WORDS WILL MAXWELL / IMAGE JOE JONES
Grammy-winning rock band Greta Van Fleet stop off in Manchester as part of their ‘Starcatcher World Tour’.
Any article ever written about Greta Van Fleet contains a reference to Led Zeppelin, and guess what, this one is no different! With four albums under their belts, and now selling out huge arenas, questions remain as to whether this is inspiration or imitation. We’re at the AO Arena in Manchester to find out.
Opening up tonight is singer-songwriter and rock guitarist Hannah Wicklund. Fans who have arrived early are treated to tracks from her forthcoming album The Prize (Hell in the Hallway, Hide and Seek and Witness). The South Carolina native is a powerhouse of a vocalist and outstanding guitarist and this short but sweet set demonstrated those qualities well.
Philadelphia Indie rockers Mt. Joy are up next. They also only have a short but enjoyable set. Opening up with ‘Evergreen’ from their latest album Orange Blood, they showcase their mix of delicate melodies and psychedelic folk rock on ‘Lemon Tree’ and ‘Silver Lining’. They seemed really happy to be part of the tour, and made heartfelt thanks to the crowd, who showed them plenty of love in return.
Anticipation is building for the arrival of US retro-rockers Greta Van Fleet. A huge curtain covers the stage, and the lights go out and a lengthy violin track is played as we await the moment the curtain drops.
When it finally does we are presented with all four members of the band standing at the top of the stage which is met with a huge roar from the crowd. Opening up with ‘The Falling Sky’, the pyro machine is in overdrive as flames shoot across the back of the stage throughout.
Josh Kiszka is a sensational vocalist. The flamboyant frontman is the star of the band, so it’s a shame we see relatively little of him throughout the evening. Frequently leaving the stage – disappearing for most of the nearly 25-minute rendition of ‘Lover, Leaver (Taker, Believer)’ – for outfit changes, and we would learn later, perhaps to rest his voice. He reaches out at various points to hand out flowers to his adoring fans.
The highlights of the set are ‘Heat Above’ and ‘Highway Tune’. These fan-favourite tracks receive the biggest reaction from the crowd – who all seem to be either young females or older rockers – who are mostly sat down all evening but these two songs see people up dancing, swaying and singing at the top of their lungs.
I love a good drum solo – and no rock gig is complete without one – but the ten-minute one from Danny Wagner that follows kills the vibe, and sees many take the opportunity for a toilet break or to refill their drinks.
They return to the stage to perform a mini stripped-back set. An absolutely beautiful piano-led cover of ‘Unchained Melody’ was just stunning. It’s even more remarkable that before it, Josh explains that he has Acute Laryngitis. This did not show in his performance at all, as he hits every note and his famed range was there all evening. ‘Waited All Your Life’ and ‘Black Smoke Rising’ round off this more intimate part of the show.
I have to be honest in saying the gig went downhill from there. Latest album Starcatcher dominates the setlist as you would expect, but lengthy versions of ‘Fate of the Faithful’, ‘Sacred the Thread’ and ‘The Archer’ take around an hour to play, with ridiculously long interludes, guitar noodling and what felt like lots of time killing. Jacob Kiszka (guitar) and Sam Kiszka (bass/keyboard) are excellent musicians but…sometimes less is more. The two-and-a-quarter-hour set featured just 14 songs and it would have been much more enjoyable if they knocked at least thirty minutes of the self-indulgent jam fest off. With no big screens on stage tonight either, these arduous drawn-out moments just give me a feeling of disconnect as I sit and think about the many tracks they could be playing instead.
‘Light My Love’ finally brings an end to the show, as the crowd sway their arms and illuminate the room with their phone lights.
Greta Van Fleet have had a meteoric rise to become an arena-sized band but unfortunately, this show missed the mark.
SET LIST
1/ THE FALLING SKY
2/ THE INDIGO STREAK
3/ LOVER, LEAVER ( TAKE, BELIEVER )
4/ MEETING THE MASTER
5/ HEAT ABOVE
6/ HIGHWAY TUNE
7/ DRUM SOLO
ACOUSTIC
8/ UNCHAINED MELODY
9/ WAITED ALL YOUR LIFE
10/ BLACK SMOKE RISING
SET 2
11/ FATE OF THE FAITFUL
12/ SACRED THE THREAD
13/ THE ARCHER ENCORE
14/ RHAPSODY IN BLUE
15/ LIGHT MY LOVE
FOLLOW GRETA VAN FLEET
FOLLOW MT JOY
FOLLOW HANNAH WICKLUND
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
