Perfume Genius’ 10th-anniversary performance of Too Bright at The Great American Music Hall was an intimate and unforgettable night. With its classic San Francisco charm, the venue offered the perfect setting for a devoted crowd, huddling close around the stage like a protective cocoon for Michael Hadreas and his band. Everyone in the room seemed eager and reverent, excited to see Too Bright brought to life in full.
Opening the night, Julianna Barwick cast the room in waves of indigo light. Her set, ethereal and expansive, felt like an homage to artists like Julee Cruise, Donna Summer, and Enya, with a modern twist of binaural beats and the haunting echoes of ancient voices. It was as if she channeled something otherworldly, conjuring a space where time and genre folded in on themselves. You could almost feel the presence of ancestral female spirits, grounding the room in calm energy and preparing it for what was to come.
When Perfume Genius finally took the stage, Michael Hadreas was radiant—relaxed, proud, and fully present. I’ve seen him perform before, sometimes on edge with the demands of obsessive fans, but tonight was different. There was a jovial trust between him and the crowd, a mutual respect that allowed him to flourish. His band, tightly synced and full of emotional charge, mirrored this sense of cohesion. Each note felt connected, like a shared breath between them. His partner on keys added an extra layer of intimacy, deepening the emotional resonance of the performance.
Hadreas himself was a sight to behold. Part Elvis, part Morrissey, his body was a slithering, back-bending expression of the music. Dressed in a slick olive sateen button-down, the shirt clung to his skin, wet with the raw energy of his performance, wrinkled and sexy. The microphone cord draped along his fingers like an extension of himself as he writhed upward, completely lost in emotion.
The highlight, of course, was “Queen,” which he played not once but twice—because really, who wouldn’t want to be slayed by that iconic strut all over again? The first time, the crowd was electrified; by the second, it felt like we were all ascending to another level of sonic bliss. Hadreas delivered the anthem with all the sashay and defiance it demanded, leaving no one untouched.
It was a night where the connection between artist and audience felt palpable as if we were all part of the same heartbeat. You could feel the trust, the love, and the shared history in every moment, making this anniversary a night to remember.
