Not that it was ever in question, but if Frankie Cosmos’ name served as a stymieing factor in the indie band/star’s (still a difficult differentiation there; sometimes its just Greta Kline, other times, it’s a collective) career trajectory, they’ve managed to not only live-up to, but also ultimately surpass their lofty intergalactic namesake. Frankie Cosmos stopped by Nashville on Monday, August 1, amidst the throes of their cosmic musical ascendance into indie-force majeure.
In a relatively unexpected turn, the Greta Kline-led four-piece took their hushed post-punk poignancy to The End, in front of sold out (and swelteringly hot) crowd of young hipsters and scenesters that would have brought American Apparel out of financial disarray.
Joking aside, the electricity in the building was palpable (and it wasn’t because of the thick veil of bodily condensation that lingered about) – Cosmonauts (not what Frankie Cosmos fans call themselves, but hey, words can be fun!) watched with great reverence as Kline stood dancing atop her chair behind the merch table during fellow Bayonet labelmates, Warehouse’s set.
Frankie Cosmos came out as the newly minted four-piece, previously mentioned in L/S’s conversation with Greta Kline, and the single addition made for a vigorous sound expansion that helped entice the excitable crowd. The band opened their set with the existential manifesto “I’m 20,” which was instantaneously met by crowd chorus sing alongs.
The swarm of bodies moved with the most immediate of exuberance as Cosmos began to run through their set with considerable precision, Kline taking the occasional moment to comment on the intolerable temperature of the venue and how the heat could effect their guitars’ tuning, but ever the performer, Kline soldiered on.
While Kline kept her quips concise and to the point, there was one comment which stirred her patronage into a virtual frenzy. Before jumping into “Sinister,” Kline expressed her love for our fair city, so much so that she finds herself considering a change of scenery to Nashville; the young enthusiastic horde whipped about at the prospect of their demi-god of diminutive punk rock living amongst them.
Cosmos ran through some deep cuts, such as “I Like You So,” then stepping back onto the Next Thing train and encouraging a bevy of sing alongs from an incredibly jubilant crowd. Kline dedicated “Outside with the Cuties” (great song title) to their tour mates, Warehouse, and showed equal love to local upstarts, Soccer Mommy.
Things were going smoothly in the set, before things took a peculiar turn as an incredibly ebullient fan took to crowd surfing during “Is It Possible/Sleep Song,” to which Kline reminded the crowd “to have fun, but not get in the way of anyone else’s good time,” during the considerably sad song.
The rest of the set filled out quite nicely, as the presence of indie-spirit was rampant during “Birthday Song,” young Cosmonauts writhing about in pure ecstacy, one such Cosmonaut being the ultimate of indie-enthusiasts for the evening, air drumming whilst wearing a Frankie Cosmos hat and Beach Fossils shirt (Bayonet Records represent).
The set closed out with a beautifully wistful disco feel, as Kline jettisoned her guitar to play “Young” (arguably the highlight of the set, for myself, at least), and closing the set with “Korean Food,” a song featuring one of my favorite lyrical lines in recent memory – hearing Kline croon “Too handsome to be drawn,” was a real treat. Frankie Cosmos’ set was an ascendant (and sweaty) affair that will undoubtedly be her last show at The End in the foreseeable future, namely because there’s no way Cosmos stock is going anywhere but upward and onward into the galaxy.
Lockeland Springsteen 