Greta Van Fleet are a band who might tell you they were born in the wrong era. Featuring undeniable Led Zeppelin influences, the Michigan four piece, who are made up of three brothers and a high-school friend, are one of the biggest bands today showcasing that vintage 70s rock sound.
Their new album ‘Starcatcher’, saw the band change up the recording process, choosing to focus on the raw and improvised feeling of a live performance. It clearly resonated with fans, as since its release Greta Van Fleet have embarked on a world tour, selling out arenas everywhere they’ve went.
Greta Van Fleet brought their ‘Starcatcher’ show to a packed out 3 Arena in Dublin. All were sat with anticipation as classical music played around the venue, and once the veil dropped all four members of the band stood on the stage defiantly, greeted by cheers and screams from all in attendance.
The band wasted no time bursting into song, with ‘The Falling Sky’ proving to be an exceptional opener. The track features one of lead guitarist Jake’s strongest riffs, as well as an excellent harmonica solo from frontman Josh. ‘Lover, Leaver’ started off excellently as well, with stomping guitar riffs and Daniel Wagner providing serious grooves on the drumkit.
However, what started off as a ripping-rock song turned into a ten minute jam session, with frontman Josh Kizka walking off the stage and leaving the rest of the band to light up the arena with their musicianship. As the minutes passed, what initially seemed as an instance of impressive improvisation turned into a moment of self-indulgence. The jam continued on with no end in sight, leaving a few in the crowd scratching their heads.
Frontman Josh returned to the stage for a performance of ‘Meeting The Master’, the first released single from ‘Starcatcher’. The song features luminous acoustic guitar leads and a strong vocal performance; clearly an adequate song to get the crowd back on their side as they all joined in with the chorus.
Fan favourite ‘Highway Tune’ proved to be a highlight of the night, with its now iconic riff ringing around the arena in all its distortion. Singer Josh has never been shy to show off his impressive vocal range and this was the case here, with the chorus belted out as it came to its conclusion.
The band disappeared from the stage afterwards, leaving only drummer Wagner sitting at his kit. Bursting into a drum solo initially seemed out of the blue, and while his performance was impressive and blistering it still couldn’t help but feel out of place from the setlist. Like the previous jam session it rambled on close to ten minutes, and many in the crowd took it as an opportunity to run to the bar.
The band rejoined the stage with acoustic guitars in hand for performances of ‘Black Smoke Rising’ and a cover of Hy Zaret and Alex North’s ‘Unchained Melody’. The acoustic set was a welcomed change of pace, with no threat of long-winded solo segments.
‘Farewell For Now’ was a fitting closer, bringing a sense of finality to their show. Jake’s solo here was his strongest of the night, possessing a strong feeling of purpose unlike a few of his others. While he’s clearly a very talented and technical guitarist, his fretwork often came off as one-dimensional, often repeating licks and never providing much experimentation.
The Michigan rock outlet are no doubt a band brimming with talent, but their setlist unfortunately felt directionless. Multiple guitar solos lasted the length of entire songs, meanwhile it felt as though frontman Josh was only present on the stage for half the gig, occasionally running backstage and allowing his bandmates to jam as though it were a practice session and not an arena show.
However, the night definitely scratched that 70s vintage rock sounding itch, despite the multiple misfires. With better direction, Greta Van Fleet could be magnificent live. They’re just unfortunately not there yet.
Written by Niall McGreevy