On my birthday in 2022, I got three very memorable things: the coolest photo of me ever, my most listened to album of the year, and covid for the first time. Conveniently, I got all three in the same spot, The Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia.
I set out that night to see the Airborne Toxic Event, one of my favorite bands. I’ve been part of what is essentially their official fan club since they launched it, mainly because of this concert. The deal was, for a monthly fee, you got access to a site that had a lot of live performance videos, songs you couldn’t hear anywhere else, and most interesting to me, perks for attending live performances.
In the case of the show I was attending, these perks included early entry, an exclusive performance BEFORE the show, and a chance to meet the band. To my mind, you’re not getting a better deal for $10 a month on just about anything. This was my second time seeing the band, but the first time had been in a festival situation, so it didn’t really count. I was excited.
Normally, before I go to a concert, I try to give a listen to the opening act beforehand if I don’t know them. I don’t remember why I didn’t prior to that show, but for whatever reason, I went in cold. All I knew was the name, “Mondo Cozmo.”
The structure of the show was a bit strange because of the pre-performance. The way it ended up working was that those of us who had RSVP’ed via the fan club lined up very early and were eventually let in right after soundcheck. There were maybe 50 of us. Could have been more, I’m a bit fuzzy on that, but it wasn’t a lot. I happened to have been third in the line to get in and spent a while chatting with the two guys ahead of me. I go to most shows alone and sometimes will chat with folks, but more often than not, I just keep to myself. I was in a good enough mood going into this concert that I was more loquacious than usual and ended up hanging out with the guys the whole night. It was fun.
Eventually, we were let in, and I stood at the rail for the pre-show show. Mikel Jollet, the lead singer, guitar player, songwriter, author, and all-around fascinating character, came out and greeted all of us as people were filing in. We got the opportunity to chit-chat with him a bit. He told me about his, frankly gorgeous, guitar. They played a few songs, both acoustic and as a band. I’m not going to downplay it; it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert. They were gracious, funny, and in fine form. They were touring in support of their album “Hollywood Park,” which was their first album in five years. Written as a companion to Mikel’s memoir, it is an uplifting, heartbreaking, and magical album. The crowd was buzzing about seeing some of the songs live for the first time.
Once the pre-show was done, the band graciously lined up and let everyone take pictures with them. This led to what I think is the coolest picture of me ever. I was in the best shape of my life, and rocking a cool denim jacket. I just looked snazzy.
After the photos, they had us go back outside and line up again. This time, we were waiting to get into the actual show itself. It was a bit odd, but it didn’t really matter. They eventually let us back in first, so I ended up on the rail again. I had no idea what I was about to see.
It wasn’t long before the lights dimmed and the actual concert began. Three men came out to a larger-than-normal smattering of cheers. I say ‘normal’ meaning that opening acts usually get a polite clap, but in this case, there were obviously fans in attendance. They began with a droning tone, adding drums, guitars, some sound effects, and then eventually vocals.
I have often written about how sometimes you hear a piece of music or see a band for the first time, and it hits you so hard to just stand there flabbergasted, like a stunned carp. This was one of those times.
The music built and built like a storm you can see in the distance across the plains of the Midwest as it slowly moves towards you. You can feel the charge in the air and the inevitability of what’s coming. The energy neared its peak as Josh Ostrander, who performs as Mondo Cozmo, sang the opening words to Electrify My Love, track #1 off their album “This is for the Barbarians,” set to be released the next day:
“Good evening everyone, I hope this finds you well
And sitting in the sun and breathing deep the air
Be not full of fear, there is no darkness here
Just a lifting of the veil for the ending of the world.”
Everything crashes in on itself before exploding outward on the word’ world.’ And it goes into a full-blown hurricane of guitars, drums, synth, and whatever else is swirling around in that wind of noise, fury, and life.
The room was immediately captivated. Sometimes it takes a while for people to stop talking and focus on an opening band. Not tonight. They took over that room like a rampaging horde.
Pressing their advantage, there was no gap between the end of “Electrify My Love” and the beginning of “Come on” from their previous album, “New Medicine.” The songs follow one another naturally as “Come On” is of a similar nature with a build into its fierce chorus. They sounded made to play back to back.
I don’t remember if they introduced themselves at that point. The next song was from their first album, “Plastic Soul,” and would become one of my favorites in their catalog, “Thunder.” It’s another rocker, but on the emotional side. It has the line “It’s been a long fucking year,” which, considering this was not long after things began to open up again after the two-year initial attack of the pandemic, felt like a pure bolt of release.
