Strobe-crotched performer Peaches hits Orange Peel crowd with a show to remember

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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The performer Peaches hit Asheville Wednesday night and left quite an impression. In the words of reviewer and loyal Ashvegas reader Mick, “that Peaches show was one of the more bizarre concert experiences I’ve ever had.”

Here’s the review:

Peaches is known to shock, and she did not disappoint. The sex-crazed Canadian electroclash rocker, best known for songs like Fuck the Pain Away and Shake Yer Dix, celebrated her 43rd birthday last night with a sweaty, pulsating Orange Peel crowd of 400 or so.

She came out dressed like a spider, flanked by go-go boys (and girls), and then donned a series of ’80s-inspired but somehow futuristic get-ups that would have fit perfectly on the set of the movie Blade Runner. For her birthday, or maybe just because she felt like it, she spit a bottle of champagne on the crowd and surfed for a solid 20 minutes. Then she and her (mostly shirtless) band blasted out tunes from her new album, I Feel Cream, and put on a show that somehow artfully referenced rock-n-roll stage cliches but also made the most of both the pure pageantry of rock and a surplus of raw sexual energy. (Though one of the best of her new songs is the surprisingly tender Talk to Me).

The crowd, with plenty of queens, queers and a healthy S&M contingent, rocked right along with Peaches when she put on a gold cape, strapped a strobe light to her crotch and let loose. When she came out for a second encore — wearing a pair of plastic tits, of course — she encouraged the crowd to take their shirts off, and plenty did.

Not bad for a Wednesday, Asheville.

Wowzer. I’m sorry I missed that. I’m feelin’ the Talk to Me tune.