Review: Peaches at The Rechabite

Peaches at The Rechabite
Monday, February 27, 2023

Iconic feminist and musician Merrill Nisker, aka Peaches (a stage name adopted in homage to Nina Simone’s song, Four Women), began writing her career-defining album, Teaches of Peaches, in 1997. At 33-years-old, the kindergarten music teacher had recently overcome thyroid cancer, and her breakup from long-term girlfriend, a fellow folk-rock singer. Constrained and disenchanted by the structure of folk music, she joined increasingly experimental bands, and when her bandmates relocated, bought herself a Roland MC-505 groovebox synth to make music solo.

In 2000, she released her debut under the moniker Peaches. Self-referred to as a “sexual self-help” breakup album, it was empowering, therapeutic, raw, and devoid of self-pity. Part pussy power, part punk rock, the record paved the way for contemporary artists to be sexually progressive and frank, while addressing patriarchy, gender politics, queer theory, and androgyny.

Over the past two decades, the Berlin-based Canadian expat’s added producer, DJ, director, designer, actor, and performance artist to her ever-growing repertoire. Peaches’ unique blend of indie sleaze and electroclash birthed a further four boundary pushing studio albums, a rock opera titled Peaches Does Herself, and a one-woman production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as collaborations with several artists, from former housemate Feist, Daft Punk and Major Laser to Iggy Pop.

To say the 20^th anniversary tour of The Teaches of Peaches album was well received by Perth audiences, would be quite an understatement.

Kicking off with a bang at The Rechabite on Monday night, Peaches and her band performed opening number, Set if Off, to an uproarious crowd, setting the tone for the sustained frenetic energy which followed.

Peaches instantly won punters over with her casual humour, charismatic stage presence and genuine warmth, engaging in light-hearted banter before launching herself into a rendition of Hot Rod…and the crowd, who offered their hands as a platform for the artist to ‘crowd walk.’ The three-tiered venue was perfect for Peaches’ intimate, bawdy vaudeville, and fan’s devotion strengthened by the obvious love Peaches and her band have not only for the stage, fans and music, but each other. Impeccable comedic timing, razor sharp wit, and a gift for ad-libbing, paired with a propensity to make fun of herself and the audience, saw Peaches turn the borderline obscene into humour, and the profane into social commentary.

Over roughly two hours, Peaches played the entirety of Teaches of Peaches, peppered with tracks from her extensive discography, and a few covers, showcasing a backlog of well-crafted songs centred around humanity, relatability, and authenticity.

Peaches is a natural entertainer, effortlessly performing her unique hybrid of cabaret, rock, and synth pop, with impressive vocal strength, depth, and versatility. Costumes ranged from the celestial to the bawdy, from partial nudity to giant labia headpieces, and culminated in the piece-de-resistance, a 10-metre inflatable ejaculating penis, unfurled during Dick in the Air.

Fan favourite, Fuck the Pain Away, made the first encore, while Peaches discussed the difficulty of recalling the headspace both she, and society were in 20 years ago, when Teaches of Peaches was made. Peaches finished on a high, launching into the second encore, a 17 minute sexually explicit version of Celine Dion’s power ballad, All Coming Back to Me Now. In the words of one enthusiastic crowd member, Peaches “nailed it.”

ZOE ALLEN