Peaches - Manchester Academy 2 - 16.4.04

Last time Peaches played Manchester she was greeted with the sort of reaction only seen previously when Daphne & Celeste rocked up to Reading Festival with their unique blend of anarchic pop. The location was the MEN Arena, the audience was in five figures and despite an avalanche of abuse she held her own against the 16 year old Goths, who were looking ashen faced when she reminded them their Anti-Christ superstar, the god of f**k himself had invited her on the tour himself. If the idea of the God Of F**K and the original Fatherf**ker on tour together was strange enough then the very idea that virginal Britney Spears wanted to collaborate on something probably entitled "Fatherf**ker, shake your titties and you dickies and just hit me one more time" was one of the most bizarre moments on the year. Naturally Peaches told old Britters where to go and worked with Pink on her new album.

This time Peaches is here in her own right and hey hey she's brought dancers with her. The audience made out of fashionistas hanging on from the electroclash scene, a few random teenage kids from the Manson gig and a large percentage of people intrigued by the enigma that is Peaches. Taking to stage with a guitar strapped on and a blonde wig which is promptly thrown to the ground to reveal the macho non-gender specific Peaches we know and love. "I U She", "I Don't Give A F**k" and "Back It Up, Boy" are minimalist, but essential anthems for the new millennium. Stark and electro but still steeped in the traditions of the greatest rock and pop records. It's "Shake Yer Dix" though that gets the reaction of the night with the Peaches dancers, complete with strap on, demonstrating a dance that's a hell of a lot easier to remember than the Macarena and a lot funnier. For some reason throughout i'm thinking of an imaginary bootleg version of Oukast's "Hey Ya" where the immortal line is paraphrased as "Shake yer dix like a polaroid picture" but that's just my mind working overtime.

If Peaches has leaped this far from "Teaches For Peaches" to "Fatherf**ker" then imagine what sort of live shows she'll be playing to accompany the next album. People are constantly comparing Pink to Madonna; strangely enough the next internationally renowned popstar could be Peaches.

Alex McCann

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