Courtney Love @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London [GIGS] // TSOD

Courtney Love @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Courtesy of David Osler

Photo: Getty Images /Samir Hussein / Redferns

Courtney Love live shows typically feature our heroine saying ‘fuck’ rather a lot, stripping down to her negligee, and then belting out a few rock songs. Yes, I really am that easily pleased. But dirty old blokes seeking out a living reminder of their worst nightmare girlfriends from decades ago, constituted only a small fraction of the crowd at the second of Mrs. Cobain’s two London shows at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire last week.

Love’s core audience is made up of a small army of frightening-looking rock chicks of all ages. Many of them seem to know all of the words to all her material, and are happy to join in with the cuss-word laden choruses at the top of their voices. The Courtneyettes will have come away from the evening well satisfied. With no new album to promote – although Love does have a new single – the majority of the set was made up of the best-known tunes from a career that now stretches back for more than two decades.

Some highlights of the night: “Celebrity Skin”, complete with its infectious power chord riff intro. “Skinny Little Bitch”, built around a repetitive vintage Stooges-style groove, which was spat out with all the ferocious venom that unskinny women reserve for skinny little bitches. It will probably never qualify as a feminist fat acceptance anthem. But when Courtney sings ‘you’d be oh … so … dumb to fuck with me,’ you can bet your ass she is speaking on behalf of her fan base.

More screeching and more dirty guitar came in the shape of “Violet”, while the tempo slowed down for “Doll Parts.” Shhhh, don’t tell anyone, but that one is actually quite a moving little song.

In short, this was a gig’s worth of snappy pop-inflected grunge from one of rock scene’s most convincing stage performers. So is Courtney really ‘the girl with most cake’, as the lyrics to “Doll Parts” proclaim that she wants to be? Absolutely. She’s a veritable one-woman banoffee pie.

SETLIST

1. Wedding Day
2. Miss World (Hole)
3. Plump (Hole)
4. Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac cover)
5. Malibu (Hole)
6. Reasons to Be Beautiful (Hole)
7. Letter to God (Hole)
8. Skinny Little Bitch (Hole)
9. Olympia (Hole)
10. Violet (Hole)
11. Celebrity Skin (Hole)
12. Asking for It (Hole)
13. You Know My Name
14. Softer, Softest (Hole)
15. Doll Parts (Hole)
16. Northern Star (Hole)
17. Dying (Hole)
18. Awful (Hole)
19. Jennifer’s Body (Hole)

Courtney Love @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London