Frankie Cosmos’ show at The Vera Project was truly wholesome. While Greta Kline and her band were talented and authentic (as always), what really stood out in this show was the friendship between Frankie Cosmos and their opener, iji.
Frankie Cosmos embarked on a west coast tour with iji down in San Diego, CA, and together they moved their way up the coast, finishing up in iji’s resident city of Seattle. iji got the vibes flowin’ with their energetic, charismatic set, with Frankie Cosmos joining them on stage for their 2015 cut “Hard 2 Wait.” Tyler Martin, iji keyboardist and candy-throwing extraordinaire, kept the audience smiling with his dramatic mouthing of the lyrics and zany dance moves asiIji lead singer and weirdo-pop extraordinaire Zach Burba flawlessly laid down lyric after lyric. They pulled out all the stops, from upbeat bob-along songs like “Orange Peel Moniker” to closing the set with their tempo-changing sing-along, “Candle Flame.”
And just like that, it was over. The fun and funky crew left the stage beloved by the audience, and shortly after, Frankie Cosmos took the stage. Greta Kline’s songwriting is what makes Frankie Cosmos’s music great, and it’s her genuine personality and the visible friendship shared by band members that makes Frankie Cosmos a great live band. Coming off the energy of iji, Frankie Cosmos took the stage in front of an eager audience.
“I have a lot of feelings,” Kline joked between songs. “I’m sad. I’m going to miss touring with Iji.” Frankie Cosmos played on, with Lauren Martin on keys, Luke Pyenson on the drums, David Maine on the bass, brother of Aaron Maine of Porches, and, of course, Greta Kline on vocals and guitar.
The foursome’s sound is so pure and accurate to what comes across on their albums that the audience couldn’t help but to sing along completely unprompted, almost overpowering Kline on “Fool.” Maine’s thick, clean bass tone was a standout, and balanced the high and sweet vocals of Kline and Martin. As far as sound goes, they have got the set-up down.
But Seattle was blessed with more than just the near perfect live sound put out by Frankie Cosmos; each member of iji was featured on at least one song. Keyboardist Tyler Martin joined Kline in the front of the stage to preface a song with how everyone is going to die alone, and then humorously change the intro to “love is real” and throw small, colorful hard candy into the crowd before floating off stage. It is almost unnecessary to say that Martin was truly a gift that night. Burba joined the group onstage with his alto saxophone for a handful of songs, taking the solo and eventually walking off stage, still playing some charming licks. Other iji members joined on other songs to add some guitar to the mids, and even to perform a short, yet skillfully choreographed dance during Cosmos’ opening song. Kline was continuously gracious, personable, and hilarious on stage, adding her own commentary and lyric explanations between songs, and even playing some unreleased new music (!!!).
With this show, Frankie Cosmos secured a place in my heart forever, right next to iji. I hope that if you missed them this time, you catch them whenever they swing by again. iji and Frankie forever!
MARIA KING | Laundry? | KXSU Music Reporter