I came across Mirrorball at the 2024 Echo Park Rising festival. I was an official photographer for the festival and so I only caught a couple songs of their Bar Henry set before I was off to catch another performer. Bar Henry is a bit off the beaten path when it comes to Echo Park Rising so I was making a bee line all the way to Sticky Rice to snap photos of a favorite band of mine, Slugs. Along the way, I came across Beauty Queen playing a sidewalk performance. That was a pleasant surprise as I caught a couple of her sets back in 2019 and this was the first time connecting back up. Why am I bringing up all these random bands? Well, the purpose of this blog over the last year plus has been to randomly incorporate my memories of the Los Angeles music scene.
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| Mirrorball at Club Tee Gee |
Back to the present. I happened to notice that Mirrorball was playing the AM Presents Music showcase at Club Tee Gee. The band name Mirrorball had definitely stuck in my memory and so I decided to make a pre-Christmas trip to Club Tee Gee. Christmas was on a Thursday and this night was on a Monday so not exactly the day before Christmas Eve, but it was my last night out catching live music before Christmas. I wasn't the only person who decided to specifically catch a Mirrorball set. Just before their set started, someone came into the venue and asked me what band was up next. I told him Mirrorball and he was happy that he had arrived at the right time.
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| Mirrorball at Club Tee Gee |
The band comprises of lead singer Alexandra Johnstone and guitarist Scott Watson. Based on their website, the two have been part of the Los Angeles music scene for a number of years. Prior to Mirrorball, Johnstone played with a band called White Dove. Based on their Instagram page, it looks like they ended their run in 2016. If their advertised July 2016 show was their final set as a band, one has to say they ended their run on a high note as they played with some long-time DIY musicians that are still involved with our LA music scene.
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| Mirrorball at Club Tee Gee |
Perhaps it is too hackneyed on my part, but the band played under the signature mirror balls of Club Tee Gee. Johnstone's vocals are a flashback to 90s alt rock female lead singers. Her stance in front of the microphone stand conveyed a look of honestly and vulnerability.
What did I happen to notice throughout the set: Johnstone had a glass of water off to the side of the stage. She went over to tend to her vocals throughout the set.
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| Mirrorball at Club Tee Gee |
I'm going to go with "Red Hot Dust" as the song spotlight. Their Bandcamp page for the song provides a background write-up for the song, "I desperately wanted to go home but circumstances wouldn’t allow it . . . I was stuck in the heart of Los Angeles, and it started to feel surreal, unfriendly."
The song has a haunting instrumental touch that paces slow to emphasize the emotional desires in the lyrics. A wish to head to a more satisfying environment that just isn't possible at the moment is a feeling that many have felt at some point in their lives (if not at this very moment).
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