May 25, 2018
Greta Van Fleet wsg Dorothy – The Fillmore Detroit
Powerful. Magical. Killer. I heard all of these words come from within the crowd. They were not incorrect, either. A warm Friday night in Detroit to start the long Memorial Day weekend with hometown heroes Greta Van Fleet was just what the doctor ordered for concert goers.
This four-piece rock band out of Frankenmuth, Mi. delivered an energetic and passionate set, wrapping up a three night stay at The Fillmore.
To kick things off was Dorothy, a 5-piece rock band from Los Angeles, California. They were the perfect band to get the show started and energize the eager crowd. The band gave a performance that felt like a Woodstock-esque type show. They have the sound, the look and stage presence. Vocalist Dorothy Martin flexed her vocal muscle throughout the set. This singer has some serious pipes and the crowd was blown away by her vocal ability.
Double ax attack Owen Barry and Eli Wulfmeier provided some terrific tone from both sides of the stage. Drummer Jason Ganberg and bassist Eliot Lorango gave us the smooth but powerful rhythm section. I definitely recommend seeing them when they come to your town.
After Dorothy exited the stage it was time for The Fleet. The guys came out to a loud roar from the crowd and when they eventually went into ‘Highway Tune’, the place erupted. I barley saw anyone that wasn’t singing along. They went directly into ‘Edge Of Darkness’ and people began to really set in and start swaying. An extended version of ‘Edge’ gave the opportunity to guitarist Jake Kiszka to show the crowd that he is the real deal. The more he got into his solo, the more energy came from the crowd. Jake worked up and down the fret board and owned his slice of the stage.
Singer Josh Kiszka was very strong and honestly felt like his voice was getting stronger throughout the show. By the time they got to ‘Flower Power’, on which bassist Sam Kiszka play the organ, the crowd was beyond satisfied.
A nice treat for the Friday audience was the band inviting their Father out to play harmonica on a run of songs that included the ‘Howling Wolf’ cover, ‘Evil’. I felt the work that bassist Sam did during this time shouldn’t be overlooked. Guy held it down.
After a brief break, the band came back out for an encore. ‘Black Smoke Rising’ was the first of two songs in the encore and did not disappoint. When singer Josh went into his emotional “YEAH” at the end of the pre-chorus, I could almost see a goose bump type smile from him as the crowd sang that very word with him into the chorus. It was so loud it was hard to hear him. It was almost like he was feeling the same emotion the crowd was. It was truly a great moment.
The bands set ended with the super popular ‘Safari Song’. Great song, great set closer. Drummer Danny Wagner went into his drum solo near the end of the song. His snare drum was popping with such great tone with every hit. And the crowd absolutely dug it. After he was finished, the band ended the song and the show. The audience showed their appreciation for what they just witnessed.
These guys have such a great sound and their stage presence is starting to do that thing where it feels next level. Sky’s the limit for sure. Hopefully going forward, some people will stop with the “Zeppelin Cover Band” nonsense and just say, “Greta Van Fleet.. killer rock band.” Because that’s exactly what they are. A killer rock band.