PHOTOS: Perfume Genius – Portland, OR – 11/12/2021

Last Friday night, Perfume Genius brought his mesmerizing live show to Portland’s Revolution Hall. The musician born Michael Alden Hadreas has been creating under the Perfume Genius name for close to a decade, and his most recent album Set My Heart on Fire Immediately shows him at his absolute best. His music is intimate, powerful, and touches on the struggles of his life in a way that shimmers with passion – and his live show was no different.

Perfume Genius commanded the stage from the second he appeared. His performance featured larger-than-life showmanship and vibrant lights, but other times it was his subdued confidence and dynamic vulnerability that shone through the most. One minute he’d be strutting around the stage, posing among the spotlights, and the next he’d be bathed in dark red light, engulfing himself in a mysterious white fabric. No matter the energy or mood, Perfume Genius knew how to capture it perfectly.

The aura that Perfume Genius and his band created in the Revolution Hall was one that only got more potent as the night continued. Some moments rang with such intimacy that it felt like he was performing for only himself, while other moments felt like he was entering a world of performance art; and that’s exactly what made the show so compelling. His musical and vocal abilities are in a league of their own, but it’s the way he shares them with the audience that makes Perfume Genius the genius he is.

If his Portland show proved anything, it’s that Perfume Genius is the sort of artist that deserves to be witnessed live and we feel extremely luck to have had the chance. While his current tour is wrapping up, he has just announced his 2022 tour which goes on sale 11/19 – Click here to see dates and get ticket information, and be sure to check out some photos from the Portland show below!