S.Lo on March 25th, 2019

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There were no eulogies nor in-between commentaries, just the songs of Laura Peters’ Psychic Love speaking for themselves on Sunday night at the Bootleg Theater as friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate the life and work of the late singer-songwriter, artist and activist.

A rotation of guest singers from the Vega’s Meat Market and Play Like a Girl circles that Peters cultivated fronted a band that included Peter Recine and Max Harrison on guitars (with additional guitar support from Kyle Neal, Kyle Biane, Matt Starcher and Stephen Schroder); Liam McCormack and Franko Peters on bass; Joanna Katcher and Kyle Neal lending support on keys; and Duncan Brown, Chris Dunn, Brandon Cooke, Eric Downs and Robert DeLong alternating on drums. The outpouring of talent was a fitting tribute to Peters, an artist’s artist and a creative who was inspired by encouraging and providing a space for other artists. Among her many exploits, Peters, who died in January at age 32, was an art director who built sets for theater, a filmmaker, a musician and by all accounts also a cherished friend.

The factory room of the Bootleg Theater was dressed with collections of photos of Peters’ life, family and friends. There was an installation of light strings where remembrances of her were clothespinned and a display of her creations surrounding Psychic Love releases, such as band photos and song lyrics on trading cards, as well as the new Psychic Love release “Stranger Every Day” on cassette, with donations accepted for a dog rescue charity. A beam was covered in photo booth shots with friends, and a wall was plastered with Polaroid photos capturing candid moments and joyful times with friends. There also was a display of professional music photography featuring Peters, with a “Psychic Love Chick” sign above, promising those approaching that problems will be solved if they divulge them, and a video collection of her performances and works was projected on the back wall.

Soon after 9 p.m., the performances of 16 songs selected from Psychic Love’s 2016 album, “The Hive Mind,” and the new release, “Stranger Every Day,” were shared among 17 vocalists (Wild Reeds’ Mackenzie Howe and Kinsey Lee performing as a pair), who, through their unique interpretations, made clear how strong Peters’ songwriting was in both melody and mining of matters of the heart. The performances were split by an intermission which featured a video compilation of Peters’ work in set design and construction, filmmaking, acting and music, conveying her gift in taking a concept from vision to completion. The final song of the evening, “The Middle,” featured a recording of the artist’s vocals and visuals of her on the screen onstage, accompanied live by Recine and McCormack on guitars. Peters’ spirit as well as her physical absence was felt deeply as all were moved to tears.

Setlist:

“Dye Pack” with Marissa Longstreet (SLUGS)
“Mirrors” with Max Harrison
“Nancy” with Kat Meoz
“Ankle Biter” with Elodie Tomlinson (The Dumes)
“Be Good” with Lauren Ruth Ward (singing also in sign language)
“Modern Age” with Lelia Broussard (Jupiter Winter)
“Red Sun” with Laurel Noone
“Ultralight” with Kimi Recor (Draemings/Black Flamingo)

Intermission

“Candy” with Mackenzie Howe and Kinsey Lee (The Wild Reeds)
“Go Away Green” with Devin Davis (Ramonda Hammer)
“Hot Temper” with Natalie Carol (Valley Queen)
“D. O. M. G.” with Robert DeLong
“The Weekend ” with Soraya Sebghati (Night Talks)
“Heartbreaker” with Emma Cole (GMNII)
“Self Soother” with Michelle Malley (Iress)
“Midnight Cowboy” with Shawn Morones (Valley Queen)

Photos by Roy Jurgens