Cosmo’s Midnight @ Jack Rabbit Slim’s
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Renowned for a sparkling electronic dance brilliance, Cosmo’s Midnight returned to Perth for two near sold out shows on July 14 and 15 to parade around their debut album What Comes Next. With an entourage of killer featuring artists and a refined maturity to their sound it was definitely a gig on top of the list for the weekend at Jack Rabbit Slim’s.
Starting out with their opening track to the album, Confidence was the gentlest of caresses under a starlit sky. Woodes’ husky syrup of a voice fit perfectly into the dim lighting aesthetic and it set an undertone of mystique and cool. The Winston Surfshirt collab, Get To Know, swung the crowd into some real singalong action with that jazzy trumpet being made real prominent before sampling another more Cuban inspired track of Montego.
After running through their fresher tracks, they brought out Asta to help with the banger that projected them into the milky way of stardom, Walk With Me. Then, everyone in J-Rabs was collectively singing along to the lyric originally sung by Kucka: “I just got a text from you boy, told me that you’re waiting outside…” and that was the exact moment that encapsulated what Cosmo’s Midnight is about – being fun and flirty and young.
Bringing out even more guests artists, Lowkey saw a rapper join the stage with Asta which fleshed out the whole track. This scene showed how far they’d come in the last year from being just on the decks to having a huge live potential. The catchiness and simplicity to their music meant that even newer tracks such as Talk to Me were familiar by the second chorus and that easy to get into. Slipping in a cheeky cover of Calvin Harris’ Slide meant more reliance on those ol’ backing tracks but at least it got the attention and interest back if ever for a moment it was waning. Expectedly finishing up with History it was almost a full crowd a cappella version, and a high note at that.
Throughout the night the vibe was funky as hell, kids were singing and jiving so the music really spoke for itself but as a frequent gig attendant I like to get more from live acts these days. I want personality, I want to get to know the people I’m listening to. It’s the fighter, the damaged, the prerogative of the artist that makes them that much more desirable.
In saying that, as musicians they delivered exactly what they’ve been working towards and that’s nothing to turn your nose up at. They’ve managed to survive more and more punters turning away from electronic music and come out on top with a dedicated and growing fan base.
MIA CAMPBELL-FOULKES