After three songs, I thought I had a bit of a handle on what Mondo Cozmo brought to the table, and I was fully in. The next song blew that notion away completely. Switching to an acoustic, they jumped into “Meant For Livin’”, an absolutely manic channeling of “Bringing It All Back Home” / “Highway 61 Revisited” Bob Dylan. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a song coming less than I did that one. It’s jumpy and quick and clever, and somehow only the second-best Dylan-inspired track on “This is for the Barbarians.”
Next up was the hit, “Shine.” This is Mondo’s most listened to song on Spotify, which is almost a shame, because if ever there was a song that was meant to be heard live in a crowd, it’s “Shine.” It might be the most uplifting song across all the records, and it’s certainly the most profound and positive sing-along at a concert. Most of us in the crowd didn’t know the words, and that stopped precisely no one from signing along at the top of their lungs. I might have gotten choked up during it. I don’t fully remember, but it seems like the kind of thing I’d do. For many of the people there, it was their first concert in three awful years of isolation and fear, and suddenly here’s this guy leading the whole crowd in a chorus of:
“Let ‘em get high, let ‘em get stoned. Everything will be alright if you let it go.”
Brother, if that doesn’t catch in your throat, then you’re more dead inside than I’ll ever be.
They had another surprise, at least for those of us new to the band, next, when they played a stunning version of the Verve’s hit “Bittersweet Symphony.” As a long-time fan of the song and its emotional content, I don’t think I’ve ever been as locked in on an opening act since I first saw Trapper Schoepp. Later on in the evening, when I was in the merch line, the woman ahead of me complained to the band about playing it. Not because she didn’t like it, but because she was a huge fan of the band and liked their originals more and hated to see them play a cover. I can’t say I agree with her, although I can understand the sentiment.
They finished up with another curveball, the electronic dance groove of “Automatic.” Showcasing their range, it’s a fun song from their first album that gets into your feet and forces you to move them.
And then they were done. The full Airborne show that night was perhaps one of my favorite shows I’ve ever attended. They were glorious, soaring, desperately sad, and almost religious in their performance. I won’t say Mondo Cozmo was my favorite part of the night, but I’m not sure I can really say they weren’t. I say they, even though Mondo Cozmo is technically the one guy. It just feels weird saying ‘he’ rather than ‘they’ since it was a trio playing that night.
After the show, I met the band at their merch table and got to chat for a few minutes. They weren’t supposed to, since it was still technically a day early, but they sold me a copy of their record and graciously signed it. It turns out that John, “Mondo Cozmo,” is a Philly guy, and this was a homecoming. Later, that point was driven home to me when I next saw him as the headliner in Ardmore, and the crowd felt like a high school and family reunion all in one. I’ve never felt like I didn’t belong at a show, but by virtue of not being related to or knowing the man, I felt like an outsider, but that’s a story for another day.
The first thing I did when I got home that night was put the record on. It is an enthralling collection of songs that bounces around styles and vibes. It never lets you get comfortable or drifts into background noise. It has an immediacy and humanity that keeps it front and center in your attention while it’s spinning. I already knew it was going to be all I listened to for a while, and then I got to track nine.
“Good Mornin’ America” begins with a quick, “one two, one two three four” count and then an acoustic riff that he sings over in his Dylanesque talking-blues style, similar to “Mean for Livin’” but a bit punchier here. It feels more like an homage to Dylan than ‘in the style of’. Looking it up online, Dylan is even listed as a songwriter on it. I’m not entirely sure why, but my guess is because so many of the lines reference Dylan songs directly.
To be quite honest, I’m deeply in love with every single line in this song. It speaks to the modern disillusionment with America and how hopeless things can feel, told through the imagery of 21st century America along with echoes of Dylan’s songbook. If I had to pick one bit that sums up the whole thing, I think it’d be this line:
“They promised you a reason, they promised you the world
But it’s hard to get a word in when a knee’s upon your throat.”
The whole album is a deeply emotional album filled with love, fear, hope, politics, wonder, and righteous fury, and all of it coalesces into this one fiery, folk-rampage of a tune. It’s a brilliant song that I’ve listened to more times than I can count since that night.
Mondo Cozmo’s albums are all worth the time, but I’m not sure I’ll ever love the rest as much as “For the Barbarians” in part because of that amazing night. A quick glance at my top 20 listens that year shows that 30% of them were directly from one of the truly unexpected opening acts of my life.
Four days later, I tested positive for Covid.
So it goes.
SHOUTING STREET 
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