 - - - - - - - - - - - - - FRIDAY, MAY 21ST, 1999, NAUTICA STAGE, CLEVELAND, OHIO By Chris Quinn I almost didn't get to go to the Hole concert. I almost didn't get to see Courtney's bra, or see Courtney mock Trent Reznor. I almost didnt get to see one of my favorite bands play. I almost didn't get to see the best fucking concert ever. But i did. And it was awesome. The concert started at 8:00. Imperial Teen came out and played a 45 minute set. They were pretty good. At 9:40, the crowd started to cheer, and the intro to Old Age/ Credit in the Straight World started. There was like this shiver that went thru my hole body. The set went ({in order}) : Violet Awful Pretty On The Inside Heaven Tonight Miss World Reasons To Be Beautiful Malibu Dying Playing Your Song Doll Parts Boys On The Radio ________________ Valerie Loves Me {( this is a song by Material Issue. It was probably my favorite song of the night. Courtney sang it with such passion and power.)} Northern Star ({also courtney and eric acoustic}) She Walks On Me ({after this they played some of Good Sister/ Bad Sister. The parts about being the "biggest star in your sky" or "the biggest scar in your back" "the biggest dick that you've ever had" etc.... it didn't sound like the original though}) Celebrity Skin Amazing is an understatement. Unbelievable doesn't do justice. It was a fucking religious experience. It was magic. This was my first time seeing Hole and i was so psyched. They were on David Letterman the night before and Courtney was so cute and bubbly. At the concert, Courtney talked a lot between songs. After Violet, she was saying how the last time she was at Nautica, it was September '94. "I was so messed up. I passed out on this very stage. That was when i was fucking Trent Reznor, who has the smallest cock in rock and roll history!" She later said that Cleveland was the rock and roll capitol of the world (because the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is here) but that we didn't deserve the title, which we don't. "This and a show in St. Louis were the only ones that didn't sell out. But I'm not gonna hold it against you." She started talking in a hick voice, saying that Jimmy Buffet probably sells out in Cleveland. He did actually. At a much larger venue last summer. Nautica is pretty small and i was really surprised they didn't sell out. Melissa said that show in 94 at Nautica was her first in the U.S. with Hole, and that we made her feel welcomed in the rock world. Courtney was loud and so full of energy. She came out in a pink dress. It was sparkly and tight. She had angel wings on- but those only lasted for two songs before a stage guy took them off. Eric wore a brown and gray baseball jersy type shirt. The kind that goes down right past your elbows and the collar and arms are the same color, but a different color than the rest of the shirt (if that makes any sense:-) He had dark denim (i think) jeans on that also sparkled. I didn't see what Samantha had on... except for a white shirt. Melissa was wearing a tight white tank top type shirt and short shorts and white tights or hose or whatever you call them. Anyway, I was in awe. People were body surfing and Courtney let several people on stage. By the end there were about 30 people up there. It was so funny- the stage guys were running around Courtney and Eric bringing people and sitting them in front of Samantha. At one point in between songs, Courtney told them to be quiet. She was like "Be quiet you guys. That's the whole point of you being up here. No more can come up for awhile." But people did anyways. She was saying it was rock and roll high school-and she was the teacher. She kept saying "What do you have to say?" to the crowd "Show me some identity, every city has an identity." She was totally in charge. The set was really good. It was so loud and full of raw power. It was a feeling of total euphoria for me. Everyone sang along, but you couldn't hear it really. You couldn't even hear Courtney all that well at times because the music was so loud. At one point during Playing Your Song, Courtney looked into the sky and sang. It was eerily like she was singing to someone... After Playing Your Song Courtney was like "Shutup for a second. I'm gonna tell you a secret. Pretend you're like my friend for a second." After some coaxing, people got quiet and she started talking about how she got married to a transvestite (Falling James Moreland) and that she was only married to him for "5 seconds." "I want to apologize to God for marrying someone i didn't even know," were her words. He was in town that evening playing at a bar not too far from Nautica and she said it was scary. "Well, i wrote this song, and it's not about him." Then they played Doll Parts. I didn't want it to end. When they had finished, everyone was chanting "Courtney, Courtney.." before the encore. 10 minutes later, Courtney and Eric came out. Courtney had changed into a black leather and lace teddy with very short black leather shorts. Eric didn't change. She started saying how a guy from Chicago wrote this song, but "... he's dead now. It's not who you think." Then they played Valerie Loves Me (a cover by Material Issue) . It was really good. Courtney screamed the chorus, which is the same as the name of the song. It was so pretty. I loved it. It was like she was sending off this starpower. I don't even know how to describe it. They played Northern Star and then she was like "What do you think of our new drummer, Sam?" and everyone cheered. She wanted it louder. Then Sam came out and was like "I can't hear you" and everyone screamed really loud. Sam then went back behind the drums. Courtney goes "Do you want to hear a hit, or some punk rock?" She said punk rock again and everyone screamed. She said hit and it got kind of quiet. "Me too." Then they launched into She Walks On Me, and ended with Celebrity Skin. That was it. It was over. I was so sad. Courtney gave away her guitar to some girl and Sam threw her drum sticks out into the pit. Then they left. For me, it was like a new beginning. Like my life had just started. If you ever have the chance to see Hole live, go see them no matter what. You won't be sorry. - - - - - - - - - - - - - |