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<\/p>\nGreta Van Fleet \u2013 Aragon Ballroom \u2013 December 12, 2018<\/p>\n
Pinballing through the sardine packed audience of this storied building, built three years before my near 90-year-old Chicago born father was spanked on the tush, there is most definitely a buzz, a static, sonic electricity that belies hype or expectation that often attaches itself to \u2018the next big thing\u2019. I\u2019ve been in these rooms at the beginning of some mighty cataclysmic campaigns, like Guns N\u2019 Roses at the Cathouse in Hollywood, early \u201988. Slices of Aerosmith and the Stones, yes, but there was something more notorious at work, contemporary, original. The older us baby boomers get, the more our intuition and cynicism tends to sharpen when it comes to embracing new music.<\/p>\n
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We\u2019ve become protectionists. We were there. My favorite tee is, \u201cI May Be Old But I Got to See All the Cool Bands.\u201d Born in the Buddy Holly \u201850\u2019<\/strong>s, weaned in magical mystery \u201860\u2019<\/strong>s, stoned in the Zoso \u201870\u2019<\/strong>s; what do these millennials know about real rock n\u2019 roll? Do not tread on our heroes or their untouchable musical legacies lest ye suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous judgment and social media damnation! And then, inexplicably, via a confluence of events and celestial alignment, from a Midwest blackhole known as Frankenmuth, Michigan (population 5,000), three Polish brothers with hairless cheeks, righteous riffs and reverence for the ancient ones, form a band, write some songs and message the mothership that they\u2019ll be staying awhile. Tonight, Greta Van Fleet lands in Chi-town.<\/p>\n The kids in the crowd (and their parents) are alright.\u201cI brought my mom,\u201d boasts Chase, a 20-year-old clean cut student attending pilot school in Florida. He\u2019s proudly clad in a Roger Waters\u2019 \u201cWall\u201d tee. \u201cBeen playing her all the Greta songs, psyched about tonight. I love \u2018Edge of Darkness,\u2019 the guitar riffs are sick. And \u2018You\u2019re the One.\u2019 It\u2019s beautiful.\u201d Mama Anne chimes in, semi-wild blonde \u201880\u2019s metal \u2018do, effervescent smile. \u201cYeah I still got the hair!\u201d she laughs. \u201cI really like their ballads. Pretty mature stuff. I\u2019ve got two other sons, my husband and I raised \u2018em all on rock. Music is a family affair, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Josh and Jake Kiszka, the twins born in the spring of \u201896 and Sam, who arrived three years later, would no doubt agree with that statement. The Brothers Van Fleet, along with drummer Danny Wagner \u2013 who\u2019ll turn 20 on December 28th<\/sup> \u2013 are about to headline the same stage that Nirvana torched 25 years ago. Tonsilz quiver from six to sixty as the lights dim. Clock says 9 pm, Armageddon at the Aragon\u2026and we\u2019ll be home by 11.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Cold Wind\u201d from their latest long play, Anthem of a Peaceful Army<\/em>, warms the enthusiastic audience up fast. The vocal gymnastics kick in with \u201cSafari Song\u201d from the earlier Black Smoke Rising<\/em> EP as Josh aims for the little girls with old school themes designed to lasso new school hearts and loins.<\/p>\n I wander about the massive enclave, from the claustrophobic floor to the balconies and back, as the set ebbs and flows through 12 songs representing their brief but productive recording career. Throwback tracks stop me in my tracks, like the hypnotizing, \u201cFlower Power\u201d (shut your eyes and you can almost see John Paul Jones massaging the Hammond B3), the anthemic \u201cA Change is Gonna Come\u201d and \u201cWhen the Curtain Falls\u201d (close \u2018em again and Bonzo\u2019s slamming the skins).<\/p>\n When they boys return after a furious ovation for their three encores, the locomotive, \u201cLove, Leaver (Taker Believer) – \u201cShe\u2019s an angel straight from Hell\u201d \u2013 oh Sweet Connie, wait until you meet this American band; followed by, the rousing \u201cHighway Tune,\u201d and finale, \u201cRolling and Tumblin\u201d the ebullient crowd files out into the cold southside air, warm and alive.<\/p>\n I walk over to the merch stand, chat a bit with Julius, a veteran of the Chicago music scene, as he vends swag to the growing Greta army. We share thoughts. He\u2019s seen the band several times and thinks they\u2019re \u2018cool.\u2019 This was my debut dish o\u2019 Greta. I muster a glib remark, \u201cWell, they\u2019re definitely special, not quite Led Zeppelin but then again, certainly not Kingdom Come.\u201d In all candor, having witnessed and chronicled the GN\u2019R revolution up close and personal as executive editor of the long-gone hard rock publication, Rip Magazine \u2013 when a dozen look\/sound alike acts were signed and played on MTV between \u201988 and \u201991 \u2013 Greta Van Fleet are not easily defined or categorized. Their music and vibe are seeded in vintage soil, often hearkening icons past. But this is new growth, fresh, even a bit dangerous. So what if the drummer isn\u2019t quite Jack Daniels sipping age yet? When rock n\u2019 roll stops breaking rules, then you can officially throw a blanket over it.<\/p>\n – Lonn M. Friend, Author, Life on Planet Rock<\/p>\n ===================================================================================<\/p>\n For more on Greta Van Fleet, click here<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/438ce02a-b6da-409b-b716-1ef0424989f7_831871_TABLET_LANDSCAPE_LARGE_16_9-1024x576.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n“Ah mama what you gonna do
\nWith all that love in your heart?
\nAh mama what you gonna say
\nAbout that love in your heart
\nOh mama when you walk this way
\nWhy don’t you give some lovin’
\nOo mama what you gonna do
\nWith all that lovin’ in your heart?”<\/em><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Greta-Van-Fleet-live-in-Chicago-at-Aragon-Theatre-Dec-12-2018-17-1024x683.jpg\")
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