Mike Hadreas is Perfume Genius. And Meg Duffy is Hand Habits. Beyond their unquestionable talent, uncertainty, vulnerability, energy, resilience, and perennial creative evolution, were their music seen as a Venn diagram it would intersect with Duffy. They are the guitarist in Perfume Genius’s band as well as the opening act for this tour of the EU and UK.
Everything is blue, from the only stage lighting colour under which Meg Duffy and Pat Kelly (bass guitar) and Tim Carr (drums) are bathed for the duration of their set to the material they play from Hand Habits’ latest album, Blue Reminder. But not the mood. Opening song ‘More Today’ in which Duffy affirms “I want it all or nothing” and ‘Bluebird of Happiness’ reflect the spirit of positivity. Duffy’s voice is strong, assured, and the crashing chords of their guitar eventually explode into the most exquisite solo during the closing ‘Jessica.’ It’s the power of love.
A mere 15 minutes after this compelling set ends, the trio return as three fifths of Perfume Genius joining considerable force with Alan Wyffels (keyboards and backing vocals) and, of course, Mike Hadreas.
Glory is the name of Perfume Genius’s seventh and most recent album. A rich, sonic delight, Glory also lends itself to the title of this tour and he starts this dramatic, determined show with three songs from that record. By the time he has reached the third of these songs, ‘No Front Teeth,’ Hadreas has brought a single folding chair to the stage, around, onto, and through which he writhes. The movement is sensual, it is serpentine, it is theatrical, adding to the heightened drama and tension of the occasion.
Anxiety, alienation, and loss have long been constant lyrical leitmotifs in the work of Perfume Genius, yet for all that sense of doubt and disconnection he may feel his live performance exudes considerable self-assurance and innate balance. ‘Slip Away’ from 2017’s No Shape positively rocks out with the wick then turned right down for the ensuing ‘Left for Tomorrow.’
Even a temporary break in proceedings whilst “the system is rebooted” cannot derail the continuity. The pulsing synth-pop of ‘Valley’ resumes the momentum with ‘Me and Angel’, for which Hadreas moves to the piano, a perfect counterpoint.
‘Polly’ – written back in the late ’60s by ex-Byrds member Gene Clark and bluegrass banjo player Doug Dillard – is the first of this evening’s impeccable choice of covers, retaining the haunting, emotional depth of the original. The sparse, spectral beauty of ‘Otherside’ suddenly erupts into a wild welter of sound before Meg Duffy then lays down a dirty, carnal groove on ‘Describe’ that blurs seamlessly into some serious slide guitar.
Perfume Genius return for a three-song encore, the first two of which are covers. Big Star’s ‘Kangaroo’ and Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You’ are approached with the utmost dignity and respect before the suitably overblown hiatus of ‘Queen’ brings this supreme show to a triumphant close.
Photos: Simon Godley
More photos of Habit Hands at Project House, Leeds
More photos of Perfume Genius at Project House, Leeds
