All the way from the West Coast of Canada, indie pop band Peach Pit visited Boone Wednesday night to perform a sold-out concert at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts.
APPS’s Main Stage Council planned and hosted the event, announcing the show Aug. 11 and selling out completely 10 days later. Student tickets were $25 and public tickets went for $35.
Peach Pit is a four-piece band made up of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Neil Smith, lead guitarist Christopher Vandercooy, bassist Peter Wilton and drummer Mikey Pascuzzi. Smith and Vandercooy have been friends since they went to high school together in Vancouver, Canada, and decided to start making music together in 2014. The latter two members joined the pair, and they released their debut EP “Sweet FA” in June 2016.
The show was well-attended, with lengthy lines for concessions spanning down hallways. Students arriving past 7:45 p.m. struggled to find seating in the crowded theater.
Greensboro-based alt-rock band White Toledo opened the show, taking the stage at 8 p.m. The audience rocked out to the band’s setlist comprised of original songs as well as their energetic cover of Blink-182’s “All the Small Things.”
“We didn’t write that one, in case you didn’t already know,” said White Toledo lead guitarist Cole Covington.
Peach Pit made their entrance about an hour later, sprinting onstage to the sound of metallic guitars and thunderstorm audio effects. Lead singer Neil Smith windmill-whipped his long hair as the rest of the band thrashed around the stage under flashing strobe lights. “How the f—‘- it going App State? Are you guys ready for the rock ‘n roll we have for you tonight,” Smith joked in a throaty, death-metal growl.
After the strobe lights shut off and the vigorous metal guitars faded, the words “Peach Pit” written in a wavy, psychedelic font lit up the screen behind the band as they began playing “Being so Normal.”
Smith interacted with the crowd several times throughout the show, stopping between songs to joke with bandmates and share silly anecdotes.
“I keep saying ‘App State’ because I’m scared to pronounce the word ‘Appalachian,’” said Smith, joking about his Canadian accent.
After their second song of the night, “Techno Show,” the band encouraged the crowd to get closer to the stage.
“I know this is, like, a seated event, but it feels a little weird like this, so I need you guys to come over here,” Smith said.
A crowd-favorite moment was when Smith revealed bassist Peter Wilton once dated his sister, going on to tell the audience about the time his father accidentally showed Wilton a naked picture of his mother when attempting to swipe through photos of a family camping trip.
“Wow, Pete’s so cool, he’s seen both my mom and sister naked,” said Smith in a mocking tone.
Peach Pit put on an electric, fun-filled performance that kept the audience on their feet. During their song “Vickie,” the entire band did high knees in unison, dancing across the stage and ending the song with a curtsy.
After the band completed their setlist of 17 original songs, the crowd clamored for an encore, stomping their feet and banging on the seats in front of them. When the band returned, they played “Chagu’s Sideturn,” “Hot Knifer” and the highly-requested “Shampoo Bottles” before thanking the audience and exiting the stage.
