Peaches
Bally Love Private Event
Moore Building, Miami
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Better than: Everything else happening at that very moment.
Reporters sometimes get a bad wrap for diva behavior at events. These low-lifes use clout to get in or try to get an extra something. I personally try to keep that to a minimum, but when someone tells me "There is no fucking way you are getting into this event," that irks me because there is no reason to be rude.
That was the scene in front of the AOL and Paper magazine FriendsWithYou party featuring N.E.R.D. The fire marshal had told them they were at capacity and not to the let anyone else in. People working at the door gave myriad excuses, "You should have checked in at 4 p.m." Really? I would have had I gotten the notice. But I kept my cool and just walked away.
Why do I bring this up? Because the door at the Bally Love event a block away at the Moore Building was different. The staff was courteous and effective. "I'm on Peaches' list," I quipped. "How many?" the bouncer answered once he found my name. I was in after five seconds at the door.
It helped that I had met Peaches a day earlier and her production manager emailed me the following day saying Ms. Nisker wanted me to come. With New Times coverboy, Bert Rodriguez, in tow, we enjoyed the open bar and a concert by fucking Peaches!
Last time, Peaches performed in South Florida it was a little over a year ago at Fort Lauderdale's Revolution Live. That concert was a dirty mess -- I mean that in a good way -- but this shorter show took electro raunchiness to a whole new level.
The first half of the show had Peaches and her band, the Sweet Machine, controlling the sounds with lasers being shot into the air. It might be hard to grasp the concept if you weren't there, but it was fucking awesome.
It wasn't until "Showstopper," yes a literal showstopper, occurred that things got great. A naked transvestite climbed onto the stage picking Peaches up so she could perform the song on her shoulders. It was shocking in every sense of the word considering the tranny had lady humps up top but all her manhood intact -- and covered in glitter -- down low.
Nobody flinched when this occurred. In fact, you would have thought it was another day in the office. Nobody was screaming his or her head off. The only response was everyone took out their camera phones and started snapping away. Gotta love an art crowd.
Critic's Notebook
Personal Bias: Fifth time seeing the queen of raunchy electro. So yeah, I've figured out I like her work.
The Crowd: Very well-dressed art people. I felt somewhat under-dressed in my T-shirt and cardigan attire.
Random Detail: The Moore Building is somewhat of an awkward space, but Bally Love really figured out how to use it best with confining the entire event to the first floor and building a stage right front of the stairs that take you to the second level.
Setlist
- "Diddle My Skittle"
- "I U She"/"Tombstone Baby"
- "AA XXX"
- "Slippery Dick"
- "Operate"
- "Take You On"
- "Showstopper"
- "I Feel Cream"
- "Mommy Complex"
- "Fuck The Pain Away"
