Greta Van Fleet at Terminal 5

Joshua Kiszka

Barely a few years ago, vocalist Joshua Kiszka starred in high school plays in his home town of Frankenmuth, Michigan; he aimed to be a film maker. His twin brother, Jake Kiszka, was learning to play classic rock guitar, and their younger brother Sam Kiszka was learning bass. It was only natural that they should form a band. They formed Greta Van Fleet as teenagers in 2012; Danny Wagner joined the band in 2013 after the original drummer left. Greta Van Fleet's flashy hard rock performances quickly spread beyond their home town. In 2014, Greta Van Fleet released a one-take live EP, now a rarity. Two more EPS were released in 2017, and the band's debut album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, was released on October 19, 2018.

Only 16 months since Greta Van Fleet first came to New York City and played the small basement at Esther & Carole's, the blues-rocking quartet headlined three nights at the cavernous Terminal 5. The band's success has been rapid and well-earned. It is not so much that the band's music has changed, but that the music is reaching and being embraced by a wider audience. Even in its early days, the band showed that it had studied Led Zeppelin very carefully. Now Greta Van Fleet has won over the older, nostalgic Zep fans who have not seen Zep in decades, plus a younger audience that never had a Zep in their lifetime. On stage tonight, none of the musicians in Greta Van Fleet had the insurmountable abilities of their corresponding predecessors, but the four young musicians made a very similar sound come alive. The new band performed classic rock-styled songs more credibly than many of its elders. The songs rocked, the musicians entertained as skilled and flamboyant performers, and for all the mirroring of classic rock, the band sounded as genuine as a first generation hard rock band. The band's ascent is still at the foot of the mountain; expect Greta Van Fleet to headline Madison Square Garden very soon.

Visit Greta Van Fleet at www.gretavanfleet.com.

Setlist:

1. Brave New World (snippet)
2. Highway Tune
3. Edge of Darkness
4. Flower Power
5. You're the One
6. Evil (Howlin’ Wolf cover)
7. Black Flag Exposition
8. Watching Over
9. When the Curtain Falls

Encore:

1. Black Smoke Rising
2. Safari Song