Last week we reminded you to take advantage of the season's abundances, and this week we''ll do the same. Stone fruits are a fleeting summer treat, and right now peaches from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and even Illinois are popping up at farmers markets and grocery stores. Pair those peaches with some Chicago honey and crunchy granola and you've got yourself a real summertime treat. more ›

Count on a band like The Flaming Lips to top off a year in which they challenged their fans to find even the newbies were up for the challenge by suddenly releasing The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon. The title pretty much tells the whole story, but don't worry ... Rollins doesn't do any singing. more ›

While we prefer both Peaches and Amanda Blank's recorded output in bite-sized chunks we consider both women to be formidable life performers to be wholly appreciated. We've seen Blank perform with Spank Rock a number of times and her spirited presence often stole the stage from her band mates. Friday night's show at The Metro had Blank performing with only a DJ and a live drummer, but her diminutive figure grew to envelop the entire room as she spat out gleeful sing-song raps and danced around the stage with abandon. Songs we found weak on her debut came to life on the stage, their worth inflated by her delivery. While Blank's performance was a pop pleasure, Peaches' set was a tour de force, a theatrical overdose that came across that even though it was centered on DIY stage sets put extravaganzas by Cher or any given stadium rock flavor of the month to shame. Multiple costume changes, energetic song delivery that only increased in intensity as the set moved forward, and a brutal command of mesmerizing sexuality came together to create one of the most compelling live shows we've seen all year. Also, there's nothing more rewarding than realizing her reach is growing with time as we noticed we were surrounded by yuppies happily singing along to her most popular track, "Fuck The Pain Away." Awesome. more ›

Friday, 5/22 more ›

When the lead single off your debut is called "Fuck The Pain Away" you tend to a) quickly pigeonhole your philosophical approach to your music and b) provide a pretty high bar to leap over if you want to top yourself in terms of sexual brashness. When you're Peaches, you accomplish both by providing ever more elaborate stage shows with varying degrees of clothing involved while simultaneously producing throbbing albums teeming with confident sexuality that makes something like Mick Jagger's preening look positively neutered. more ›