”Hurts so good I got a sorgasm”.
Gig review – ‘Peaches’ at the ABC Glasgow 11th October

Merrill Nisker of Peaches is one of a kind. A self-made, self-produced phenomenon, pulling un-ashamedly at the corset strings of sexual repression and indeed challenging sexual identity all together. Although her fans are vastly different, in my mind, there seems to be two kinds of Peaches fan. Those who see her as a role-model for breaking down gender and sexuality stereotypes and those who still find fisting jokes funny. Whichever camp you fall into, and I have to admit I probably fall into both, Peaches’ new album ‘Impeach my bush’, with its feverishly dirty lyrics and chunky electro beat won’t disappoint.

Since her Liquid room gig in Edinburgh in 2004, Peaches has an amazing new line-up. Joined on stage at the Glasgow gig, and all of her current Impeach my bush tour is Samantha Maloney (drums) of Hole and Motley Crue fame, JD Samson from lesbian punk band Le Tigre and on guitar, Radio Sloan from band The Need. For those who wanted to get intimate with Peaches, the ABC in Glasgow was the perfect venue. With a capacity of 1250, the venue filled up quickly as Irish support act Humanzi kept us entertained in between bar runs – this is Scotland after all.

I confess. I hold my hands up in shame. It was a little after half eight when I morphed into a sexually empowered, self-satisfied lesbian with a pathetic, albeit less innocent, school girl crush. I had made my way to the front of the crowd, where all the “cool” lesbians seemed to be congregating, all hoping for a glimpse of Peaches crotch in between sexy synth beats of pure filth. The lights dimmed, the crowd fell silent for a moment and the curtains came up. Standing on top of two monster light fixtures in the centre of the stage was a shiny suited Peaches, ready to deliver ‘Fuck or kill’; a song that, for me, sums up exactly what Peaches is all about. “I’d rather fuck who I want, than kill who I am told too”, a stinging indictment against the Bush regime and perhaps a reminder of what, even in this day and age, some of us are still fighting for – sexual freedom. With the support of a nearby bouncer, it wasn’t long before Peaches was climbing on top of the railings that separated us from her. Kicking her legs in the air, banging out new-wave meets dance track, ‘Give’er’ , she was pawed and stroked by her captive audience. I of course, kept my hands to myself. The view was enough. I have to admit, I was also musing as to how quickly I could form a punk lesbian group, so I too, could receive such attention.

From ‘Hit it hard’ with its sharp snyth beats to ultra-violent ‘Stick it to the pimp’, where former elementary teacher Nisker proclaims “pissed in your pimp cup, drink up”, Peaches delivers both in the studio and live. Clad in silver with ‘Peaches and Herm’ on the back of their jackets, the entire band are “all go” as the thick heavy electro beats and incredibly strong vocals engulf the small but modest hall. It became clear to me that Peaches is big on humour and short of shame, when she threw a massive inflatable penis, with drawn on pubic hair, into the crowd. At least I can go home and tell people that I touched Peaches’ penis I thought. The antics didn’t stop there. Drowning herself in a bottle of water, she smirked slightly before throwing the reminder over the crowd and in turn, soaking my T-shirt through. As I watched her merrily riding around the stage and then being held up on her ‘Impeach my bush’ bike by two guys from the crew, I knew that this was a gig that I wouldn’t forget in a hurry. The crowd went wild as she stripped down to her pants and red sequined bra and gave us a rendition of ‘I U she’, all of us, singing along like we’d sung it a thousand times before.

Another song from her ‘Fatherfucker’ album, ‘Shake yer Dix’ truly cemented Peaches as the playful temptress that we’ve all read about as she yelled “Ok, how about you girls, you women, you ladies, are you with Peaches? Shake your tits, shake your tits”. She had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand as almost every female in the room starting shaking their booty to the, almost chant like song.

I have to say, even though she played for well over an hour, it was over all too quick for me. Just as the crowd was really letting go, and bashing into me from all directions, it was time for the final song. The curtains were pulled back over the stage as we all started to boo cheekily. From the back of the stage came that voice again, the voice that had entertained, exhilarated and of course titillated us for the past hour. “Come on guys, come on, pull the curtains up”. We watched, we waited and we certainly wanted. Okay, okay – I wanted. A few minutes later, after the crew had sufficiently whipped us all up into a frenzy, out popped this smiling little face. It was Peaches, with a massive grin on her face as she finished the night of with her classic bawdy ‘Fuck the pain away’, the song that catapulted her into the spotlight some four years ago.

This is the thing with an artist like Peaches. You get suckered in, mesmerized and you marvel at your extreme good luck to even be in her company. That my friend is when you know she’s got you right where she wants you.

Copyright – Emma R. Cleary
Published in ScotsGay issue 72.