Audience basks in Perfume Genius’ Glory in Toronto
Iowa-born art pop vocalist Mike Hadreas, performing under the moniker of Perfume Genius, returns to Toronto for the first time since 2018- putting on a show that fuses his softer vocal stylings with attention-commanding performance art, indicative of his intricacy both as an artist, and human.
Despite having their opportunities to see Hadreas perform again being stalled by a pandemic, Toronto fans maintain their excitement to see performances of tracks both from Perfume Genius’s latest release Glory, as well as his 2020 and 2022 projects Set My Heart on Fire Immediately and Ugly Season. The Concert Hall is packed with patrons of various age groups and demographics, going to show the resonance Hadreas’ music has amongst the population, uniting showgoers in their love of his music, as well as their human experiences.
A fog veils the stage as Hadreas and his four-piece band are welcomed by a single lighting cue and adoring audience, kicking off the show with 2025 release Glory’s single In a Row. The stage is set up in a disorganized, but intentional matter creating an interactive playground for him to connect with throughout the show, complete with a yoga ball, a step stool, and a rotating platform to illustrate the dizzying trance Hadreas’ music will envelop both him and the crowd in.
Influenced by his struggles with addiction, chronic illness, and his identity as a homosexual man in a largely heteronormative industry, Hadreas’ vocals and lyricism possess a sense of darkness and dreaminess, one that also reveals itself in his physicality as he balances bashing around the stage with more delicate, almost seductive movements. As he interacts with the set dressing, illustrated is Hadreas’ struggle to control his surroundings, much like the ever-changing world he lives in. Ultimately realizing that there is no control, he embraces the chaos of what is around him, and even becomes it.
Already bearing his soul in his music, Hadreas utilizes time in between songs to relay more lighthearted tour anecdotes and personal stories to create an intimacy between performer and patron; one that would be maintained as audiences would see him deliver a softer, more piano-forward performance of 2025 ballad Me & Angel.
After a performance of Describe from 2020 release Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, Hadreas is once again seen leaning into the more physical aspect of his performance style, as he curls the microphone stand in his arms as though it were a weight while kneeling before it. Although one may argue that the weight of the stand may represent the strain of his career, and the pressure he feels to cater to the public and present himself in the industry as something he may not be, garnering more success in a heteronormative society; It can also be derived from the more romantic glances Hadreas takes at the stand the sort of seductiveness that a life that wouldn’t command this need to pretend or hide may possess. Thankfully, this temptation is not given into, as Hadreas freely and proudly explores all aspects of his identity (Be it love, illness, or addiction) within his music and physical performance.
After closing the show with a gritty, psychologically revealing performance of 2014 single My Body, Hadreas returns to the stage once more for an encore. Bathed in blue light; an almost wisecracking technical choice, as a single of such a name would appear on the 1993 LP from which he would derive his next track, Hadreas delivers a hypnotic rendition of Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You.
Bringing down the house with a final performance of Queen, Hadreas concludes his show with a performance that may look forced if executed by any other artist, but in this instance felt less like a performance, and more like an unveiling of his individuation. Commanding audiences’ attention and delivering a show that evoked a vast range of emotions through both musical and physical performance, Hadreas is sure to be welcomed with open arms the next time he returns to Toronto.