Perfume Genius wooed the nearly sold-out crowd at Neptune Theater. Photo by

Perfume Genius wooed the nearly sold-out crowd at Neptune Theater. Photo by Morgen Schuler

Saturday night, local musician Perfume Genius, aka Mike Hadreas, performed for a nearly sold-out crowd at the Neptune Theater. The attendence really said something, in light of the the tornado-like winds blowing outside that night. Inside, other than the occasional shooshing to overly-enthusiastic, most likely inebriated, show-goers, the crowd was dead-silent, captivated by the tender, weird, wonderful melodies coming from the stage. While some of his newer songs have a dancier feel and a louder volume, they’re still full of emotional angst and power.

Starting off with some oldies but goodies like “Dark Parts,” “Lookout, Lookout,” and “Take Me Home,” Hadreas drew in fans both new and seasoned; he has an easy time enchanting even the stingiest and most stand-offish of concert-goers. His somewhat awkward—more aptly, unique—motions on stage appear to come from down in the emotional darkness, a place where one can only imagine his lyrics come from too. Later in the set, he satiated the crowd with upbeat dance tunes like “Queen” and “My Body,” with a little of his shy and playful banter thrown in.

Adorned in deep red nail polish and lipstick, Hadreas powers through incredibly personal and powerful music; it’s not something you often see in musicians these days. Then again, Perfume Genius seems to be a enigma in many ways, which is what makes him so intriguing to begin with.

Make sure the check out the whole set of photos from the night including the opener Matteah Baim.