Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
LOS ANGELES – The fans were shoulder-to-shoulder in The Peppermint Club for googly eyes’ EP “paint me like one of your fav american girls” release party. There’s quite an American dream story for the Texas-bred, California resident as related to the new EP.
Tove Lo and Flume posted an artist development open call for new artists on Instagram, and, out of all the thousands of demos received in September of 2023, googly eyes “emerged as the dream artist for the opportunity,” as the story goes.
Before launching into her new material, she sang previously released tunes. Her opening song “Internet Star” immediately highlighted the artist’s glitch electronic bonafides. Since ballet has suddenly exploded into the cultural zeitgeist, her dance moves reminded one of a ballet dancer in a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Between songs, she would glide across the back of the stage.
She told a very personal story about “5 More Minutes,” one that resonated with many in the crowd. The inspiration for the song was about the January 2025 fires that spread across Los Angeles.
“There was a moment where I thought: close to my house, the sky was black, the winds were crazy, I could see the fire from my balcony,” she said. “I was looking around my room and thinking about what do I want to keep, and that meant what would I be letting go, if I came back and it was all gone.”
Some five minutes later, she launched into the songs from her paint me like one of your fav american girls EP. She sang the five songs from the EP top to bottom. The first song off the album is “I Don’t Go Out” where the opening lyrics are the title of the EP, making the song the default title track. “Club on the couch. VIP room.”
A highlight of the night was “Sex Sells,” as the beats had one of the bartenders dancing. “Waste of Conversation” had the underpinning of 80s music against modern pop vocals.
The top moment of the set came at the end when the crowd loudly demanded an encore. After a few moments, googly eyes came back out on stage. She was unprepared for an encore and was blown away by the response from the crowd. She did not have any other songs prepped for an encore, but the crowd requested that she just re-sing a song from her set. “Is that weird,” she wondered. The overwhelming response from the crowd was that she sing “EVERYWHERE,” which is the final song off her EP release. She mentioned that it is the only song on the EP that she produced. As she let her vocals fly on the fairy-tale tune, fans responded with loud claps and cheers throughout. When the song ended, she blew a kiss and a final message, “I love you, I swear.”
Opening up the night was Kate the Dreamer. The dream pop artist performed in duplicates with two synths and two microphones. She praised googly eyes and told the audience to cheer, “You better be louder than that! She’s in the back. She can hear you.” She loves the Zodiac. Her set focused on her album “STARLIT,” where there is a song dedicated to each Zodiac sign.
googly eyes Setlist: Internet Star, Mid-Leap, 5 More Minutes, Picking Petals, I Don’t Go Out, Feel like I Died, Made Of, Bruises on the Peach, EVERYWHERE, I Like Being Human, Sex Sells, Waste of Conversation, Brand New Bitch. Encore: EVERYWHERE.
googly eyes on tour:
(% is with Ashnikko – tickets here)
3.20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Auditorium % (sold out)
3.21 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield % (sold out)
5.1 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works % (sold out)
5.2 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy % (sold out)
5.5 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live % (sold out)
5.6 – Miami Beach, FL @ The Fillmore %
5.8 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore % (sold out)
5.9 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem %
5.12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE % (sold out)
5.13 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore % (sold out)
5.15 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom % (sold out)
5.16 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner % (sold out)
5. 18 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS % (sold out)
5.19 – Toronto, ON @ HISTORY % (sold out)
