Somerset, WI - Media Reviews

Courtney Love Still Relentless At Edgefest By John Bream

"I have no energy to make trouble,'' Hole singer Courtney Love, one of rock's great troublemakers, moaned late Saturday afternoon to 31,000 sun-baked clams at Edgefest 6.

"I hate the hot,'' she complained. "I'm going to faint. This is why we don't play in the day,''

But Love and Hole - one of the most important rock bands of the decade and one of the key attractions at the two-day, 27-band alt-rock-meets-heavy-metal Edgefest - gave it a try. Her voice sounded weary, but the blonde, donning pink wings, climbed up scaffolding, took off her rhinestone slippers and jumped into the stage pit, pulled down her top and flashed the fans, and just tried to stay interested as her band churned out its rapier guitar-driven pop.

And Love, 33, a true rock star (and actress) who may be best known as grunge star Kurt Cobain's widow, carried on with her mouth between songs. She praised Def Leppard, the lite-metal band scheduled to close the festivities four hours later, as one of the greatest bands of the 1980s. It was hard to tell whether she was teasing or sincere. Would a hipster dig Def Leppard? "No, man, we want Britney Spears, '' Love cooed sarcastically.

Yes, it was clear that she's a Leppard lover. She even sang a line from the band's biggest hit, "Pour Some Sugar on Me.'' (And before she went onstage, she told DJs from Zone 105 radio, co-sponsors of the fest, that she used to strip to that song when she worked at the now-defunct Goofy's when she lived briefly in Minneapolis.)

During her performance, Love invited a few young women who had bodysurfed into the stage pit to join her onstage, seating them in front of the drum riser and sharing Gatorade with them. Love was relentless.

"You guys should really complain to your promoters,'' she snarled. "I'd play for two hours. If someone wants to treat kids with more respect, I'll play longer. This is our last song.''

Hole tore into "Celebrity Skin,'' an explosive hit about the shallowness and shortness of stardom. That was it, after a mere 35 minutes. Except that Love stayed on, her eyes searching the crowd for someone special. She invited another young woman onstage and then gave the fan her guitar.

"I'm still shaking,'' Lisa Nelson, 19, of Strathcona, Minn. (pop. 40), said backstage moments later. "I play bass by myself, not in a band. But I'll keep this forever. I got it from Courtney.''

Love certainly gave an edge to the sixth-annual Edgefest. But the verdict was mixed.

"I really didn't like her,'' said Katie Bowen, 17, of Somerset.

"I love her,'' said Bowen's sister, Shylo Mallin, 23, of Duluth. "She's out there.''

"I don't like her,'' Bowen said of Love. "Def Leppard's the best.''

Speaking of best, Flipp - the Twin Cities glam-rock band that has played at five Edgefests - gave its best Somerset show yet on Saturday.

Singer-guitarist Brynn Arens, wearing makeup like the Batman character Two-Face, and band rocked with cartoonish delight, playing some of the most riotous glam-punk since the days of the New York Dolls, showing that a band can win over a huge crowd that doesn't know its music.

If Love wasn't enough commotion, there was the last-minute cancellation of Buckcherry - a fast-rising new band from Los Angeles that sounds like a cross between the Black Crowes and Guns N' Roses - because the lead singer had bronchitis.

But DJ Weasel, of cosponsoring 93X, took the stage to announce the cancellation and quickly defused the situation by - what else? - getting the crowd to shout an ephithet about Love in unison. He dissed her for dissing Minnesota and Wisconsin guys for having long hair and mustaches. Plus, Weasel was killing time until Def Leppard could take the stage for the first time in three years.

That was an ideal time to head over to the Rave Tent, a new addition to Edgefest.

Under a big white tent, red and blue lights were flashing, the loud instrumental music was throbbing, and people were dancing on what was left of the grass. Betsy Garcia, 21, of Fargo, N.D., was pleased to see the Rave Tent. A regular raver, she said there were more jocks at this rave than she's used to seeing. ``It's really just people who like to dance, '' she said.

Paul Krueger, 27, of Tulsa, Okla., has attended raves all over the country and even went to one at an Edgefest in Tulsa. He gave this one a thumbs down.

"The music doesn't change up,'' the engineer-for-hire said. "It's like you're dancing to the same song for 40 minutes. It's really boring.'' Earlier, during the hot, dusty afternoon, the Rave Tent provided a respite.

This is the best part of the whole thing,'' said Michelle Powers, 25, a first-time Edgefest-goer who used to go to raves but says she no longer has the time. ``The vibe is cool. People are chilling. This is good, clean fun.''

"They should have this [Rave] every year,'' said Powers' friend Jen Goeppinger, 24, of Minneapolis, who had been to two previous Edgefests.

Wearing a black fedora, sunglasses, beads hanging over his bare, sunburnt chest and his shirt tucked into the back of his pants like a tail, Josh Kohnke was dancing by himself at 5 in the afternoon. "It's excellent,'' the 19-year-old from St.Cloud said of the Rave Tent.

Edgefest's other new wrinkle - a rock-climbing wall - fell by the wayside Friday because the vendors couldn't get insurance, festival operations manager Peter Johns said. "Day One was outstanding,'' he concluded after nearly 11 hours of music, "despite a few glitches, which are common in an unpredictable industry.'' The occasionally harried Johns was happy that he was able to get Love onstage - though it was nearly two hours later than scheduled because she, well, she's Courtney Love, and Def Leppard was willing to take the stage early and add a couple of extra songs to compensate for Buckcherry's canceling.

So Def Leppard broke into Queen anthem "We Will Rock You" - and these British veterans did rock the crowd under a full moon - and segued into "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

By John Bream @ Minneapolis Star Tribune 1999.

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