miss World,” “Doll Parts,” “Softer, Softest,” “Gutless” — I played the hell out of that record.
And then everything around it became impossible.
Kurt died just days before the album came out, and Kristen Pfaff died that June. I don’t even know how you process something like that and then go out and play those songs every night.
Melissa Auf der Maur came in on bass after Kristen, and Hole kept going. By the time Celebrity Skin came out in ’98 they sounded almost like a different band. Cleaner, brighter, way more polished. I know some people hated that, but I didn’t. “Malibu” is a great song and I don’t care who gives me shit for saying it.
I still prefer Live Through This, though. That record has teeth.
Courtney’s been doing more acting the last few years and Hole haven’t done much lately. I honestly don’t know what’s going on with the band right now. Eric’s still around, Courtney’s Courtney, and I suppose anything could happen.
People have been arguing about her for as long as I can remember. Half the people I know think she’s brilliant and the other half can’t stand her.
Me?
I’m still a fan.
