2020/9/24 Cosmic @ Donovan’s Reef
What’s better than live music on the beach? I’ll let that sit there for a while as I mention my initial disappointment after having rolled up to Donovan’s Reef and seeing Cosmic set up their stage from the corner of a patio, the beach stage now officially closed for the season. Ugh. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The setting sun at their back for most of the first set, Cosmic kicked things off with a tasty cover of Jerry Garcia’s “Love In the Afternoon” and just like that the beach stage was a distant memory. Twenty-twenty, depending on how you look at it, is all about silver linings; with last night’s stage setup thrusting the band amongst their adoring family of Cosmicnauts, the intimacy of last night’s show certainly qualifies among those. Some shows are rockers, others are tear-jerkers, and others simply transcend all that while completely enveloping you in their magic. Last night checked that last box, a love-fest of the highest order on both sides of the non-existent stage that just made me feel so deeply. And I felt all of it. All. Of. It.
“Butterflies” brought the first of what would be a night full of goosebumps. That’s significant. As Cosmic continues to push out literal scores of original material, my visceral reaction was a combination of love and pride as these incredible tunes have slowly but surely become a part of my musical DNA. What this band is doing right now with their songwriting and live presentation of fresh material is an article all its own but IMHO these songs are the future of this band. A smoking hot return to the Grateful Dead’s songbook necessitated the removal of my shirt as Jelly took his first vocals of the evening on “Feel Like A Stranger”. That shit ripped.
While Mike Jaskewicz does the lion’s share of Cosmic’s songwriting, Billy Siegel has a heavy hand in the pot as well and was responsible for the music on “Apple Tree”. Fun fact … Dan Donovan’s wife Kristi wrote the lyrics. Wait, what?!? This tune has really grown on me of late and last night’s beautiful rendition raised the second set of goosies from my flesh. For some reason I always note things like goosebumps as they are the outward expression of my deepest feels. As such, I found it so interesting that of Cosmic’s first four songs, the two I grew up with couldn’t raise the hair on my arms yet the two that my close friends poured their hearts and souls into did. That’s gotta mean something about both the quality of their work and the friendships that have grown between myself and these four men. I truly love these dudes.
Jaskewicz really laid it out on “I Was Worth It” and it was funny being close enough to see the band work to keep the carat before “Crooked Tree”. Recalling their new moniker, “Crooked Tree” defines all that Cosmic is without the Jerry Band attached. If you had to pick just one (anyone listening???), that’s your single. FWIW, I’ll be waiting (not so) patiently to write about it 😉
In what was perhaps a nod to all the wives in the house, “Tough Mama” was next down the pipe, another dance-alicious JGB goodie. Originals outweighed covers with a score of seven to five in this first frame so it was no surprise that “Thrown Away” followed. What was surprising in the very best way is the fact that “Thown Away” is the song that I woke up with in my head the next morning. That’s gotta mean something, right?!? {As I write this the morning after the morning after, it’s “Where Are the Angels?” that’s providing today’s ear worm.} “Mary” preceded a deep cover of David Gilmour’s “Fat OId Sun” off Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother album that was just positively lovely.
There was a certain blonde haired six year old dancing it up with us all night, completely immersed in not just the music but also the scene and the vibe. To say that this girl won a whole lot of hearts with her inimitable smile and effusive dancing only captures a small part of the narrative. There is just nothing in the world like the carefree joy of a six year old and Ava bottled that feeling for all of us, so much so that I literally have a tear in my eye and goosebumps from head to toe as I reflect upon it days later. To have connected with this girl’s spirit is to have found the fountain of youth. This was a really special night for those of us who got to take a ride on Ava’s magic rainbow and I hope I never lose the euphoria of that feeling. What I haven’t yet mentioned is that Ava is Mike Jaskewicz’ daughter and what ensued as the band played “Bloom” was a musical fairy tale for the ages. Ava, now adorned in the most wonderful tie-dyed scarf *wink, nod*, shared a father-daughter dance for eternity with her dad as he crossed the invisible barrier separating the crowd from the audience. Watching Mike shred a tune that bares his soul while his daughter got down was a life affirming moment, my smile so wide that it hurt as I captured the moment on video for Mike and his family. Grab your tissues and check it out.
The title of the next one accurately describes what we were all feeling as “Ride Mighty High” appropriately closed the energetic set. A seriously fun tune by the Mighty Clouds that the JGB popularized in the mid 70’s, Cosmic does this tune great justice.
I had to do a thing so missed the beginning of the second set and some serious goodies like “Yamar” (dammit), “Tomorrow Never Knows” (shit), a version of “Where Are the Angels?” that Mike later said felt “really good” (ugh), and “Into the Mystic” (fuck). But I made it back for “Fee” which was just glorious and it kind of felt like I never left even if the setlist does sting a bit in the aftermath. The band happily went off script for a ridiculously funky and highly danceable “West LA Fadeaway” that was nothing short of glorious. “Words In the Wind” built to a really satisfying peak before Billy took lead vocals for a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together” that just absolutely fucking slayed. My notes which read “Holy hell, Billy!!!” tell that story pretty well.
An impromptu “Let It Grow” was added to the setlist and it was Jelly to the max. The entire band was on fire at this point but John’s bass lines were just next level. Our favorite bassist had this to say, “It’s ‘Let It Grow’. It’s gotta be organic, ya know. We had a lot of bone meal in that one.” Gotta quote this dude more — wow! I hope it’s okay for me to put this in writing but John Nemeth is Cosmic’s secret weapon and that’s all well and good except for the “secret” part. I’d personally really love to hear a lot more John in the mix so in lieu of that I keep seeking out the space in front of his rig because it’s sometimes hard to hear him. With talent just oozing from Jelly’s pores, just thinking out loud that he needs to front and center sonically and a bass driven mix would really benefit the band as a whole while allowing John to be the shining star that he is. I love you, brother.
Sneaking one last tune in before the ten pm curfew, “We Are Divine” put a nice little celebratory bow on the evening. Never really knowing where the magic is going to come from or why and recalling that each and every show is special in its own way, this night was one of those nights. Thanks to Cosmic and our amazing family of Cosmicnauts for spreading the love.
13,261 steps, a slightly lower output (due to missing most of the second set) that doesn’t accurately display my fun meter.
Setlist:
Set One: Love In The Afternoon, Butterflies* > Feel Like A Stranger, Apple Tree*, I Was Worth It* > Crooked Tree*, Tough Mama, Thrown Away* > Mary*, Fat Old Sun, Bloom* > Ride Mighty High
Set Two: Raised Upon A Fire*, Stop That Train, Treat You Right* > Yamar > Tomorrow Never Knows, Where Are The Angels* > Salad Days, Hopelessly Ever After*, Into The Mystic > Fee, West LA Fadeway, Words In the Wind* > Come Together, Let It Grow > We Are Divine*
