Walking into the Granada Theater, I was not sure what to expect. The crowd inside was much more pink and almost entirely femme, a stark contrast to the usual black clothes and much more male-centered crowds I’m used to. I was given an N95 mask, at the request of the artist, for the first time in three or four years. As noted by Purity Ring themselves, this was done “in solidarity with disabled and immunocompromised people.” As I found out later, $1 from each ticket was also donated towards Black trans artists.

The opener was an Australian artist and producer known as yuniVERSE. I enjoyed the visual design of her setup. The small row of flowers surrounding her, blocking out the rest of the stage, made it appear very intimate. The placement of it, however, meant she could only be seen clearly by the audience standing to the left of the stage. This seemed like a way to avoid having to move the giant holographic fans that Purity Ring had set up—but overall, it dampened my experience. As someone who’s been to many shows where the main act has props (such as Skinny Puppy, who had a giant box in the middle of the stage), it appeared to me that they could have perhaps moved them slightly further back so that the middle could be used by yuniVERSE.

Despite these limitations, though, she played a good set and managed to make it a lovely experience for the audience.

Purity Ring came on next, with some of the most unique visuals I’ve seen in a long while. Behind them, various pictures of nature played, oversaturated and bright in a dreamlike way. In front of the duo were a row of spinning fans, which created a series of moving images in theme with each song, making it look as if the two were a part of the scenes they created—with the music only further enhancing the illusion. I often swapped between messing with the camera settings to get the best shot of it all and simply staring at it, entranced by what I was seeing.