{"id":3917,"date":"2014-05-18T03:10:23","date_gmt":"2014-05-18T02:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesenseofdoubt.com\/?p=3917"},"modified":"2014-05-18T03:18:35","modified_gmt":"2014-05-18T02:18:35","slug":"courtney-love-shepherds-bush-empire-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/box2305.temp.domains\/~thesent5\/courtney-love-shepherds-bush-empire-london\/","title":{"rendered":"Courtney Love @ Shepherd\u2019s Bush Empire, London"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtney Love @ Shepherd\u2019s Bush Empire<\/span><\/h2>\n
Courtesy of David Osler<\/h5>\n
Photo: Getty Images \/Samir Hussein \/ Redferns<\/h5>\n

Courtney Love<\/strong> live shows typically feature our heroine saying \u2018fuck\u2019 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.\u00a0Cobain\u2019s<\/strong> two London shows at the Shepherd\u2019s Bush Empire last week.<\/p>\n

Love\u2019s<\/strong> 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.\u00a0<\/span>The Courtneyettes<\/em> will have come away from the evening well satisfied. With no new album to promote – although Love<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Some highlights of the night: “Celebrity Skin”, complete with its infectious power chord riff intro.\u00a0“Skinny Little Bitch”, built around a repetitive vintage Stooges<\/strong>-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<\/strong> sings \u2018you\u2019d be oh \u2026 so \u2026 dumb to fuck with me,\u2019 you can bet your ass she is speaking on behalf of her fan base.<\/p>\n

More screeching and more dirty guitar came in the shape of “Violet”, while the tempo slowed down for “Doll Parts.” Shhhh, don\u2019t tell anyone, but that one is actually quite a moving little song.<\/p>\n

In short, this was a gig\u2019s worth of snappy pop-inflected grunge from one of rock scene\u2019s most convincing stage performers. So is Courtney<\/strong> really \u2018the girl with most cake\u2019, as the lyrics to “Doll Parts” proclaim that she wants to be? Absolutely. She\u2019s a veritable one-woman banoffee pie.<\/p>\n

SETLIST<\/h5>\n