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PEGGY GOU
+ logic1000 + William Kiss
@ Sydney Myer Music Bowl,
Melbourne,
17th November 2024
(Live Review)

Review by Sam Coronado

Photos by Jean Ngooi (@jeanngooi)

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PEGGY GOU / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Peggy Gou was back in Melbourne on Sunday night, continuing what seems more and more like a passioned love affair with the city and country. The South Korean, Berlin-based DJ and producer completed the final leg of her brief Australian tour, and by now she really needs none of this introductory bit. Local punters will be more than familiar with her from her three tours down under in as many years.

But if you somehow haven’t caught one of Gou’s sets yet, whether at one of the many new year’s festivals across the various states, or shows such as this one, chances are that you have at least caught wind of the Peggy phenomenon. Since her first BTV in 2018, to the coveted countdown slot she played last year, Gou’s rise to international superstardom has been truly astonishing. And that is only to speak of her resume as a DJ. As a producer, a few of her tracks have infiltrated nearly everyone’s social media and TikTok. She released her debut LP I Hear You earlier this year. And so this is her status – but how was the show?

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PEGGY GOU / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Peggy’s sound has been described as genre-defying, but at a point in electronic and dance music where genres seem to include more and encompass less, and aren’t that useful as categories, this doesn’t really describe much. But it is true that Gou has selected from a diverse range of sounds throughout her career, from dark techno, to nostalgic 80s and 90s house cuts. On Sunday we got the more house-y, happy Peggy with plenty of organ, keys, and other instrumental loops underneath sampled vocal choruses.

While that sound has never been part of my usual coffee order, being more of a techno/trance guy myself, it proved popular with the many hundreds of people in attendance who were more than happy to dance along. I’m not out here to diss house, but my favourite tracks were those harder, darker cuts that Gou occasionally drifted towards. There was a jungle or breakbeat loop thrown in here, and a warped and distorted synth there, and it was enough to scratch my itch.

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PEGGY GOU / Photo – @jeanngooi

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But unfortunately these departures were then never pursued beyond more than a single track, with Gou okay more often than not to return to that more familiar happy-house sound as soon as possible. It didn’t really surprise me, seeing as her tracks as a producer tend to occupy this very genre. But it is a shame considering her early pre-pandemic sets were far more varied and diverse, and leaned pretty equally into both ‘golden-age’ house and dark techno sounds. In comparison, on Sunday it felt like she played it pretty safe.

Everything was rather laidback, in fact, from Gou’s nonchalant, mid-track cigarette drag, sunnies and all, to the simple stage layout of the decks front and centre, with minimal décor. The lights and visual production were fairly tame, and rather stripped back. And the curation and selection, while it was pleasing house tracks for the most part, never really felt like it was going anywhere, or headed anywhere for that matter. If Gou’s selection occasionally drifted into more daring waters, it also occasionally missed its mark too. A remix of Roddy Ricch’s “The Box”, for example, felt a few years too late, and the vocal samples looped for a few minutes too many.

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PEGGY GOU / Photo – @jeanngooi

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When she did play her own tracks, it was to the raucous applause of a starved audience. The inescapable “Nanana (It Goes Like)” typifies the nostalgic house sound Gou tends to lean toward, but it features her own vocals on top of it, as well as a more conventional song structure. The end result is a certified earworm of a catchy dance-pop tune, and a mass singalong that rung throughout the Bowl. It was certainly well-received, but she did keep her own produced tracks to a minimum. I can imagine that there were those in the crowd who had been hoping to hear more of her own stuff.

I began with a pretty long introductory segment to explain why I had different expectations for Peggy than if she was just some other international DJ-producer. The fact is that this is Gou’s third appearance in Melbourne in as many years makes the need for some dare, exploration and displaying range that much more apparent, and paramount. If Gou was set on us witnessing her talent as a DJ rather than a producer, then I can’t help but feel slightly disappointed with the lack of diversity and variation within her curation on Sunday. For a one-hour club set, her selection would have been apt. But for a two-hour headline show, I was hoping for a bit more.

At least part of my dissatisfaction had to do less with Gou herself and more so the venue and vibe. Sidney Myer can be a fantastic, unique music venue, for both live and electronic acts. In fact Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke recently showcased both (yes both!) at the Bowl just a few weeks ago. But the numerous characteristics that are Sidney Myer’s unique strengths, like its amphitheatre design, its expansive lawn, and the outdoor sound, are just as easily made into challenges when the wrong act is booked there.

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PEGGY GOU / Photo - @jeanngooi" width="1050" height="700"> Peggy Gou

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That Gou’s sound, and in fact her brand of house music in general, is more suited for a club, or warehouse even, should go without saying. While the audio mixing was fine throughout the night, the whole show was missing the muddy, yet pulsating lows of nightclub speakers. But also missing was that party feel, because of the restrained lighting and visuals sure, but also because Sidney Myer can’t help but seem like a bit more of a serious venue than others. It caters toward the spectacle of the concert live show, with its elevated lawn ensuring great visibility of the stage. But it is far from the free-spirited vibe of some beach party in Ibiza or Bali, or the dirty, yet cool grunge of some basement in Berlin.

If history is anything to go by, Peggy Gou will soon be back for another show, or festival appearance in the near future. I hope when that time comes local punters will be able to see not only the producer that has blown up online with a TikTok-famous song, but also the fantastic, inspired curation that once put her on the map.

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PEGGY GOU / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Check out Jean Ngooi’s (@jeanngooi) full gallery of this event HERE

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PEGGY GOU / Photo – @jeanngooi

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Follow PEGGY GOU: 
​ Website – Facebook – Instagram – YouTube – Spotify – Apple Music  

Follow LOGIC1000: 
​TikTok – Instagram – YouTube – Spotify – Apple Podcast 

Follow WILLIAM KISS: 
​Facebook – Instagram – Spotify – Apple Music – Soundcloud

frontiertouring.com/peggygou | facebook.com/frontiertouring
​instagram.com/frontiertouring | x.com/frontiertouring 

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AMNPLIFY – DB