{"id":50980,"date":"2025-11-06T15:38:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T20:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=50980"},"modified":"2025-11-06T15:41:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T20:41:46","slug":"king-princess-house-of-blues-11-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2025\/11\/06\/king-princess-house-of-blues-11-2\/","title":{"rendered":"King Princess @ House of Blues 11\/2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photography and review by Gabriella Knapp<\/span><\/p>\n

Last Sunday, King Princess returned to Boston for an electric and dynamic show. <\/span>Mikaela Straus, <\/span>who is<\/span> better <\/span>recognized<\/span> by her stage name King Princess, is one of the original pioneers of the \u201csapphic pop\u201d genre\u2014a sonically pop subgenre that centers and celebrates queer relationships\u2014but Straus has developed a stage presence that is more reminiscent of a rock star.<\/span> From the moment she stepped on stage, the message was clear: this is not a family show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

King Princess is sexy, messy, and gloriously unfiltered. Sunday night\u2019s show was a part of the Girl Violence Tour and reflected that same energy. The album is King Princess\u2019 third studio album, and it certainly lives up to its name\u2014filled with chaos and emotion\u2014an album that literally encourages the listener to get their hearts broken.<\/span><\/p>\n

The night started with opener SASAMI, a genre-bending indie artist who fit King Princess\u2019 fluid vibe and alternative energy. <\/span>As a classically trained French horn player, SASAMI <\/span>shocked<\/span> the crowd with her ability to <\/span>combine<\/span> heavy pop ballads <\/span>and<\/span> her mastery of musicianship.<\/span> That night, SASAMI taught the crowd to expect the unexpected, a perfect precursor for the rest of the night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The set for \u201cGirl Violence\u201d opened with \u201cCherry,\u201d a song that explores messy breakups and satisfying rebounds. <\/span>The next few songs <\/span>in<\/span> the venue, all <\/span>off of<\/span> \u201cGirl Violence,\u201d were equally gritty and fierce, making the packed venue jump and shout <\/span>vivaciously<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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After the opening song, Strauss addressed the crowd, suggestively asking if everyone was feeling good. Straus\u2019 flirtation with the audience is a common theme throughout the entire performance.\u00a0 The next few songs, more favorites from<\/span> \u201c<\/span><\/strong>Girl Violence,\u201d continued to push the energy. The tracks signaled a new sonic era for King Princess, one full of grit and distortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

If nothing else, Starus is a performer who knows how to connect with her audience. When it came time to play one of her synth-pop deep cuts, King Princess asked the crowd to say along with her: \u201cPlease, Antoine, may I have the pussy?<\/span><\/p>\n

After the crowd screamed the racy chant, Antoine Fadavi, King Princess\u2019 drummer began playing one of her standout singles, \u201cPussy Is God.\u201d A fan favorite, this song was received with enthusiasm. The atmosphere in the venue was uninhibited and electric\u2014a safe <\/span>expression of<\/span> queer community formed inside Boston\u2019s House of Blues.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In theme with the grungy vibe, King Princess then called a fan up on stage to spray-paint the word \u201cBoston\u201d on the tour set. The black paint dried alongside the preexisting cities already sprayed on the set: Philly, D.C., and Straus\u2019 home city of Brooklyn, New York.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While most of King Princess\u2019 music explores the tenderness of queer relationships, the \u201cGirl Violence\u201d era <\/span>is one that delves<\/span> into angry breakup anthems and punk-rock energy. King Princess delivered a raw, unrestrained performance with songs like \u201cCry Cry Cry\u201d and the title track \u201cGirl Violence,\u201d accompanied by strobe lights and explosive instrumentals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Straus brought the house down with her iconic debut track, \u201c1950,\u201d an indie pop song that explores the challenges and reservations of a queer relationship. This song, for many listeners, including myself, <\/span>was where they began listening to<\/span> King Princess. It also helped many with their own journeys of self-discovery <\/span>and set<\/span> King Princess apart as a queer pop icon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a longtime listener and fan of King Princess, it has been an amazing experience to watch her transform from an indie soft pop artist to the captivating star I saw on stage this weekend. <\/span>As Straus has grown and matured as an artist, her music has <\/span>grown with her<\/span>, developing into something <\/span>messy<\/span>, <\/span>toxic<\/span>, romantic, and elevated.<\/span> As the \u201cGirl Violence\u201d tour continues its run, I am excited to see how her progression evolves and continues to flourish in this new era of music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photography and review by Gabriella Knapp Last Sunday, King Princess returned to Boston for an electric and dynamic show. Mikaela Straus, who is better recognized by her stage name King Princess, is one of the original pioneers of the \u201csapphic pop\u201d genre\u2014a sonically pop subgenre that centers and celebrates queer relationships\u2014but Straus has developed a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25371,"featured_media":50982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1895,1525,1523,15,1530],"tags":[202,812],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50980"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51002,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50980\/revisions\/51002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}