Greta Van Fleet, Zeppelin If You Need It

By Connor Norris.

July 23, 2018.

When it comes to listeners’ opinion on Greta Van Fleet, they either ridicule or praise them in their likeness to Led Zeppelin. The people who like them see always say that the first impression was the Robert Plant voice doppelganger that is Josh Kizka, but then they realize that they are young and have potential for difference. There is no question that the young Detroit band sounds like Zeppelin, but to the pessimists that believe that they can’t be anything but Zeppelin lookalikes, they make more Zeppelin songs.

I love Zeppelin, you love Zeppelin, we all do. People are hanging on to every last inch that they left behind, which is all well. Everyone is latched on to what they had, they can’t get enough of them, and most of all, they want more. But trying to bring back the the original gods of rock now won’t do anything for you. The numerous desperate (and quite pathetic) attempts at reunions have been in previous years, as I said, pathetic. They said it in 1980 when John Bonham died, they were done. They didn’t want to maim the legendary legacy they created with a drummer that wasn’t named John Bonham, because the simple fact is that he can’t be recreated.

The people who go to those bad reunion concerts are the same people that are calling Greta Van Fleet out for sounding too much like Zeppelin. But wouldn’t you rather have a youthful, talented group of musicians making new, good music rather than the homecoming of icons who are out of their prime and their late drummer’s son? The answer is not complicated in that these guys are putting on shows that draw Zeppelin fans for the new take on the Rock ‘N Roll world.

So who cares if they do sound like Led Zeppelin? The band makes music that sounds good, and for all of the prayers that called for more Zeppelin songs, here you go. The kids are young and extremely talented. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought the same.

In similar fashion to the Royal Blood at Revolution Live in June, I was drowned in astonishment by the line to get into the Boston House of Blues. The doors opened at 7:00, but there must have been people waiting outside since 5:00 or earlier. The stream of people hugged Fenway all the way down Lansdowne Street, then curling around the corner over the bridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike. I understood that this band was a new wave of Rock ‘N Roll, but I didn’t expect that the Led Zeppelin shirt-clad fans to know that too.

The opening act, CLOVES, was a shot in the dark for what I’m assuming was the general population of Rock fans in the crowd on the Monday night. I had heard a few of the Australian artist’s songs prior to the concert, but nothing that particularly stood out. I like to think that I would not be alone in the unfamiliarity to the opener’s music if a poll were to be taken from the crowd.

As anxious fans of Greta Van Fleet quickly filled in corridors of the venue, CLOVES joined her band on stage to an ordinary, unsure applause for the artist. The singer, born Kaity Dunstan, was quick in attempts to grab to the crowd, dancing in a snake-like slither making her outfit look quite loose on her, even if it wasn’t.

CLOVES began her act, singing in a sequenced, quiet type of phrasing with an Australian spin on it. Her band performed fairly simple tasks on each of their instruments; quarter notes on the ride cymbal for drums, bar chords on guitar, and a slow and steady bassline. The act that seemed to have no heavy-lifting was quite relaxing, but in a dark manner, a feeling that Lana Del Rey has made her signature style.

The Australian-born singer served her act as well as she could, and overall it was a solid, well-performed hour-long set. The only problem with her set was that she was, after all, opening for Greta Van Fleet. The fans were there for Greta Van Fleet. Would you have Lana Del Rey open for Metallica?

After CLOVES’ act, fans grew anxious to the point where hoots and hollers would roar at the end of each song playing on the loudspeaker, expecting the lights to flash off and four shadows of Michigan youths to emerge onstage. A few minutes past 9:15 and a flood of more GVF fans since CLOVES’ exit, the lights were cut, and Greta Van Fleet shot out of backstage like a cannon.

Josh Kiszka, the singer of the group, emerged in an outfit that fans of the artist have come to expect. A loose shirt with tie-dyed flower print on it and feather earrings he donned. He, along with his two brothers and long-time friend Danny Wagner, stirred the roar of the crowd by throwing flowers into the general admission pit. A sense of genuine happiness was traded between the four figures and the sold-out 2500 person as the noise level increased throughout the night.

With spirits served up high, it was time for Greta Van Fleet to deliver what the people came for. Firing out of the gates, Jake Kiszka, guitarist and twin of Josh, threw down the riff for their most popular, “Highway tune”. Joining Jake in the tune was his younger brother on bass, Sam, Danny Wagner on drums, and Josh with the room-filling vocals. A quick reminder that in chronological order of age, the bandmates are 18, 18, 21, and 21.

When the first belting note hit by Josh Kiszka rung out through the microphone, it set the tone for the night. The tone was high-pitched but tasteful, the noise coming from somewhere that few people can reach. The group followed their hit, “Highway Tune” with more popular songs from their Extended Play record, From The Fires, and also the new single, “When The Curtain Falls” released just last week on July 17. Josh Kiszka held a tambourine for a period of the show, before cracking in half and throwing it into the audience during “Edge of Darkness”.

After the acoustic “Flower Power”, the group went into a string of less popular tunes, though not missing a beat in keeping the rhythm of the crowd moving. Songs like “You’re the One” and “Lover Leaver Taker Believer” were previously released but currently unavailable for streaming. They also ventured into old blues covers like Howlin’ Wolf’s “Evil” and Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right”. Despite the unknown tunes to the crowd, the band kept it interesting with solo breaks and jams led by guitarist Jake Kiszka. Singer Josh Kiszka also added no lack of high-pitched ad-libs to his brother’s classic-sounding riffs. The vocals were nothing short of pitches pulled from his gullet, thrown into the air.

A jam that morphed from the cover of “That’s All Right” closed out the set before the encore. Noise levels did not come down until the band came back on stage after a brief period between show and encore. Jake Kiszka led their popular “Black Smoke Rising” tune as the beginning of the end of the show. Finally, lastly, came the powerful “Safari Song”. Singer Josh led a back-and-forth between the crowd and the stage when the chorus came to “Your heart!”

Suddenly the stage cleared for a drum solo by Danny Wagner whose hair flew around to the beat of the drum, eventually losing the sticks and ending the solo with his hands, bringing the band back into the song among roars from the crowd. One last clash of the cymbal, high note, and bang and the wave of sound hit the crowd for the final time that night. The light-hearted young adults threw guitar picks and drum sticks into the crowd, offering souvenirs to people older than them.

The youth carried on the shoulders of the group brought the best of their abilities to the House of Blues in Boston on the July night. Greta Van Fleet brings a revival in the Rock ‘N Roll scene that does not have a finish line in sight.