Last Friday was a pretty emotional day in music and in the world. Paris had been attacked and, Los Angeles band, Eagles of Death Metal were performing at the Bataclan Concert Hall where terrorists opened fire in the venue and took over 100 people hostage. Before Peaches took to the stage at The Regent in downtown L.A., the DJ stopped the music and Peaches walked out and sat on her table to take a moment to acknowledge what went down in Paris. Peaches then dedicated the show to Eagles of Death Metal and all the other people who have been affected by the terrorist attacks in Paris. As she ended her somber note she proceeded to state that when she comes back on stage she is going to rock our fuckin’ socks off. And that she did.
The Regent in downtown Los Angeles was packed. The show was sold-out and there were all types of people there: gay, straight, transvestites, highs cool kids, anyone you could have imagined. It was a happy gumbo of humans. Everyone was having a good time together. Creating even more excitement, Peaches took to stage adorning a costume that was pretty spacey looking (apparently she also wore a uterus costume), you would not expect anything less from Peaches. Her lyrics are straight up nasty (in the best of ways), but her voice is smooth and beautiful, which makes for a good recipe for some bad ass music.
Peaches had a male and female dancer who would come out every now and then in different costumes. The first time they came out was during “Vaginoplasty”, a song off her new album Rub. Guess what they dressed as … yep, they were a couple of huge vaginas. They were up there pretty much flapping the lips of their costumes as though they were butterflies, and playing with what would have been the clit throughout the song. At the end of the song the two vaginas engulfed Peaches on stage. It was pretty amazing.
Peaches played for a good hour and a half. She ended her set with “Fuck the Pain Away” and also doused the audience with champagne while having a drink in the front row. After that she did a couple encores. One song being “Light in Places” off her new album. Her dancers came out with lights in their crotches and got themselves in tough positions on stage to light her solely with the flashlights in their pants. If you have not seen the video for this song, check it out and you will see what I mean.
Starting the night was a new (and very young) L.A. band called Regrettes. Composed of Lydia Night and Marlhy Murphy, the teenage duo opened up their set with the spunky “Hey Now” (Grimy Goods recently premiered the video for the song). I have seen Regrettes perform three times now. Every time I see them, they grow musically. I first saw them open for Kate Nash at the Echo and they were good then, but they seemed to have honed their chops a bit more now. These girls are only fourteen years old but they can carry themselves like any seasoned band. They met at the School of Rock where they learned how to make music, and they continue to work together writing songs that seem relative to their age group, but also relatable to us older folk. Regrettes have a great rock ‘n’ roll sound and spirit. I’m sure by the end of 2016 these girls will be a household name in the garage rock world.
Also on the evening’s bill was the gender-blending, shock-rocker CHRISTEEN. Let’s just put it this way, CHRISTEEN definitely expressed herself. Some of the crowd were loving it, and some of the crowd were definitely uncomfortable as they picked up their jaws from the floor. Considering there were young kids at this show, we kept our photos of CHRISTEEN on the PG-13 side.
Despite all that was happening in the world, Friday night was a good night to celebrate life. It seemed that everyone at the Regent was having a good time, but there was also a time of reflection for what happened in Paris, and what is happening all over our world.
Words & Photography: Wes Marsala
Peaches
Regrettes
Regrettes
CHRISTEEN
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Stream Peaches’ new album “Rub”
Video Premiere: Watch Regrettes’ new video “Hey Now!” from their UK tour with Jack Off Jill
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