Perfume Genius at the Bowery Ballroom

Mike Hadreas was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, where he was the only openly gay student at his school. He received death threats which were not addressed by the administration, and later, as a young adult, he was attacked by several young men in his neighborhood. He then moved to Brooklyn, New York, and worked as a doorman at an East Village nightclub. In 2005, Hadreas returned home to Seattle and began recording music under the name Perfume Genius. His music explored sexuality, domestic abuse, the dangers faced by gay men in contemporary society, and his personal struggle with Crohn's disease. Perfume Genius' fourth and most recent album, No Shape, was released on May 5, 2017.

Headlining at the Bowery Ballroom tonight, Perfume Genius' performance was a curious blend of cabaret and art rock that was intriguing and even mysterious, diving quickly from shushed tones to a vast and blasting wall of sound. Often deviating from melodic expectations, Hadreas' sweet vocal flow and the electronic backing often went in unorthodox directions. Rhythms often stopped and changed, yet except for a brief period when he sat in a chair, Hadreas hardly ever stopped pacing and dancing. Even in the chair, however, he wiggled until his chest was on his knees. Shimmering and writhing to his feather light but angst-ridden vocal delivery, he spun the vulnerability inherent in his project into a celebration of identity and defiance. Yet, even with the inclusion of a string quartet on many songs, this catalogue was essentially too personal for the mainstream but will appeal to a large underground network of music fans.

Visit Perfume Genius at www.perfumegenius.org.

Setlist:

1. Otherside
2. Longpig
3. Fool
4. Wreath
5. Go Ahead
6. Valley (with string quartet)
7. Just Like Love (with string quartet)
8. Normal Song (with string quartet)
9. Every Night (with string quartet)
10. Body's in Trouble (Mary Margaret O'Hara cover)
11. Grid
12. My Body
13. Run Me Through
14. Die 4 You
15. Slip Away

Encore:

1. Learning
2. Alan (with string quartet)
3. Too Bright (with string quartet)
4. Hood
5. Queen