Concert Review - Greta Van Fleet

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Bras thrown on stage, smoke in the air, strangers sharing oh-so-intimate moments in the crowd. Yep. Sounds like rock and roll.

On Wednesday December 12th, a “warmer” December night in Chicago, Illinois, Greta Van Fleet played an amazing and memorable show at the Aragon Ballroom. The beginning show to their three sold-out Chicago concerts.

Doors opened at 6:03 sharp and the long line of early birds enter the ballroom, racing to get front row standing. The audience ranged more drastically than I thought it would have been. From eight to eighty, old souls to young spirits, the crowd seemed to cover it all.

Once everyone was packed into the sold-out venue, the opening band came out. The Nashville, Tennessee band, The New Respects are in a genre of their own. Pulling from rock, soul, funk, and pop, you can tell that this musical family came from a historic city of great music. The New Respects had strong demand and an aura of confidence when they came on stage. Dress in what looks like modern 70s apparel, all of us in the audience were dying to know what was going to happen. Opening with their song, We Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, they kicked off the rock vibe.  Jasmine Mullen’s strong vocals along with Lexi Fitzgeralds smooth bass, Darius’ playful drums, and Zandy Fitzgeralds strong Jimmy Hendrix vibes, throws the crowd into a wave of uncontrollable movements and excitement. The band played a range of songs from their album, Before The Sun Goes Down; some more funky, some more slow, but all amazing. To keep with the classic rock vibe of the night, they threw in a well done cover of “Come Together” by The Beatles before finishing off with their songs “Something To Believe In” and “Freedom”. Shouting “Wakanda Forever” before taking exit to the stage.

As per concert tradition, the main act came on about 13 minutes “late” to the stage, but nobody was mad about it once Greta Van Fleet started. Clad in what looked like exquisite thrift-shop finds from the 60s and 70s, the four piece band are the living image of old rock in the modern age. Within the first song performed, “The Cold Wind”, audiences mirrored the excitement and electricity that the band brought to stage. Everyone was ready to rock all night long.

Going into the show I was a tad worried. I’ve watched videos of the band perform in previous shows and I wasn’t that impressed with Josh Kiszka’s stage presence. His voice has the power of Robert Plant but did he actually have the rock and roll spirit? I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. These 19 and 20 year olds new how to rock. Josh surprised the audiences with his magnificent vocals and his engagement. Jake Kiszka blew everyone away with his guitar skills, especially with his riveting six minute solo during “Edge of Darkness” and when he played with his guitar behind his back, making it look effortless. Girls threw their bras on stage and everyone was dancing and singing along to the lyrics when “Safari Song” and “Black Smoke Rising” were played. Everyone in the audience was close and quite ~comfortable~ with one another when “Flower Power” came on. I felt the love in the air spread across the ballroom and even I started to swoon when Josh blew a kiss in our direction of the audience. After declining a make out request from a fellow audience member, I really began to feel a strong connection with the crowd. A connection that the band made possible. Everyone was having an amazing time because the band was having a good time. They’re still young and excited about their future career, and it shows in their work. Through both their recordings and their performances, the band plays with a passion and an energy that of a kid on Christmas morning.

The band is astonishing, many can agree upon that. Within their next tours, they are sure to move up to more grand venues and snag awards within the next months. But we do have to talk about the flying elephant in the room. Or I should say, the Zeppelin. Josh Kizka has been blessed with a very special voice, even if it does sound almost exactly like Robert Plants. Josh can’t help that and he shouldn’t have to worry about that because Plant’s voice is one of the best in history. What the band can help is all of their other similarities. Their style, both musical and costume, is so close to Led Zeppelin’s. Sounding like Zeppelin probably was not the bands intention, but it definitely got their foot in the door in the world of rock. It also stirred the pot though. The growing attention towards them has both it’s goods and bads. They are helping to bring back rock-and-roll, yet it’s not truly their own sound. Greta Van Fleet is an amazing band and nobody can resist the urge to bang their head to Highway Tune. But unless they can curate a sound that is more of their own, they might fizzle out soon. And God I hope that doesn’t happen.

Interview with John Angus MacDonald from the Trews

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How was your latest album release? Talk about Civillionaire and it’s impact on you, the band, the public?

It’s being well received. It’s been like a four year break between our last studio album and that’s quite a long time. So it was a bit of a long break, and there was a lot of anticipation for it. We were definitely inching to get it out and we were getting impatient with waiting. And so that fact that it’s finally here, we feel like the fans really like it and the material is going over good live so far. So we’re all really pleased with how it’s going, it’s only been a couple of months but in this day and age it kinda feels like an eternity.

