Mirrors Shine At Beachland
Mirrors reprised their fantastic show at the WRUW Studio A Rama in September with an equally outstanding show at the Beachland Ballroom on the very snowy night of January 25. The line-up for the show was Jamie Klimek on guitar and lead vocals, Craig Bell on bass, Jim Crook on guitar, Tom Fallon on guitar, Dave Franduto on guitar, and Tom Madej on drums. Four guitars, creating a wall of sound, each very different guitar player finding his own space in a power guitar quartet--in this line-up's second performance together.
Mirrors opened each of their two sets with a Velvet Underground cover, first with "There She Goes Again" and second with "Venus In Furs." They also did some songs they didn't get to play at Studio A Rama, such as "How Could I," "I'm The One," "Here We Are Again," "Penthouse Legend," "Another Nail In The Coffin," and "I Saw You" (not to be confused with "I Saw You And," which they also played, or "And I Saw You" which they did not.) The performance proved why they are frequently referred to as legendary as they moved easily from punk to pop to jamming with the Lord, with a Gospel-like appeal to Jesus follwed by "God Says" (F*** You.) They were funny, relaxed with the crowd and obviously had a great time themselves. Opening band St. Jayne did an excellent job of warming up the crowd, doing several Easter Monkeys songs.
The Beachland is one of my favorite places to see bands play. The sound is awesome and it's a great space. The bar, where you can get some really good food-- some say the best chicken ever-- some say the best chicken waffles ever-- is always a fun place to be. The bartenders offer great service and are very friendly and fun to talk to and often happen also to be musicians like Steve Mehlman, drummer for Rocket From The Tombs and Pere Ubu, or Perfect Guy David Petrovich, who is always up for conversation and who said that his current band Very Knees is about to record a CD.
If you get a chance to see Mirrors you have to go. They are like no other band. Meanwhile you should probably be going to check out shows at the Beachland about once a week or more. It will improve your life.