To celebrate the release of her latest single ‘Secret’, Peach PRC is currently touring Australia as part of her 2024 Secret PRC Tour. For the Melbourne leg, Peach PRC had two sold-out shows at the iconic Forum Melbourne. For the purpose of this review, I attended the second show on Friday the 22nd of March.
Arriving half an hour before doors opened, I noticed a huge line of dedicated fans that circled around the venue. Adorned in their pink Friday best, some passionate fans lined up as early as 6am for the concert, collectively keen to see their favourite queer pastel coloured hyper-pop queen. Some even had their own wings made, dressed in the theme of Peach PRC’s previous fairy/pixie era.
Following a sensational set from the talented Carla Wehbe which included an excellent cover of Chris Issak’s ‘Wicked Games’, Peach PRC took to the Melbourne stage and was warmly greeted by her adoring fans. After a brief stint of being a brunette when I saw her last at the 2024 Australian Open Finals Festival, I was delighted to see the Australian songstress had returned to her signature pink roots. I was also excited to attend my very first Peach PRC headline show.
Kicking off the final Melbourne concert with the Paris Hilton ‘Stars Are Blind’ sampled hit ‘Perfect For You’, the atmosphere of the Forum Melbourne venue was instantly overflowing with love and bliss. To my happy surprise, majority of the patrons that night were female attendees and honestly, I had never felt safer at a concert. Although the vibe of the room was energetic, patrons were still super chill and very respectful. It was a comforting and powerful feeling which was reflected by the artists on stage; every single one of them female including Peach PRC’s ace guitarist, Chloe Dadd.
The Secret PRC Melbourne show was a massive feel-good sing-along, some even impressively knowing the words to unreleased tune ‘Touchy Subject’ which Peach performed live on the acoustic guitar for the first time only the night before. Clearly some returning fans did their research!
Highlights of the night included a moment during ‘Colourblind’ where dedicated fans placed coloured paper on their phone lights to make the Melbourne audience look like a gorgeous rainbow coloured twinkling galaxy, to which a touched Peach PRC reacted with, “How did you guys do that? This is SO cool!!!”. During an uplifting cover of Hilary Duff’s ‘What Dreams Are Made Of’ from the 2003 Lizzie McGuire Movie, fans pulled out large paper hearts and joyfully waved them around. Carla Wehbe returned to the stage to join Peach PRC in a cover of MUNA’s ‘Silk Chiffon’, and Peach even displayed her upper body strength during a pole dancing segment that had patrons frothing.
Performing songs including the new ‘Secret’, the iconic ‘God Is A Freak’, and showcasing her beautiful voice and high notes with ‘Favourite Person’ and ‘Forever Drunk’, Peach even took the time to sweetly sing ‘Happy Birthday’ with the Melbourne crowd to two lucky fans. My favourite song of the night however, was when Peach PRC slowed down the momentum and curled up on a couch to sing the poetic and heartfelt ‘Heavy’, one of my favourites of her discography with such clever and eloquent lyrics. I also adored Peach PRC’s animated cover of the 2003 techno dance Euro-pop Cascada hit ‘Everytime We Touch’ that had the Melbourne venue quaking in elation.
There’s just something so special about Peach PRC as an artist and seeing her perform live is magical. I loved singing along to her catchy music, shouting out loud in unison, “Fuck you and goodbye!” to ‘F U Goodbye’, and carefreely singing ‘Loved You Before’ lyrics, “I think I loved you before back when we were dinosaurs” to my significant other.
Peach PRC impressively made her covers sound like her own songs and when she did perform her original music, the energy in the Melbourne venue was contagious. It seemed like the whole world was going to explode with happiness that night. The vibe in the room felt wholesome, warm and welcoming. It was a concert, it was a party, it was a celebration of love and life all in one. But most importantly – it was fun.
Peach PRC is currently touring Australia as part of her 2024 Secret PRC Tour, proudly presented by Secret Sounds. Although her Melbourne concerts at Forum Melbourne are over, the pink pop queen will be in Brisbane at Fortitude Valley Music Hall next on the 28th of March before her two shows in Sydney at Enmore Theatre in early April where she will end her tour.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://secretsounds.com/tour/peach-prc-tickets-2024
https://www.peachprc.com
https://www.instagram.com/peachprc
Photography by Ash Caygill.
