At Home in the Garage

A taste of New York night life usually translates quite well in Los Angeles, and Meow Mix West is no exception. Club owner Brooke Webster, who runs the original Meow Mix club seven nights a week in New York’s Lower East Side, got some gal pals together and launched her club’s Westside connection in June. Meow Mix West, a Friday night lesbian dance club holding court at the Garage in Silver Lake, got off to a booming start and shows no signs of slowing.

The hot new dance club--a collaboration among Webster, musician Claudine Kielson, Jenny Shimizu, Karen Curious and DJ Big Mama Freak--is raising the roof at the Garage, as well as raising the club’s profile.

When the Garage was revamped and expanded last year, the changes were met with a chilly reception by some. Valet parking in their artsy neighborhood didn’t exactly sit well with many of the native scenesters, and the club’s owners had to work overtime to make a few friends. The greatest asset, however, was that an original Garage club called Club Sucker, a Sunday afternoon punk club, decided to stay at the venue after the ownership change. Sucker thrived in the newly expanded space, changed from a one-room bar to multiple rooms with a good-size performance stage and a colorful thrift-shop decor, complete with vinyl records on the ceilings and tiled tabletops. With Meow Mix West’s success, the club is gaining even more acceptance by the community, to the benefit of the Silver Lake scene.

As with any good time at a club, Meow Mix West is propelled by the music, and at the helm is Big Mama Freak, who knows how to keep people on the dance floor till closing. Rock ‘n’ roll is what soothes the soul at this kitty-cat hang, and Mama Freak migrates from Queen to the Beastie Boys to Sly and the Family Stone with the ease of a true deejay diva. The club often has guest deejays, some from New York and some plucked out of the local scene, and you can forget stereotypes here; these babes wanna hear Led Zeppelin (as one guest deejay quickly found out). The rotating deejay lineup keeps the vibe spontaneous and lively. In addition to the guest deejays, the weekly club also invites a variety of live bands to perform--from two to three a night. Past performers have included Betty and the Delphines; upcoming performers to look for are Sara Greenwood, a New York-based rocker from Switzerland (Oct. 9);Third Grade Teacher (Oct. 16); and Claudine 3 and Sexpot (Oct. 23).

No hot new night spot would be complete without some celeb sightings, and Meow Mix West has already beat all the competition: Ginger Spice visited. Yes, the erstwhile Spice Girl hung out at the club and busted a few moves not found in their well-choreographed videos. In addition, Ellen DeGeneres and her girlfriend, actress Ann Heche, also found Meow Mix to be a delight as well.

Meow Mix’s overall feel is less “nightclub” than “party,” as if you’ve walked into someone’s living room and everyone’s happy you made it. That’s probably the best feature--unlike most clubs, strangers are made to feel comfortable here. Who wouldn’t pay a few bucks to feel at home?

BE THERE

Meow Mix West at the Garage on Fridays, 4519 Santa Monica Blvd., Silver Lake, (323) 769-5090. 21 and over, $5-$8 cover.