Nine albums into a career of making some of the prettiest and most melodic indie rock out there, Belle & Sebastian brought their lovely music to the Observatory North Park last Friday night. But not before the opening band Perfume Genius let San Diego know what they were all about.

And what Perfume Genius were all about was fairly confusing, but it was always entertaining and at times enthralling. As the band started to play amidst the barely lit stage, you could only make out each member’s silhouette. Then, amongst the darkness and distortion, another musician sauntered onto the stage and was received by an adoring round of applause. As the music picked up and the drums kicked in, this final silhouette took the mic and let out a vicious howl, then started to gyrate in an awkwardly sexual manner to the increasing buildup of the music. When the music finally reached a peak, the stage lit up to reveal Mike Hadreas, a young front man in very short shorts, nylon stockings and bright red lipstick.

As striking as Hadreas’ look and movements were, they didn’t hold a candle to the music. Perfume Genius played an incredible set that struck a captivating resonance between the tortured rock and roll that bands like Tool are known for and something a lot lighter that bordered on being Vaudevillian in nature. Their set took the crowd on a journey, never knowing which direction things were going in, but always enjoying the ride.

The juxtaposition of Perfume Genius’ brand of darkly dizzying rock and Belle & Sebastian’s well-honed indie pop was immediately palpable and so very enjoyable. The Scottish band opened its set with a track off the new album, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. The song, “Nobody’s Empire,” had a slow build that allowed each of the dozen or so musicians on stage to contribute equal parts to the lush sound. Not letting up any of the momentum built by that first song, Belle & Sebastian got the crowd’s booties shaking even more with the fan favorite “I’m a Cuckoo.”

The vibe in the audience was joyful for most of the show, but then two obnoxious women heckled the band into letting them come up on the stage to dance. This is a common occurrence at Belle & Sebastian shows, as the band enjoys inviting specific members of the audience to dance onstage at very specific times. But these ladies had no regard or respect for the band. This was only reinforced as one of them took out her phone and tried to get lead singer Stuart Murdoch to “lean in” for a selfie. Her attempts were unsuccessful, and the more she brandished her phone about like she just couldn’t enjoy anything unless staring through the screen, the more the show’s joyful vibe began to deteriorate.

At one point Murdoch asked her to put her phone down and enjoy the moment, which was met with a hearty round of applause from an audience whose disdain for this “fan” was growing at an alarming rate. After making a big deal about putting her phone away a few minutes later, she soon took it out again and began recording the band from the stage. It was painful, to say the least, and put quite the damper on an otherwise beautiful set of music from these indie rock veterans.

And being the veterans they are, Belle & Sebastian only let the girls stay on the stage for a brief time before sending them off. A few songs later, the vibe was back to where it should be, and the band let the real dance party begin as they asked anyone and everyone who wanted to dance to join them on stage. It was a blast to watch the musicians and the audience interacting with each other in such a playful way.

At different times during the evening, both Belle & Sebastian and Perfume Genius acknowledged a disturbing sentiment I’ve heard echoed over and over — that San Diego fans are some of the worst people to perform for. And as defensive as this makes me, I’ve also been to enough shows to know it to be true. So San Diego, if you’re reading this take note: Respect the space of those around you, keep your hateful comments to yourself, don’t get into fist fights, and please for the love of Jebus keep your phones in your pockets, especially if the band is nice enough to invite you up on the stage to dance with them.