So will you be playing any music from that album on the Holiday tour?

On the train it’s a little different. It’s so focused on raising money and bringing in nonperishable foods and its such a holiday thing. So we’ll probably do a couple songs form the new album and then a couple of Christmas themed tunes. Because it’s not about us, it’s more about fund raising and taking care of our neighbors and each other at this time of year, and that’s more of the spirit of it.

But we will be doing a bunch of tour dates in 2019 for our new album so we’ll be able to play more of our songs then.

What have you heard about the Holiday Train from pervious artists who have performed on it?

From what I hear, it plays for thousands of people. The stage is one of the train cars so we just go out and we never have to get off for two weeks. SO that’s either going to be awesome or maybe we’ll all go completely crazy, but we’ll find out. It’ll be a another first for us so we’re mainly just excited for it right now.

The train is like 16 cars long and its all decked out with crazy lights and décor. The train pulls into the station, and that’s where the show is. So one of the walls comes down from the train car and that’s the show that we put on for people. The show lasts about 40 minutes and then the wall comes back up and we head off to the next stop. And we’re doing from 2-5 shows a day so it’s a pretty busy schedule

Talk a little bit about what you guys do for fundraising.

The train CP Holiday Rail and this is it’s 20th year. SO for 20 years now they’ve got this down and the numbers are staggering, it’s in the multiple millions of dollars totally that they’ve got over these 20 years. And it all stays in the community that we’re performing. When you make a donation of money or a donation of nonperishable food at a show, it stays in that community. So you’re truly helping your neighbors and that’s what’s important during this time of the year. Sometimes people get wrapped up into the materialistic world during this time, and I think it’s an important time to be more sharing and caring towards our neighbors.

What would be some advice that you would give to upcoming artists today?

I think that you have to have your eyes wide open about the state of the industry. If you’re getting into music to make a quick buck and to become a millionaire overnight then you should probably get into a different field. Like there’s a heck of a lot more money in tech. But if you love music and you’re committed to writing, performing, and playing as a lifelong endeavor, then dive in. There’s plenty of ways to figure out how to do it. You can make a good living playing music, I’ve been doing it since I was a twenty year old. It’s possible. You just have to be creative enough and if you’re committed to making music, you can do it, it’s very possible to do. You just have to have your eyes wide open to what its like out there.

What’s the biggest thing that you are looking forward to on the tour?

I mean besides the shows which will be a lot of fun… but we are playing outside so I don’t know. But I look forward to seeing the country sided by train. We’re so used to seeing countries by the window of a car on the interstate. Now this is a chance to go off the beaten path and see things that we don’t normally get to see or do. It’s going to be a great trip.

Check out the Holiday Train Tour making many stops in the Midwest!

Interview with Artist Jay Putty

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Ashley: Where did your music start? What is your musical background?

Jay: I started doing music about 10 or 12 years ago. Not to do the pity sad story but I used to get my ass beat a lot in middle school and high school and there was one time where I got beat up and they crushed my nose and my cheek bone. I couldn’t leave my house for the entire summer. My mom didn’t want me to just sit in my room all summer. She wanted for me to have something to do so she took me to Walmart and she said, “You have $50 to spend, whatever you want to get, just get it”. And there was this little guitar and I looked at her and said “you said anything”. She thought that I was just going to pick it up and put it back down, but now the joke is that I picked it up and never put it back down.

That’s how I got started playing the guitar, but my musical background is that I was raised on the Eagles and Journey, along with some contemporary worship music. I started playing in churches in worship bands when I was twelve and then it started to grow form there. I did metal bands, I did pop-punk, and everything in between. I’ve done country music and now I’ve settled into what this is, which I feel is more of like an extension of what I am. Considering that the first album that I bought was John Mayer’s ‘Room for Squares’ and I feel like I’m kind of in-line with that now.

Ashley: Going off of that, John Mayer is one musician who has inspired you, who are some other musicians that inspire you? And Have you found any inspirations through touring/traveling?

Jay: Ed Sheeran, definitely, because I loved the writing style and how he has grown as a writer. Most of what I do now is that I’m a song writer for other people. And then Ben Rector because he’s just this goofy normal dude and that’s how I view myself. I’m not like that super star who you want to follow on Instagram because you want to see him shirtless, no I’m just a goofy dude that writes good songs that that’s just kind of what my brand is, just a goofy song writer.

Through the years, I’ve done hired tours where I’ve been the guitarist for other people and they’ve done some stuff for me. I feel like the more of the world I see, the more I can expand writing just because I feel like I’m learning, not just by my experiences but by the experiences and stories from others that I encounter. That has really helped shape who I am and shape how I write songs, because if I don’t have a perspective for a song but I have a friend or somebody who has gone through that song, it gives me the ability to write from that one because I know anecdotally how it goes.

