Today, festivals are nothing compared to what they used to be. Previously, people would go to festivals expecting to see the world change right before them, and if anything other than the extraordinary happened, crowds left unimpressed. One night, at Reading festival in 1992, the crowd saw some of the most bizarre sets ever performed as Kurt Cobain came on stage in a hospital gown and L7 threw a bloody tampon into the audience.
In a recent interview, Courtney Love was asked about the strangest experience she has had as a fan. After a quick think, her mind immediately went to that evening in Reading, which she still deems as one of the craziest gigs she has ever attended.
She explained why Kurt Cobain came on stage in a hospital robe. It’s because it was the robe that Love had worn when she gave birth to their child, Frances Bean. “He played Reading in that robe,” she recalled, “They roll him out like there’s this thing like, ‘Kurt’s dead’, the whole thing.”
Despite that already being strange, Love admitted it wasn’t the craziest part of that day. “They roll him out and he’s wearing my bloody placenta robe, but that’s not the crazy part,” she explained. “The crazy part is that earlier in the day, L7 played – [they are some] of my oldest friends – and they’re getting bottled, like real bottled, like bad.”
Artists getting bottled wasn’t unheard of at the Reading Festival. The crowd have always been willing to show their discontent at acts they don’t like, forcing many of them to leave the stage before their set was finished. L7 had a response, though. “Donita, the singer, gets pissed. She’s menstruating and she’s having a heavy flow day, so she just reaches up into her crotch and pulls out her tampon and throws it.”
If anybody is keen on seeing the bloody affair, there are videos on YouTube; however, anyone in attendance that day likely saw the tampon, given it made its way back on stage and stayed there. “The tampon somehow made its way back onto the stage,” said Love, “I didn’t even know Nick Cave played that day. Yeah, Nick was staring at a bloody tampon the whole time.”
Despite rumours that it was Love who threw the tampon, she confirms it was Donita from L7. Though there have been occasions in her career that she has wanted to do the same thing, she also didn’t want to be seen copying anyone. “I didn’t want to copy Donita’s thing, so I didn’t do it. But man, what a genius move. Kudos to you, Donita Sparks.”
