The reach of Peaches goes beyond shocking

Electroclash Tour

Featuring Peaches

cover charge

Wild as it may seem in the fickle world of fashion, this year’s Electroclash tour, taking place a full year after the last one, is still in season. The headliner this time around will be Peaches, whose debut record Teaches of Peaches, released by Germany’s Kitty-Yo label, made a huge splash on that side of the water before slinking through America’s own party circuit.

Raunchy sex. Sparse-yet-bumpin’ grooves. What else is in the Teaches of Peaches? Not much, unless you count a three-in-one revolution encompassing the sexual, musical and social.

Let me explain. Armed with only her voice and a Roland MC-303 sequencer, this ex-preschool music teacher, ex-folk singer, ex-Canadian, is making breathlessly sexy music for the peeps.

Noticeable at first for an alarmingly sexy album cover, then for song titles such as “Diddle My Skittle” and “Lovertits,” it soon becomes apparent Peaches is reaching beyond what her peers have done.

Rather than approaching her subject matter from the gratuitous and often alienating shock-value perspective that has been granted nonstop play on party radio this past year, Peaches comes off as open, honest and funny.

Listening to her record, especially in a party situation, it is instantly clear Peaches is a true pop-media manipulator of the caliber that has not surfaced in ages.

Peaches is well aware that to get a body worked up is the first step toward revolution, sexual and otherwise, and her intelligently programmed dance grooves do just that. Raw, juicy bass lines and booty-shaking beats, never too fast for freaking, run through her record and give her the perfect platform to preach her libido-centered philosophy.

Just like Madonna before her, Peaches uses the medium of pop music to further her cause, not just her credit limit. Her infinitely catchy songs will be stuck in your head for weeks straight, while her message of liberation, of letting the whole world know exactly what you want and when, seeps into your subconscious.

Also appearing at the Electroclash Tour 2002 is Chicks on Speed, a group that somehow made covering The B-52s high fashion. If Portland’s Hollywood Theatre seems like a suspiciously classy place to hold a “rock” concert, keep in mind Chicks on Speed has appeared previously in such noble settings as Paris’ Louvre and Le Bon Marche.

In addition to their work in the fine arts realm, hints of which can be seen in their live presentation, the Chicks also release some fine music. Giving the sound and style of ’80s new wave a modern trashy-chic makeover, Chicks on Speed make the perfect dance-party music for the ultra hip.

Their debut full-length album, Chicks on Speed Will Save Us All, seems to suggest those future-fetishist new wave acts were really onto something: With technology changing so quickly around us, with the newest electronics becoming obsolete in moments, maybe being retro-futuristic is actually the most modern thing a musician can do.

The Electroclash Tour will be at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland this Friday October 25. Tickets are available through Fasttixx or at the box office. The Hollywood Theatre is located at 4122 NE Sandy Blvd and the phone number is 503-281-4215. The doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. So, go out and have a good time, all in the name of fashion.