Perfume Genius live review: Trinity Centre receives ‘Glory’ in full force
Eleven years is a long time in music. The career of an indie artist can begin and die in that space of time – sometimes shorter – and so every moment you spend with your most beloved artists ought to be cherished with that in mind.
Those who manage to survive the span of a decade and only seem to grow over the course of time might be considered the lucky ones, but in reality, it’s we as the audience who are perhaps more fortunate when we get to witness the acts we adore blossom. The reason I make reference to 11 years is that’s how long it’s been between the two occasions where I’ve seen Perfume Genius live, and a lot has certainly changed in this span of time for Mike Hadreas as an artist.
Witnessing him as a smooth-faced teenager in Brighton on the Too Bright tour was memorable as it is, having spent the year repeatedly indulging in the record and turning him into one of my favourite artists on the basis of one release. Retrospective visits to Put Your Back N 2 It and Learning were enjoyable, but what piqued my interest more was where Hadreas was headed with his ambitions, and whether he’d be able to expand on an already impressive breakthrough by increasing the ornateness of his work.
While I’ve kept fully in the loop with every Perfume Genius album released since Too Bright, and have been blessed with a response to my previous query of where Hadreas was heading that has done more than satisfy me, getting to witness him in the flesh again proved elusive until now. Promoting his seventh album, Glory, his astounding appearance at the Trinity Centre in Bristol proved that 11 years may feel like a long time, but it’s ample enough of a window to completely transform from a timid and tender voice into an ebullient tour de force.
What made the first encounter special was the intimacy of the performance, with Hadreas delivering the majority of songs from behind the piano and embracing softer palettes in his sound, but on subsequent releases, he’s developed a greater range in his songwriting.
You could argue that this stems from songs like ‘Queen’ and ‘My Body’, which both remain present staples in his set, but they’re even more buoyant than they were at the time of their release, and the versatility of other tracks only adds to this.
Hadreas now splits his time on stage between singing from behind the piano, writhing around on top of a chair and contorting his body in evocative fashion. A flurry of tracks from Glory kick the set off in style, with the raw and primal ‘No Front Teeth’ managing to be just as dramatic on stage as it is on record, but it’s moments like the pregnant pauses between the barely accompanied vocals and bursts of euphoria on ‘Otherside’, and the otherworldly dance cut ‘Eye In The Wall’ that shine most in the setlist.
Certain songs such as ‘On The Floor’ and ‘Slip Away’ were songs I’d always imagined to be big hitters in a Perfume Genius set, and didn’t disappoint when they were introduced. There are times when things may not have developed as much as hoped, with some additional layering of texture and harmony being absent from live arrangements, but to complain about what’s missing only distracts from how perfectly Hadreas and his band managed to deliver other elements.
Having barely taken his eye off the ball in this period and continuing to deliver one astounding record after another, it should hardly come as a surprise to see that the live show has evolved alongside his creative output, with Hadreas only growing in confidence the more he liberates himself artistically. 11 years may well be a long time, but in moments like this, the wait is worth it.
