Perfume Genius. Kulturkirche. Cologne. Monday 20th November 2017.

In a stunningly beautiful tall church in Cologne, Perfume Genius stepped out to perform a set matching the beauty of the venue.

Opening with Otherside, it's delicate then crashing juxtaposition, setting the tone for an extraordinary night. The performance from start to finish was breathless from lead singer Mike Hadreas, who swooned, posed and danced across the stage throughout. The rest of the band, all dressed in black, remained still. Backed by Alan Wyffles on keyboards stage right, and a guitarist and drummer stage left and back, the rest of the performance area belonged to Mike.


The performance of Wreath was such a joy. The track builds and builds, an elevating melody. Recently, Perfume Genius asked fans to send video clips of themselves dancing along to the song, and the compilation is the official video. It is a work of beauty.

There were so many moments where the audience could not take their eyes off Hadreas. Mike has such great positional sense. At one point between songs Mike jokes of his moves onstage: "it's likely to be more of a flail". The almost trademarked backwards lean, that adorned the cover of his new album Other Side, the perch on the edge of the stage, the crouch when delivering delicious lyrics: "each and every breath I spend, you are collecting".

Die 4 You was the showstopper of the night. A rendition that had the audience awestruck and on their feet at the end, outstanding in the church setting.

One minor incident was the sudden appearance of a lumbering sound technician on stage, who stepped out not once but twice when a microphone failed. Fortunately, Hadreas had such good grace that it was immediately forgotten. In an odd way, it gave extra zing to the next song.

What felt like almost as soon as it had begun, the encore. This featured a trip down memory lane to older Perfume Genius tracks. There were piano-led solo versions Mr Peterson, Hood and a wondrous cover version of Bright Eyes. Alan joining Mike on piano front of stage to perform Alan was also jaw-dropping.

Rounding out with the footstomper Queen, it was a night never to forget. Mike Hadreas left the stage first, leaving the band playing out and leaving the audience crying out for more.