Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum

Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum w/ Lorelei K• March 30, 2022• Metro Music Hall

Reviewed and Photographed by Alisha Gregson

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I pulled up to the Metro Music Hall. But I showed up with my camera and an open mind. The only thing I knew about Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum was that the lead singer, Michael C. Hall, is the star of the popular show Dexter. The show has been on my ‘to watch” list for years now, but I have yet to watch it. Despite not knowing much about the band I was excited to be there and was ready to be entertained.

The long line of eager fans led me to believe I was in for a fun show. As I walked past the line of people, I saw many were dressed in all kinds of butterfly clothing and accessories. One person near the front was wearing big blue butterfly wings. As they opened the doors and let everyone in I could hear all the excited conversations. Friends chatted excitedly about how this was their first concert since COVID. Others talked about what songs they thought the band might play. I heard someone say they hoped Michael C. Hall would be wearing his crocs. 

Lorelei

The opener for the night was Lorelei K. She walked out onto the stage wearing a red, flapper-style crop top and skirt covered in sequins and fringe. With black and white hair, sparkly armbands, and multiple tattoos, her look was bold and beautiful. “Y’all are so cute!” she told the crowd. Lorelei K introduced herself and said she was from Dallas Texas. She spoke with such a soft sweet voice. So I was surprised when she started to sing with so much power. She did an amazing job and the audience seemed to genuinely love her.

About halfway through her set, she took a moment to introduce her next song “lavender hue”. She explained that she wrote it about her experience as a transgender woman. She received cheers from the crowd with one fan yelling “Get it girl, you’re gorgeous!” Her songs were mellow electronic pop with her amazing vocals really standing out. Before leaving the stage she talked about how lucky she feels because of all she has experienced in her life. She also mentioned her merch table where she was selling shirts that she designed herself. Proving that she is an artist in more ways than one.

Princess Goes to The Butterfly Museum

Before Princess Goes to The Butterfly Museum came on stage I had the chance to talk to a few people. I was curious to know if people were there as Dexter fans or fans of the music. The first group I talked to admitted they were avid Dexter fans. But had now also become fans of the band. Others told me they loved Hall in the David Bowie musical Lazarus. One of them said, “Michael Hall keeps David Bowie alive for me.”. That wasn’t the last David Bowie reference I heard that night. I later heard others talk about how much Hall reminds them of him during the band’s performance.

A couple standing near the front told me they found the band on Spotify and loved the sound. Another lady said that Metro Music Hall is her favorite venue. That she attends as many of their shows as she can. A few people told me they were drawn to the band because they were fans of the Broadway production Hedwig and the Angry Inch. They told me it was Hedwig that actually brought the three band members together as they performed together during the production.

I learned that the band’s drummer Peter Yanowitz, and keyboardist Matt Katz-Bohen both had impressive careers as well. Peter (Who is from Utah!) began playing drums in The Wallflowers and later co-founded the band Morningwood. Matt, the very talented keyboardist, has been a member of the band Blondie since 2008. It became clear to me that while many people there may have started as Dexter fans or Lazarus fans, they were undoubtedly Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum fans now. Understanding a little bit more about the talent that made up this band, I was excited to finally hear them play. 

The show started with dark red lights covering the stage as Hall stepped toward the audience. He was wearing sweat pants, and yes, crocs covered in butterflies – a stark opposite of the glamorous getup worn by the previous act Lorelei K. I find it difficult to describe the vibe of the group and their incredibly eclectic energy. They went right into their first song, “Vicious”. It’s a high-energy song that got the crowd pumped.

As they continued through their set I discovered it would be nearly impossible to fit their music into a specific genre. At certain moments I felt like I was at a rock concert and was picking up major grunge vibes. Then immediately I would be transported into a song with a high dose of synth reminiscent of 80s new wave dance music.

Just as my heart would start pumping they would bring it back down with a more mellow ambient song. It may be as equally difficult to describe the incredibly mesmerizing and brilliant way Michael Hall would dance throughout each song. The only way I can explain it is as zombie disco dancing. During one of their songs, Hall spent a moment leaning on keyboardist Matt and then told the crowd he smelled nice.

The chemistry between the band members was playful and fun to watch. I should also mention that while Matt spent a lot of time on the keyboard he also rotated between a bass guitar and keytar as well. I can’t think of the last concert I have been to with someone on the keytar. Hall told the crowd they were going to be doing an experiment and played a new song called “Let it go,” which of course made a few fans break out into a line or two of the Frozen hit by the same name. “We’re still us, you’re still you, here we all are,” he said, then they played their new song.

Throughout the night Hall took moments to connect with the audience, at one point he held up a fan’s poster that read “So Happy I Could Puke” before borrowing her phone to take a selfie. Between songs, something seemed to catch Hall’s eye. “That’s a big disco ball, that’s a big one”. He said while pointing to the very large disco ball hanging from the ceiling. While the crowd seemed to love all the songs there was one that was clearly a fan favorite. As soon as they started to play their cover of Phantogram’s “Cruel World” I saw a sea of phones pop up to start filming. I have to admit it was one of my favorites from the night as well.

From start to finish their show was incredibly entertaining. I heard many people say they felt like they were in a dream. I was impressed to see that the band had no intentions of leaning on their nonmusic related success to woo their fans. In fact, they made no mention of Dexter or any other projects. They were there for the music. While I still don’t know when I will ever get around to watching Dexter, I have already added Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum to my Spotify playlist.