By NOTES FROM VIVACE
The ill peach duo of Jess Corazza on vocals and Pat Morrissey on synths celebrated their first album release, This Is Not An Exit at The Moroccan Lounge. The band goes without capitalization, which is a good idea for me personally because I just might have embarrassingly called them Three Peach until corrected, because seeing Ill would have me thinking Roman numerals . . . maybe that’s just me.
Morrissey spoke to U.S. Rocker about how the band started, “We met in High School in Minnesota in an acapella jazz group. (nerd alert!!). I had an emo indie band and Jess was a solo singer songwriter artist. I got really into 2010’s pop like Britney Spears’ ‘Blackout’ and Timbaland production and we somehow found ourselves writing pop songs for this blind German pop singer. We eventually moved to New York and continued writing for other artists but ended up writing songs that were too left of center. So we decided to form our own project and start releasing music ourselves. We moved to LA and started playing shows and formed a record label called Pop Can Records and put out the first ill peach EP. “
The band has a quirky sense of humor. Morrissey’s two synths were “held” up with fake hands. Corazza was dressed and performed in a ballerina style. On an Instagram post, they mention that they’re the best duo since Mulder and Scully of The X-Files. In regard to that TV topic, we asked Morrissey who is the biggest The X-Files fan, “I am probably the bigger X-Files fan. It was a huge show in our hometown. Small rural lake town called Mound, Minnesota.” Their press releases state they just couldn’t make a career out of being a “cowgirl” and “tap dancer.” Finally, we were informed that when it comes to “Pizza or Pasta? Jess: Pasta. Pat: Pizza.”
Before we go into the set, let’s get this out of the way: one has to give it up to Corazza’s tea bottle. It ended up getting tipped over twice, prior to the set and towards the end of the set. The first time, most of the tea spilled across the stage floor. Steam drifted upwards so you know she likes her tea steamy hot.
Morrissey mentioned early in the set that the band was playing the album from start to finish. Why have a record release show and not play the music in the order on the album? It seems like a sensible thing to do and got loud approval from the audience. As the band started off their set, Corazza came out with a wave to the crowd and they got the crowd in an upbeat mood with the song “Bloom.”
For the eclectic “Blah Blah Blah,” Corazza encouraged the crowd to sing along, “Do you want to sing it with me?” The reminiscent “17” must have tugged on a few heart strings with the lyrics “Oh, time’s got a way. Timе, won’t you stay. Time’s got a way.” For “Sour Like Lemonade,” Corazza used arm motions to request that the crowd bounce along with her. The song that got especially loud cheers was “Heavyweight” as the lyrics “I just try to keep it light” faded away. It is a beautifully composed song that glides along even though the lyrics have dark imagery, “Hole in a heart. Flooding the kitchen sink. Up to my knees. Head on the table. Like a car crash in piеces.” The tender vocals of the song make you understand that there is eventually an unstated positive outcome.
After the final song of their album, “Sigh,” the band took the opportunity to toss some t-shirts into the audience before closing it out with their biggest hits “Gum” and “Dandelion.” The set ended as it started with Corazza giving a wave to the crowd.
Opening up the night was Dead Bedroom. The band has some heavy bass beats layered with lingering vocals and sonic waves. Out in the audience, a man was filming the full set with his phone on a selfie stick. Just so that it makes for a cool storyline, I’ll assume he was the father of the lead singer.
ill peach setlist: Bloom, Blah Blah Blah, Tornado Weather, Hush, Capillary Bed, 17, Soft, Head Full of Holes, Sour Like Lemonade, This is not an Exit, Colliding, Heavyweight, Sigh, Gum, Dandelion.
https://www.instagram.com/deadbedroom/
https://www.instagram.com/illpeach__/