Princess Goes :: Light Asylum
1/6/24
Shot by Charissa Clark
Review by Esteban Allard-Valdivieso
The Troubadour, Los Angeles
Letβs get it out of the way: Princess Goes (formerly Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum) is fronted by Golden Globe and SAG Award winning actor Michael C. Hall (most famously of Dexter, Six Feet Under and the lead role in David Bowieβs final project Lazarus On Broadway). But Princess Goes is not some trifling pet project by a Hollywood A-lister. It is a supergroup of sorts, consisting of Matt Katz-Bohen (who toured with Blondie in 2008 and has performed with acts like Boy George, Cyndi Lauper and Jody Watley), and drummer Peter Yanowitz (whom has worked with everyone from David Grohl, Allen Ginsberg, Natalie Merchant, Andrew W.K., and was a founding member of The Wallflowers and Morningwood), launching in 2018 and hitting their stride soon after. The kudos that Princess Goes has garnered are well deserved, drawing comparisons from Pink Floyd and Bowie to Depeche Mode, The Killers and Future Vultures. The band describes their sound as βkaleidoscopic sound weatherβ, but their second album Coming Of Age is an amalgamation of feel-good riffs and elegantly synthy hooks, balanced by Hallβs lushly masculine vocals. They are taking big creative swings and, as their legion of fans proves, hitting their mark every time. There are only a few shows left on their current tour, but you would be remiss not to see Princess Goes before theyβ¦wellβ¦go.
Light Asylum
Brooklyn-based performer/songwriter Shannon Funchess (co-founded with Bruno Coviello) is the dancey darkwave delight Light Asylum. Despite there not being an album released since 2012, Funchess has promised new music coming soon. Her opening act for Princess Goes served as both a fantastic hip-shaker and as good omen for more music to come.
Light Asylum Audience Reviews
βThey sounded like dark wave and post punk. Really good and really danceable, while still having really dark overtones, which I love. It struck a chord. The vocals were extremely awesome, it was really hyped up. A great opening act for Princess Goes.β -Jose
βI love the dark wave stuff so it was a really good start to the show. I was very entranced and dancing along. Iβm a huge fan. I already have them on spotify. I wanna check them
out even more. They were great.β-Dez
Princess Goes
βIt was a great show, we saw them perform in Washington before, we love them. It was our second time seeing them. I love the music, the energy. Became a fan because of Dexter, but the music only made it better. β -John
βTheyβre great. This was my first time. I like the theatrics that he brings to the stage and music, itβs done really well. After today I am totally a fan. β -Wanda
βHe was amazing. I love Michael C. Hall, heβs the reason I came. I know him from Dexter; Iβm a big fan and watched the show three times in a row. He was amazing, the band was amazing, I had a great time. The last 3 songs were my favorite. Iβm not too familiar with the band and their songs because I just found out about them, I didnβt even know he had a band; it was a coincidence I found out. The quality of his voice was more alive towards the end, his tones had more variety with the ups and downs. It was electric and made you want to dance. β-Isiltan
βIt was cool being as close as we were. The facial expressions and the dynamic between the three of them is interesting to watch. Youβve seen videos but up close was different. We found them five years ago because of a David Bowie-adjacent playlist. The first song I heard was βViciousβ and I was like oh shit, this is happening, this is real. This was our first show live. I drug him [Christian] to this oneβ -Shawna
βIβm very stand still, I donβt dance, but how he was so free and all his expressions it just got me moving and thatβs huge.β -Christian
βIt was a great show. That boy can singβ¦he can really sing. He was so good. I didnβt really hear about him from Dexter, but I heard him from my boyfriend. The keytar was amazing.β -Yoko
βThe band was awesome, they sounded fantastic. I heard about him through a LinkedIn connection. We were doing an AI art collab and talking about music. A woman in the meeting told me about Michael C. Hall and his band, and I was a huge Dexter fan, so I was into it as soon as I heard. This was way more amazing than what I expected. I try to explain who is comparable and itβs hard to pick. I can kind of see a cross between Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails and Bowie. A little mix of 80s, but relevant today. I wish them all the success and would for sure see them againβ -Bryan
βSuch a big fan. Vibe of the venue was amazing. Princess Goes brought the energy. It was felt though the entire crowd and canβt wait to see what they do next. I became a fan because of my daughter, who loves Dexter. We saw Michael C. in a one-man show called βThom Painβ, that guy literally captivated the entire audience. So to see the entire band move the crowd the way they did as a unit was phenomenal. My favorite thing about the band is that they bring something to the world right now that we need which is an energy that is good and love and a breath of fresh air. βLet It Goβ was my favorite song. This was my first show live and it went beyond expectation. We were supposed to see them before the pandemic so to finally be able to come out and support them, after three years of waiting, is huge and at the iconic Troubadour. It was so much fun. We met friends at the show that weβll call family.β -Michelle
βI came here with my beautiful wife Lindsay, we came down from Fresno where we are from, and this is our second time seeing Princess Goes live. They were flipping amazing, best band ever and I hope they continue to do what they do. I wish more people would know about them and for those that donβt, youβre missing out. I love that their artistic ability gets better and better every time we see them, though weβve only seen them twice. We will continue to see them because I believe people need to experience them because they are an amazing thing.β -Mark