Greta Van Fleet Play the Hits – But No New Songs – At L.A. Gig

Following their first Coachella performance, Greta Van Fleet kicked off a two-night stand at Los Angeles' John Anson Ford Amphitheater last night.  The energy level was high among the age-diverse crowd, with many in the crowd doing the wave while waiting for the band to hit the stage.

The band hit the stage as David Ruffin's "My Whole World Ended" played over the soundsystem, and went straight into their first single "Highway Tune." This song topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock & Active Rock charts in 2017, so I was stoked to hear this song first as it completely amped up myself and the entire crowd for the rest of the show.

During the set, they suffered some technical difficulties, including feedback, and the bass player bassist Sam Kiszka lost a string and his strap, but that barely slowed them down.  Rock and roll is never perfect, and it's not a rock show without some tech issues! The vintage-sounding rock band pulled out all the stops. Guitar player Jake Kiszka peeled off face-melting, eclectic solos that really brought you back to the 70's.

Their high energy set included "When the Cold Wind Blows," "Edge of Darkness" and "Flower Power."  After the band exited the stage and the lights dimmed, the crowd knew an encore was coming, chanting "Greta, Greta, Greta" and banging as hard as they could on the venue's seats until the band made their second entrance. Josh Kiszka then joked: "This is when we bring out Barbara Streisand with puppets and start talking about politics." The crowd laughed and then cheered as they played "Black Smoke Rising." Neither the band or crowd was ready for the show to end; alas, they wrapped things up with, of course, "Safari Song."

Greta Van Fleet brings you back to the '70s without it coming off as a rip-off. Yeah, they're influenced by Led Zeppelin, but their influences hardly end there. When you see them live, this is a band that lives and breathes rock and roll. We have all been waiting for a band like this and they're only going to get bigger. The only disappointment? No songs from their hotly anticipated upcoming album.