It may sound odd describing an artist as “full of love”—especially when one of her most famous songs is entitled “Fuck the Pain Away”—but Peaches was (and remains) just that. She entered the stage in an abstract peach outfit composed of a pinky-orange balloon shirt, hood, a glittering snakeskin mask and tights, and as she crossed the stage with her arms moving back and forth, she resembled a lively beating heart.

Although she’d probably never say it herself, Peaches is a true diva. During “The Farewell Tour,” Cher—the ultimate diva—left the stage saying, “Follow this, you bitches!” Sometime just before releasing her second album, Peaches heard. Trailing Cher’s footsteps, Peaches has an endless (and eclectic) schedule of costume changes, her own almost avant-garde dancers, an open attitude toward sexuality, a persistent desire to recolor her hair, and a huge gay following. Oh, and a whole lot of love for the fans.

From the moment Peaches stepped out on stage, her energy was explosive. She jumped on top of the drums, did a stage dive into the audience, crawled across a giant speaker in order to perform in one of the two Henry Fonda Music Box balconies that flank the stage, and vibrated as she sang her lyrics. She explained to us Angelenos that she spent a little while living here and therefore feels a kind of kinship with our sunny (despite “June Gloom”) city. Naturally this conversation about love turned into a conversation about hate. As Peaches railed against the inequalities of this world—and more importantly, the inequalities her fans directly deal with—and specifically criticized Prop 8, the audience buzzed, giggling and cheering when Peaches called three same-sex couples on stage. She wasn’t leaving until some(gay)body was married.

Like their peachy preacher, the crowd was full of love. Though there were some youngins still new to the Teaches of Peaches, older fans were seasoned members of Peaches’ congregation. (Check that off on the Peaches – Cher similarity chart—loyal fans!) When Peaches asked her fans to take off their shirts – a lot of them did it! The show ended just as dynamically as it had begun. Her keyboardist threw off his glittery snake-scaled shirt and threw on a long blonde wig so that he could impersonate Iggy Pop for the duo “Kick It.” For a second encore, she lit up a little light that flickered in her crotch and asked her fans to “Look into the center of the Peach.” And of course everyone did.

—Linda Janota