Greta Van Fleet w/ CLOVES at Armory, Minneapolis (03 July 2018)
Greta Van Fleet at Armory Poster
Greta Van Fleet Setlist
Cloves Tour Dates 07/18/2018 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
07/20/2018 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 07/21/2018 Washington, DC The Anthem 07/23/2018 Boston, MA House Of Blues 07/24/2018 Boston, MA House Of Blues 10/06/2018 Neighbourhood Festival Greta Van Fleet Tour Dates 07/09/2018 Festival D’été de Québec
07/10/2018 RBC Bluesfest 07/18/2018 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE 07/20/2018 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 07/21/2018 Washington, DC The Anthem 07/23/2018 House Of Blues Boston, MA 07/24/2018 House Of Blues Boston, MA 07/27/2018 Floyd, VA “Floydfest” 07/29/2018 Panorama Festival 07/31/2018 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre 08/01/2018 St. Louis, MO The Pageant 08/03/2018 Lollapalooza 08/04/2018 Lollapalooza Aftershows 08/10/2018 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre 08/18/2018 Summer Sonic 08/19/2018 Summer Sonic 08/23/2018 Kahului, HI Maui Arts 08/24/2018 Honolulu, HI The Republik 09/07/2018 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre 09/08/2018 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre 09/09/2018 Skookum Festival 09/11/2018 Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference 09/12/2018 Calgary, AB BMO Centre 09/14/2018 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer 09/17/2018 Oakland, CA Fox Theater 09/18/2018 San Jose, CA City National Civic 09/19/2018 San Francisco, CA The Masonic 09/22/2018 iHeartRadio Daytime Village 09/23/2018 San Diego, CA Observatory 09/25/2018 Tempe, AZ The Marquee 09/26/2018 Tempe, AZ The Marquee 09/28/2018 Salt Lake City, UT Union Event 09/29/2018 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium 10/01/2018 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium 10/05/2018 San Bernardino, CA Glen Helen 10/05/2018 Austin City Limits Music Festival 10/06/2018 Cal Jam 10/11/2018 Madison, WI The Sylvee 10/26/2018 Paris, France Elysee Montmartre 10/27/2018 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique 10/29/2018 Tilburg, Netherlands 013 10/30/2018 Mehr! Theater Am Grossmarkt 11/01/2018 Cologne, Germany Palladium 11/04/2018 Stockholm, Sweden Berns Salonger 11/05/2018 Copenhagen, Denmark VEGA 11/07/2018 Berlin, Germany Columbiahalle 11/09/2018 London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town 11/11/2018 London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town 11/12/2018 London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town 11/14/2018 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy Birmingham 11/15/2018 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy Read More
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The song only partially remains the same—
Frankenmuth, MI blues rock band Greta Van Fleet made their long-overdue first appearance in the Twin Cities, playing the Armory in downtown Minneapolis, which quickly and easily sold out the show. Though the inevitable comparisons to early Led Zeppelin seem to follow the them, that was only partly the case, as evidenced by their crunching live show.
Opening the evening was twenty-two year-old Melbourne singer-songwriter Kaity Dunstan, better known as CLOVES, who charmed and quickly won over the audience very early into her thirty-minute opening set. She started singing young, even appearing on The Voice Australia in 2013, with a full-length debut album, One Big Nothing, due soon (Interscope Records), and having already pre-released four singles from it, including the most recent moody and soulful ‘Wasted Time’.
CLOVES has a very distinctive voice- sometimes a plaintive howl, sometimes an haunting, aching balladeer, and other times not afraid to rock in the rawest way, and was even informative to let us know that England had just won their World Cup game (she professed to not being a fan, though has lived in the UK).
“Thanks for having a listen” she humbly said before finishing, to sincere applause and positive comments around me, praising the singer. ‘Don’t Forget About Me’ she sang, a track from 2015’s XIII EP, and judging from the positive reception, this Minneapolis audience will remember her, and make plans to see her next time through.
Showing little mercy, Great Van Fleet emerged already in sonically high gear to start their ninety-minute set, with singer Josh Kiszka greeting the audience in downplayed form- “how’s everybody doing? I believe this is a rock n’ roll show” before his guttural soaring howl introduced 2017’s ‘Highway Tune’.
The Michigan foursome has been riding an epic wave of building buzz since that opening song went #1 for five weeks on Rock Radio, with two EPs out last year and their debut-full-length due later this year (on Lava/Republic).
Composed of three Kiszka brothers (Josh- vocals; Jake- guitar; Sam- bass) and Danny Wagner on drums, the band has done what several other recent acts (The Struts, Tyler Bryant) also have- allow themselves to be influenced by classic riffs and songs of the 60’s/70’s while putting their own spin on things… and perhaps making rock n’ roll for this generation relevant once again, in the process.
Though they claim to not even being aware of Led Zeppelin until high school, there is a direct comparison to their sound and that of Zeppelin’s classic 1969 debut (especially in Josh’s singing and Jake’s guitar work), filled with youthful exuberance, roots/blues undertones, and an arena-ready hard rock sound.
“Do we have any fans of the blues out there?” Josh asked, before their ripping Howlin’ Wolf cover that sounded less Zeppelin and more Chris Cornell fronting early Black Sabbath , while ‘Watching over’ has turned into their own ‘Dazed and Confused’ when played live, stretching out for long segues, solos, and musical turns.
There’s less on-stage swagger in twenty-one year old singer Josh than a cocksure Robert Plant had at that age, though the vocal chops and range, are undeniably present and Jake’s guitar work is already formidable enough, he may become scarily good, much sooner than later at this pace.
After a sizzling ‘Lover Leaver Taker Believer’ to end the main set at the seventy-two minute mark, the quartet returned for an encore pair of songs, beginning with the title track of their first EP, ‘Black Smoke Rising’. “You asked for it!” Josh screamed, “I hope nobody’s standing too close to a window” he yelled as his twin brother unleashed the opening riff.
‘Safari Song’, their other single that has topped the Mainstream Rock charts, showcased a high-pitched vocal that sounded closer to Bon Scott and vintage Axl Rose, also providing a spotlight for drummer Wagner, whose thundering drum solo would end the extended song, and the evening.
From the headline of the t-shirts and posters, “A Night of Revelry” was promised by Greta Van Fleet and CLOVES and that’s exactly what was delivered, with one foot planted in the past, and the other, firmly in the future.
(* note- we were not granted Greta Van Fleet photo access)
(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)