Review: Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum @ Thekla

By Milan Perera, Second Year English and Community Engagement

Michael C Hall’s versatile presence in television, film and Broadway has made him an immediate household name. His most recent creative venture certainly does not disappoint but has sealed his reputation as a consummate artist.

The actor, who received cult status with the hit TV series Dexter, is the frontman and lead singer of the New York City based three-piece band Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum.  Formed in 2018 in collaboration with the drummer, Peter Yanowitz and the keyboardist, Matt Katz-Bohen; Princess goes to Butterfly Museum describes itself as an avant-indie band who deftly taps into various music genres such as Disco, 80s Synth Pop and 70s Riff Rock. In February 2021, the band issued their acclaimed debut studio album, Thanks for coming.

Much to the delight of their loyal fandom on the opposite side of the Atlantic, the band has embarked on a European tour which got off to a rollicking start at the iconic Bristol-based music venue, Thekla.

For the UK phase of the European tour they are joined by the upcoming Liverpool based singer-songwriter, Beija Flo, who kicked off the proceedings for the evening with unfettered flamboyance. As the prelude to the main event, Beija Flo performed a string of her hit songs such ‘Mary’, ‘Waiting for the sun’ and ‘Nudes’ with verve and panache.

Subsequently, Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum launched the headline bill with the high-octane anthem, ‘You are welcome’, much to the raucous reception of the adoring fans. For the next 90 minutes the band set to play hit after hit from their recent album. Hit songs such as ‘Sideways’, ‘Air Head’, ‘Too cool to care’ and ‘Nevertheless’ went down a treat with the audiences who were moved to throw spontaneous shapes on the dance floor. The rapport between Michael C Hall and the crowd was immediate where some members of the audience kept making non-intrusive heckles inquiring what happened to Dexter? The performer extraordinaire responded to the inquiries with quick wit and the signature smile.

It was far from a one man show as the two band mates are hardly strangers to the music scene. The keyboardist/bassist Matt Katz-Bohen has been the keyboard player for the iconic rock ensemble, Blondie, while the drummer, Peter Yanowitz was associated with acclaimed musical acts such as ‘The Wallflowers’ and ‘Morningwood.’

The ability of Michael C Hall to channel a kaleidoscope of emotions with every passing track was a sight to behold and no doubt a nod to his musical hero, David Bowie. It was no mistake that the late David Bowie handpicked the actor to play the titular role for his 2015 musical, ‘Lazarus.’

The penultimate song for the evening was aptly chosen, Thanks for coming which was immediately followed by an energetic disco anthem that brought the highly entertaining evening to a satisfying end.

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For the next few days Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum will be headlining at various major cities. As of now, the band had to postpone their gigs that were scheduled in mainland Europe abruptly, due to the new set of restrictions introduced to curb the rising cases of COVID-19. The official website of the band confirms that the tickets for those venues remain valid for the rescheduled dates.

If you have not seen this eclectic ensemble, please make time to go and see them at their next gig in the nearest town.

Featured image: Milan Perera

Have you seen Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum live?