Princess Goes once said in an interview the perfect place to listen to music is ÔÇÿanywhere itÔÇÖs safe to close your eyesÔÇÖ – their music echoes this very premise, with every song encouraging an entire audience to pulse as one. Anyone who wishes they could have experienced the 80s and 70s club scene, where Blue Monday and Depeche Mode come to mind, fused with a heavy style of rock can find a home in Princess Goes.
Also known as Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum, they embodied at The Globe, Cardiff the band your mumÔÇÖs first love dreamed of. Members adorning swooping hair, fishnets, leather and velvet trousers, they immediately presented themselves as a classic rock band ÔÇô with a twist. They opened with Bombed Out Sites, seeing their drummer Peter Yanowitz on the guitar, blowing open their set to an intimate crowd, many of whom were largely dedicated and yet, the band themselves didnÔÇÖt take much time to interact with these fans. It was in a large contrast to their opener Beija Flo, who spoke to the audience as if they were this small intimate crowd (which we were), giving context and personal touches to her music (and a witty comment here and there). Her personality was infectious, getting us to laugh even between the songs with darker meanings. Yet Princess Goes didnÔÇÖt attempt this same charm, making it obvious they were past being humble about their talent.
Although Princess Goes music undoubtedly is unconventional, and the affect their music has on their fans is an emotional one, their live performance lacked a certain personality which is often the beauty of live music. Although in larger venues itÔÇÖs near impossible to do this without seeming ingenuine, even current chart toppers such as he
1975, Taylor Swift and others give a persona on stage, making the experience more personal, albeit easy to see through. With such a small crowd, it would have been easy to interact, but certain audience members who gave an attempt were met with confusion by the lead singer, and no reaction from the stone faces of the other members of the goth-pop band.
Between their best-known songs such as ÔÇÿBlurÔÇÖ, ÔÇÿEat and EraserÔÇÖ, and ÔÇÿKetamineÔÇÖ, they included songs from their most recent album, finishing with ÔÇÿCome of AgeÔÇÖ. Princess Goes music kept a certain theatrical element. Having met working in theatre, this is no surprise that every song is a new track of a coming-of-age movie, lifting listeners with the same sense of hope and future often brought with the genre. Every song builds you up, finally peaking with a crashing of drums and electric, palpable (quite literally) which when live feels unmissable. Having met amongst the cast of Hedwig, and lead singer Michael C Hall being infamous for his role as Dexter, a murderous psychopath, they have created a band which hopefully precedes their other careers. Their music and performance at The Globe brought together a varied crowd, but despite the band being close enough to touch almost by accident, there was a feeling of distance between performer and audience, as if they were there to do a job and then leave without a word. Despite being a fan of their music, I was disappointed by the pedestal the band seemed to put themselves on. Compared even to other popular American bands IÔÇÖve watched at The Globe, who took advantage of the small scale of the venue, and of its uniqueness of ÔÇ£looking like a castleÔÇØ as Beija Flo chimed, their attitude could not even be blamed on a culture difference or popularity. But I suppose itÔÇÖs in true rock star fashion to know exactly just how brilliant you are, earning this attitude and wearing it with pride.
Words and photography by Megan May Jenkins
