Peaches is Still Explicitly Excellent

Peaches w/ Quay Dash
The Neptune, Seattle, WA
09.30.16

It used to be that you never knew what to expect from a Peaches – née Merrill Beth Nisker – live show. But now, fifteen-plus years into her pioneering career, it is less about shock than awe. And a sold out crowd at Seattle’s Neptune Theatre proved that Peaches’ provocative electro-clash has become much more about charismatic connection and commonality.

Setting the tone for the night with bombastic beats, transgender Bronx rapper Quay Dash, opened the show with a “big F U to transphobia.” It was great to see her lyrical capabilities out in full force, and some redefinition of the hip hop scene. Rocking the bare stage in red lingerie, full of attitude, she got the crowd’s attention with effortless energy. The twenty-four-year-old’s debut EP Transphobic is out now.

Then the lights dropped and the already hot and heaving room filled with fog as two dancers covered in pale hair to the point of full-body mop costume appeared in the dark, leading in Peaches in a similar, but rose-colored, costume for “Rub.” The title track from her 2015 album already felt like a classic, while “Operate” and “Vaginoplasty” featured vagina costumes and floor-length merkins. Nudity, nipple covers, bare ass, it was all there, the gyrating dance moves, the verbal slaying of the lazy asses sitting in the balcony, Peaches called it out.

Throughout the show Peaches gave it her all, as usual, doing all her own DJ work, never breaking her vocal rhythm. She sang through costume changes with perfect flow. The faithful fans supported her crowd-walking, danced in the dark, and cheered on her explicitly adventurous antics. From the dark and edgy “Free Drink Ticket” to the deep bass and blow-up shaft of “Dick in the Air,” Peaches was a staging genius, delivering body and sex positivity, electrifying riffs, and heart-pounding dance floor beats.

The set closed with the classic “F**k The Pain Away” and some spraying of Champagne – a now typical to the point of being printed on the shirt antic – before a double encore. The back to back encores were moodier, ending with “Light in Places” in the dark, with only flashing lights over groins, before the track ended seemingly in the middle, the stage vacated, and the house lights came up, leaving the crowd appropriately wanting more. While perhaps less raw and shocking than it was ten years ago, a Peaches show is still very much worth attending. The messages are still strong, the performance still incredibly powerful.

Peaches Set List
Rub
Operate
Vaginoplasty
Talk to Me
I Mean Something
Sick In The Head
Pickles
I Feel Cream
Free Drink Ticket
How You Like My Cut
Burst!
Boys Wanna Be Her
Dick in the Air
F**k The Pain Away
Encore 1
Dumb F**k
Encore 2
Light In Places