Courtney Love Has A Dando Time In Vancouver

May 29, 2001, 12:05 pm PT
 
 

Scores of fans on hand to see Lemonheads singer Evan Dando were treated to an impromptu performance by Dando's old friend, Courtney Love, Saturday (May 26) night in Vancouver.

The relatively small audience -- estimated to be around 90 people -- also got a good look at Love's naked breasts as she flashed them to venue security at the Richard's on Richards club on Richards Street.

According to the Vancouver Province newspaper and numerous posts from fans, Dando's early show was running seriously overtime and was cutting into the club's regular disco Saturdays, and that (amazingly enough) caused club personnel to try and put a stop to the historic performance.

Love attempted to bribe the staff with a little nakedness in order to be allowed to remain onstage. Apparently, it worked… for a while, anyway.

The fun initially began when the actress-singer arrived during Dando's encore and made her presence known by joining Dando on the Lemonheads hit "Into Your Arms" (a song also occasionally covered by Hole), in spite of the fact that Dando had already played that tune earlier in the evening.

After a break to allow her to tear off her expensive "movie nails" so she could play guitar, Love returned to the stage with an acoustic version of her hit "Doll Parts." That was followed by a hilarious improvised tune that could have been called "Do You Want to Be Me?" or "This Is My Life."

According to posts on Hole's official Web site, www.holemusic.com, the song included such refrains as "do you want to be fucked up like I was? ... Do you want to be strung out like me?" and lyrics about "being rich and famous and always 10 pounds thinner."

Other topics included how her "punk rock brain is all fucked up," about going to Disney premieres for free Versace gowns, and how supposedly sleeping with "a gladiator" (an obvious reference to actor Russell Crowe, whom she's been romantically linked to recently) does not make you a more worthy person.

Love also sang about earning $8 an hour while stripping in Vancouver and having her boyfriend at the time drop her off on the set of a TV series every day in order to hide her real profession. She also sang about one, or both, of the Gallagher brothers in her song.

Love -- looking sharp, sober, and even a little conservative in a full skirt and halter-top -- cracked jokes, engaged in an abundance of patter with the audience, and even took requests.

Her upbeat performance was reportedly a far cry from Dando's set. According to a post on the Hole Web site, Dando was detained earlier that day at the border and had his equipment confiscated by Canadian customs -- his day went downhill from there. He turned in a good, but cranky, performance that included a tiff with a heckler. Although his mood improved with Love onstage, her presence wasn't enough to pull him out of the funk that saw him throw a chair and walk off the stage at the end of the night, apparently affronted (and rightfully so) by the club's lack of enthusiasm for his and Love's extended appearance.

-- Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna