 - - - - - - - - - - - - - FRIDAY, MAY 21ST, 1999, NAUTICA STAGE, CLEVELAND, OHIO By Gutless28@aol.com This was my first Hole concert, so I was pretty excited all week. I wasn't planning on anything to happen except watching the concert, so my experience came as a total surprise..... My two friends and my mom got to there early so we could get up front-it was general admission. We met up with two other friends. We did get in the front row, but for a while I thought it had been a bad idea since I was crushed against the fence as soon as the show started. Imperial Teen was good, not great, they would have probably gotten a better response from a crowd that wasn't so impatient. Then Hole came on...WOW. Courtney was wearing this sparkly pink dress and wings. They opened with Violet. I was ecstatic! The sound was really good, I don't think I have ever heard a band sound so good live. Everyone was in top form: Courtney's voice sounded great, Eric and Melissa were right in time and tune with each other, and Sam was doing a great job, like she had always been a part of the band. Then they played Awful, then Heaven Tonight, then...well, I forget the order. I know they played Miss World and Pretty On The Inside, and Reasons To Be Beautiful. During this song, a girl tried to jump the stage. When the bouncers pulled her away, Courtney reached down and pulled her up. She got to go sit behind Melissa. Needless to say, this started a frenzy. Since I had taken the time to be nice to one of the security guards between the sets, I yelled at him, "Dan! If they let people up please let me!" It pays to be nice, because he grabbed my friend and I and we went up. Well, I got to watch the rest of the concert from directly in front of Samantha's drum kit. I could see the whole crowd, and the Flats neon lights. The rest of the set included Malibu, Boys On The Radio, Doll Parts, Northern Star, She Walks On Me, Celebrity Skin, and a cover of Material Issue's "Valerie Loves Me." I had never heard this song before, but it was a powerful acoustic number. Courtney made some pretty funny comments about the last time she was in Cleveland with Nine Inch Nails, and said something about Trent having the smallest cock in the history of rock and roll. She also talked about the last Nautica concert they played, saying she was so messed up then and "please don't look at me as a role model." So at the end, I got one of Courtney's picks she dropped, and Melissa gave us each one of hers. I had to stay a while after the show and look for my shoe, which came off when I was pushed on stage, and I found out that my mother went in the mosh pit! So I would have to say that this was one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me. If you have a chance to go to a Hole concert, GO! - - - - - - - - - - - - - |