Step right up, folks, gals, and non-binary pals, because I’m about to present to you a fun show review of the energizing, the wild, the spectacular… Cheri &The Whipped Cream! They put on quite the phenomenon of a show at Warehouse on Watts in Philadelphia, but it wasn’t just any show…it was CLOWN THEMED! This idea came from the incredibly talented team of Carbon Kitty Productions, who hosts various clown-themed parties and events. This was one of the first times that they had a full band play at one of their events. I must say, I haven’t been to many themed-shows, but none of them were as well put together as this one. And it makes me wonder, why not have more themed shows? After talking to various show-goers, many expressed excitement when they heard about the theme. This includes everyone in the band as well - they loved that it gave them room to be creative and something exciting to look forward to. It also gave me a reason to wear a forgotten clown costume that I had stored in my closet for a couple of years now. Beyond the theme, Carbon Kitty Productions also brought in vendors, drag crowns and go-go performers, interactive activities and themed stations, making this a party to remember. But enough talk about the theme, let’s delve into the show.
Cheri &The Whipped Cream’s performance was nothing short of spectacular. They started with the band playing the first beats of their original song, “How Ya Feel.” The backup singers, Haley aka Junee, Tasia, Ariana, and Deziah, were swaying to the beats, with Dean on drums, Montii on keytar, Killeé aka Aquil on lead guitar/keys, Jack on rhythm guitar, and Dan on bass. Yes, this was a 10-piece band on stage, which thankfully fit them perfectly. And here she is, the main act, Cheri, strutting out on stage with her usual HUGE presence. You can’t help but notice her big hair, towering over the crowd - a wig hand-crafted by the queen herself. And that wasn’t the only thing she made; she also fashioned some high heels to look like a birthday cake to match the show’s theme. The whole band was very DIY for this show, creating their own costumes, coming up with their own punchlines and stories to tell on stage. You can tell everyone puts in the most effort they can, as they love to create together and feel inspired by each other, which also inspires an incredible performance. You can’t help but move your body and groove out to their funky, psychedelic rock show-stopping songs. And yes, I do think this band will take themselves far. You may ask how far, and Cheri will tell you, “So far, so far, so far,” which are opening lyrics in her fun original “How Ya Feel.” They followed up their first song with a funkified cover of Arabella by the Arctic Monkeys. This really got the crowd pumped as it was something familiar and fun to sing along with. Afterwards, they rolled right into their cover of Poundtown by Sexxy Red, except they changed up a few lyrics and called it “Clown Town” on their set list. They played another original song called “Put It In,” before ending the first half of their set with a cover of “Birdie” by Brides of Funkenstein. Cheri hurried off stage to get herself ready for her next act.
Then it was Aquil and Montii’s time to shine. They were referred to as the Cream Street Boys and performed “Cream Me Baby” aka “Do Me Baby” by Prince. Mid song, they picked someone from the crowd as if they were picking a cherry off a sundae. They picked one of the best-dressed clowns, who was also the winner of the costume contest, and for good reason. She was creatively dressed as a totally DIY birthday cake clown, with fun confetti hair, a birthday hat covered by a homemade birthday cake topper, and a big lollipop as her main accessory. It was a sight to see, especially when Aquil asked her to come up on stage. He pulled out and started shaking a whipped cream canister, asked permission to cream her, then unloaded it into her mouth. He even wiped off the access and licked it off his fingers. She posed for the crowd, and Montii stepped in with a cherry covered in cream, slowly dropping it onto her tongue. You would think you were at a Magic Mike show, but this is how Cheri And The Whipped Cream rolls: sexy, fun, and consensual crowd interactions that make you wish you were standing front row. After they teased and creamed the birthday clown, they presented her with a free t-shirt and pointed out their merch table in the back. This was their first official round of merch that they debuted that night, and it was also designed by yours truly.
