Rock is Dead page 2

"We’re quitting the tour," said Love, "Because we aren’t feeling feminine enough. I guess we’re pussies."

Love was apparently responding to a comment made by Manson in the media a few days earlier that Love was a "graying old mother."

Love definitely appeared feminine enough. She looked very much like a fairy out of Shakespeare’s "Midsummer Night’s Dream," in bare feet, glitter-filled blonde locks and a wispy, flowing dress, which she proceeded to tear parts of away as the night went on, eventually exposing herself to audience during the encore. She seemed to be genuinely happy at the show’s beginning, getting the crowd rocking, though Love appeared to grow melancholy as the show wore on.

Marilyn Manson’s futuristic look, however, looked like he would fit in a scene from "Blade Runner" wearing a leather thong and fishnet body suit, with the upper portion of his face painted a deep blue. His band’s signature brand of gothic metal had the building shaking and Manson’s undeniable charisma had the fans entranced. He took his opportunities to shoot back at Courtney Love, at one point asking the fans to "pray for Courtney Love’s plastic surgeon," and dedicating a song "to the Marilyn Manson fans who had to put up with that crap before." He later implored the gathering to chant "We hate Love! We love hate!"

Love, appearing quite intoxicated, looked at many times like she was going to pitch over into the throng gathered before her, finally taking a fall while jumping from one of the monitors situated at the front of the stage to another located a few feet away. She slipped and took what looked like a nasty fall, knocking over the microphone stand of bass player Melissa Auf Der Maur and cutting herself in the process. The fall took the collective breath of the crowd away for a moment, but Love continued to sing while lying on her back, eventually getting up to continue the set. Later, she remarked "Thank you Anaheim…the Tragic Kingdom…I bled for you."

Love also provided the audience with plenty of food for thought, confiding that one song was "about the affair I had with Bush’s Gavin Rossdale while he was dating Gwen Stefani [of No Doubt], and later explained "Drew Barrymore and I both think that [Hole guitarist] Eric [Erlandson] was the best boyfriend we ever had, and we were both so mean to him." The loudest cheer for Hole came when she procalimed, "This is the story of my life," and the band launched into their hit "Celebrity Skin," from the album of the same name. Their rendition of the other hit single, "Malibu" from the same album, was well-received and very well done. At the end of their encore, Love had a guitar brought out to give to a lucky female audience member. "Use it to become a rock star," Love said, "It’s so easy!"

Through it all, Love’s voice held up, maintaining the tonal quality heard on Hole’s albums. Even at the points in the show when she appeared close to losing control of her motor skills, her voice shone through. Love, along with bandmates Auf Der Maur, Erlandson and drummer Patty Schemel, played with confidence and precision. Their stage show, while not nearly as showy as Manson’s, fit the pop-punk feel of Hole’s music.