PERFUME GENIUS
Perfume Genius, Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA 6/5/25.
Atlanta was ready for Perfume Genius’ long awaited return. Indie band urika’s bedroom set the tone for the evening, warming up both the stage and the audience as fans filtered into Variety Playhouse. Michael Hadreas—the man behind Perfume Genius—was framed by a skilled band that gave him the freedom to explore the stage in ways that felt both unrestrained and intimate.
The stage design embraced a raw, almost industrial aesthetic, with the back curtain drawn to reveal the venue’s ladder, spare chairs, and other utilitarian elements. Scattered across the stage were a small wheeled platform, a microphone stand, a metal chair, an exercise ball, and an extension cord—props that would soon become central to Hadreas’ performance.
Throughout the evening, Hadreas engaged with these objects in ways that were playful, expressive, and unpredictable—rolling on the exercise ball, spinning on the platform, dancing and tipping himself over on the chair, and using the microphone and its stand with provocative flair. His dancing ranged from fluid movements to angular gestures.
Mid-set highlights included back-to-back performances of “Slip Away” and “On the Floor,” during which the bass reverberated through the room, physically connecting audience and artist. Drawing primarily fromSet My Heart on Fire Immediatelyand his latest release,Glory, Perfume Genius held the crowd in rapt attention from the first note through the encore of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” and “Queen”, guiding us through a performance that was emotionally rich and sonically bold.
Shot and Written by Alexa Kravitz.