Then the band provided a clowny intro into their cover of Funkadelic’s “Super Stupid,” with Aquil taking lead. After that face-melting, solo-soaked performance, Cheri popped back on stage but this time, showing more skin. She introduced the entire band, including their infamous member, who may as well also be their mascot: a sex doll (who is also Dean’s long lost twin) named “Watermelon Fried Chicken.” At one of their shows, I captured the sex doll being thrown around and crowd-surfed, so they were hoping they could get Watermelon to roll around the crowd again. She asked if the crowd wanted to hear a story about a hot cougar that she found herself attracted to, or about how she doesn’t want to be medicated. The crowd clearly chanted “Cougar, cougar, cougar,” and Cheri laughed and threw the sex doll into the crowd. But this time, Watermelon got into a tussle with people in the crowd, as people were beating this sex doll down in the middle of Cheri’s song “Miss Honey.” Cheri was smiling, watching everything unfold as she told this sultry story about how she fell in love with a cougar while their sex doll was getting pummeled. And to add the icing to the cake, Cheri finished off the set with her newest original song, “Medicated.” The most impressive thing was that the band changed up a few things for some songs so it matched the theme of the show, including a circus-like tune on keys that Montii performed, which rolled into their final song. It’s all intentional with this band, and they found every way they could be creative, from the lyricism to the skits to the outfits and makeup. This show was a rollercoaster that took a lot of twists and turns - it’s the kind of coaster that’s worth the long line. Clowns near and far, even ones by the bar, were dancing their colorful clowny asses off. Bubble machines worked around the crowd, big lollipops in various hands with signs on them, “Would you like to be spanked?,” drag go-go clowns on the side stage bumping and humping to every beat. You can’t help but smile at all the action in play, and watching everyone have a genuinely good time. From the cougar story to the boys Montii and Aquil bringing up the clown with the best costume to give a creamy surprise to, it was a never-ending cream carnival. This really loud circus of a band will keep you craving more. Keep following along to read about 2 band interviews with Cheri, the Ringmaster herself, and Dean, her trusty companion and best friend.
For those who don’t know Cherish Green, aka Cheri, the frontwoman of the band, she’s fierce and unapologetically herself. She is also incredibly brave for chasing her dreams and pushing through all the non-belivers like they’re dust in the wind. She’s always believed in herself when others didn’t, and now, she has an entire crew that sees and understands her vision, and is helping her bring it to life. As Cheri was sitting confidently in front of the mirror pre-show, finishing the final touches of her makeup, I asked her a couple of questions. When asked about how she feels about the show, Cheri mentioned, “I’m looking forward to seeing everybody come out, I’m looking forward to seeing all of the outfits…I’m looking forward to seeing how people react to the music being that we’re the first live band to do this show. Overall, I’m just grateful, I’m excited, I’m happy, so many emotions that I’m feeling right now.” I then asked her what the next steps are for Cheri &the Whipped Cream. She giggled, “Hopefully, get some music recorded. Just looking forward to where the year takes us because 2026 is coming up so quick, and we have so much going on…It’s always eventful with us so I’m just looking forward to wherever the wind takes us.” She also noted, “Thank you to everyone for seeing the vision and allowing us to come and be ourselves. There were a lot of no’s and a lot of closed doors, but those closed doors led us to so many great opportunities, so I’m always just so grateful and happy to look at where we are now.”
And for her best friend, Dean Welsh, who has been by her side since the beginning, also shared his thoughts on the show. He mentioned, “I’m excited for the whole thing, and I’m excited to have merch for the first time, something for people to see.” Dean stated, “Ultimately, it’s going to be a really good set with no downtime and a lot of little skits, so it’s definitely the most unique set so far so I’m excited about that.” Dean is also in 3 other bands, including High Leaf, Givving, and The Orange Drop. But Cheri &The Whipped Cream will always have his top priority as he also mentioned he really sees the band going places. To give you some background on the band, Cheri &The Whipped Cream was formed back in 2024, but the name wasn’t decided on until January of 2025 in Los Angeles, with Cherish Green, Dean Welsh, and Aquil Shakur. One of Dean’s working titles for the band was “The Cheries” but after creating a list of sweet alternatives, “Cheri & The Whipped Cream” was the most sticky. He was deeply inspired by Cheri’s name as well as an album cover. Although the original members of the band included Daniel Burgess and Sebastian Roat, they were not active members of the band at the time. Filling in on bass was Domani Okuri, professionally known as Dok Downs, who would play on the Scratch & Sniff demo sessions at Second Street Studios in Philadelphia. Today, the band consists of: Daniel Burgess, Dean Welsh, Quincy aka Montii Montgomery, and of course, Cherish Green. Filling in occasionally for background vocals: Haley Joyner aka Junee, Tasia Green, Ariana Manley, and Deziah Thomas.
Setlist:
How Ya Feel (Original)
Arabella (Arctic Monkeys Cover)
Clown-Town (Sexxy Red “Pound Town” Cover)
Put It In (Original)
Birdie (Brides of Funkenstein Cover)
Cream Me Baby (Prince “Do Me Baby” Cover)
Super Stupid (Funkadelic Cover)
Miss Honey (Original)
Medicated (Original)
