Frankie Cosmos
Greta Kline, better known by her stage name Frankie Cosmos, is a minimalist when it comes to being a musician. Her simple, yet catchy songs get the crowd singing their hearts out.
Opening the show, Nancy Sin delivered great indie pop tunes. Unfortunately I only made it for the last two songs, but by just hearing them, you can instantly get a feel for the guitar and drums duo. “Two Words” was a catchy, upbeat song that got your head bopping up and down naturally. I usually find bands without a bassist sounding empty, but these two magically sounded full. Joey Bautista’s quick strumming and Nick Noble’s hard pounding on the kick drum filled in that void. With only two songs on their bandcamp page, I’m eager to hear their new tunes on a future release.
Seattle-based band iji (pronounced like ee-he), took the stage next. From a glance, front man Zach Burba looks like a guy with a sense of humor. He wore a dad hat with a banana pin on top of his long hair that reached down to his chest and a bright, striped yellow shirt. As silly as he looked and acted on stage, this guy and his band took their playing very seriously. Out of nowhere the lead guitarist stepped forward on stage and unleashed a crazy harmonica solo for one song. Everyone lost their shit! During the song “The Ultimate in Relaxation,” Greta Kline hopped on stage, hiding her face with a shirt and recited an obscure monologue. She then scurried off stage, and iji continued on, delivering dancy jams after dancy jams. It got me dancing to myself, until I was somewhat joined by Kline herself, who was dancing next to me. After iji finished, Kline ran backstage to get ready for her set.
When Frankie Cosmos came on, everyone inside the venue was screaming in excitement. Rocking a cool, purple Danelectro guitar, she led the band and played all the hits. Fans were yelling her lyrics, to the point where I couldn’t hear Kline sing. During the set, it amazed me how simple the songs were. Greta Kline used mostly standard major and minor chords, but the way she implemented these basic chords helped create memorable songs. Before performing “Being Alive,” she told the crowd to be wary of mosh pits, and gave a small speech about stepping up if one feels uncomfortable being pushed without their consent. The band tried their best to create a safe space during their set, but they failed. People were losing it, but seemed to have a lot of fun. It soon settled down and she performed her biggest hit, “Outside with the Cuties,” which transformed the venue into a huge church choir. When I observed the audience, it struck me that Frankie Cosmos have it made with their simple pop music and unforgettable verses.