Perfume Genius, Auckland NZ, 2022

Perfume Genius

6th June 2022
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sam Te Kani. Photography by Doug Peters.

Being my first proper gig in many months I had some nerves about being confined to Auckland’s Power Station with several hundred live bodies. It also felt like being a late teen again seeing my first big act outside of the proverbial covers-bands of the small Northland town I’m from. That said, Michael Alden Hadreas aka American musician Perfume Genius certainly brought more to the table than your local Irish pub could offer on a Monday night. There was a feeling in the air, out on a school night in the midst of a Pandemic. The feeling was almost a naughtiness, kept in check by the existential dread which we’re all so familiar with now it goes without saying. Hadreas must have been feeling it too, thanking everyone profusely for showing up. At a glance the crowd mostly consisted of fans, myself included, whose loyalty to a unique and volubly queer performer cannot here be understated.

The lights dimmed and a choral track ushered in a cunningly reverent Hadreas. Starting off nice and easy Hadreas gently invited those few uninitiated into the fold with some of his more maudlin tracks, which isn’t to do the artist’s hard-earned vulnerability a disservice. Truth be told I still avoid listening to the early albums because I can’t do so without a few dry sobs or whatever, a condition made worse by the aforementioned existential dread of a pandemic, geopolitical instability, climate change etc. And so it was with an exhilarating relief that Genius pivoted after four or five tracks towards the powered guitar-ballad stuff he’s somewhat refined with later albums. Personal standout for this attendee was ‘Slip Away’ which, with the help of a uniformly talented band, translated undiluted from recording to live rendition, with that blasted out crescendo shaking the rafters.

My only criticism would be the gig itself being on a Monday and a public holiday no less—unrelated, but a holiday which bears little relevance to mine or conceivably any other New Zealander’s lives (don’t @ me). It seemed like the crowd took a little warming up with the long weekend and miserable June weather a presumable factor. But being as excited as anyone to be back in the gig circuit, Hadreas easily brought the crowd around with exuberant energy and candid theatrics — all the while belting out pitch perfect vocals. Something of a small miracle, actually.

The artist’s work for a decade has circled themes of masculinity, unpacking space enough in more toxic ideations for softness and desire. Clad in sleeveless leather Hadreas brought this signature energy to the stage, alternating between a knowing rock-star swagger like some Jagger-Springsteen hybrid, and for the more intimate tracks — like apparent set list detour Katie — a more hushed presence, at what felt like a show midpoint breaking up an otherwise kinetic stage presence with a piano solo. To be honest Hadreas’s clear enjoyment was contagious, slinking across the stage and incorporating a shibari-looking chair, mounting the thing even while talking about how it was picked up from an op shop on a whim and was fated for the trash. At one point Hadreas took to it, practically making love to it while wrapping themselves in a white veil, before ricocheting back round the stage like a charismatic dandy on uppers. It could be argued Hadreas was having the most fun in the room. Which is pretty much everything I want from a performer.

Perfume Genius

Were you there at the Powerstation for this beautiful alternative pop gig? Or have you seen Perfume Genius perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!

_{Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.}

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