Ashley: What’s the process for your songwriting? How did you find your sound?

Jay: It’s so weird… its relative, and it depends. It’s kind of like the mood of the day. When I try to go to the room and I write a song, I try to write a song conversationally. I’m not very specific when it comes to song writing, where it’s like these radio tracks that seem larger than life. The way I like to write, and the way I write songs with other people, is that I try to keep it as conversationally as possible, meaning that as I write the song it sounds like me and you having a conversation lyrically, that’s the way I want to go because I feel like the more you just get into that one connection from song to person, it just helps connect better and it makes it more personal. Because I know that I listen to songs that are like “I went to the club and bought bottle service” like any other pop song that is huge, it just doesn’t sound like anything that I am into or anything that’s relative to me and I feel like most people that’s pretty relative because when people go out they’re not really spending $100 on bottle service, or a couple drinks.

Ashley: Who inspires you/pushes you the most?

Jay: This is going to sound so cheesy and lame, but my wife really does. When it comes to overall perseverance and fortitude, I have watched her do some pretty incredible things just because she says she’s going to do it.  And her reliance is awe-inspiring. She inspires me when it comes to my art and as a person really because she pushes me to be better on the guitar and out at the studio just being a good husband and all that. She is the one who inspired me, her and my mom.

Ashley: What was your first gig like?

Jay: Oh my god. My first show was terrible, as everyone’s probably is. I played at a little coffee shop in my home town and I had written some really bad songs. It was trying to be metal while trying to be singer/songwriter-ie. I had a drummer on an electronic drum kit and then me. During the show, I wanted to do a cover of a song that I hadn’t learned, so I put the headphones in my MP3 Player and tried to play and sing along to it at the same time. If that doesn’t just sum up how bad it was.

Ashley: We know that “Trouble” is coming out at the end of the month, would you like to speak on that at all?

Jay: I’m really excited about that coming out November 30th, pre-orders are up now. I wrote it with some friends here in Nashville and finished it up with Kevin Gates in Springfield, MO.

Again, as cheesy as it sounds, trouble is about my wife and I. We met when we were freshmen in high school and we had a rocky relationship. I think all of it, you always go through heart aches and trouble and all of that leads up to where you need to go and it kind of chronicles where we went from the beginning of our relationship till now, after all the years together. We recently got married about 6 or 7 months ago. Trouble is our story from the starting point to where we are now. And it’s far from over, it’s just started again in a way now that we are married. The song embodies that anything worth having, you’ll go through the troubles to have it. It’s work, and real love is real hard and it’s worth it at the end.

Ashley: How has music helped you in your life?

Jay: Music was both an outlet and a safe space for me. The reason that my mom wanted me out of my room is because the since I was beat and bullied and at 11 years old I didn’t want to live anymore and that’s what my mom was afraid of and that’s why she got me the guitar. I really thank music for that because it gave me that outlet. Instead of bottling up those negative emotions and let it eat me from the inside, it let me get it out in a healthy way. Music has always been that thing that I can always rely on and really just pull from when I needed it.

Ashley: What are you currently listening to right now?

Jay: Louis Capaldi, I’ve been listening to a lot of him. He is amazing, I just randomly found him on Spotify. The dude has an unreal voice. I’ve also been listening to a lot of my friend’s music, like Johnny Zywiciel and Pagentri, she’s a rock star. My friends make really dope music and I love listening to it.

Ashley: If you could perform with any musician, dead or alive, who would it be and where would it be?

Jay: If I could perform with any… Freddie Mercury, 1983, Live AID concert. Like, Queen/Freddie Mercury, he might be the be all to end all. My music entrails a lot of inspiration from him directly because form an artist’s standpoint I can’t replicate what he does, but talking about someone I revere the highest amount is Freddie Mercury. I have been a huge fan since I could listen to music. If I could go back even just for ‘Radio Ga Ga’ or ‘When the Hammer Falls’, I would just love it.

Ashley: Any shows or touring coming up soon or through the year?

Jay: So we are playing at a lot of coffee shops. I am releasing a coffee that goes along with ‘Trouble’ and we’re going to be doing a lot of coffee shop tours and we have a three week tour set up in the UK where we’ll be traveling to a bunch of different coffee shops in August and I’m going to be hitting it a lot harder this year than I did last year. I took a bit of a break this year to get married and enjoy life, but we’re hitting it hard next year.

Ashley: Any last remarks?

Jay: Go Cowboys!

Jay Putty’s single, “Trouble” comes out this Friday, November 30th. Be sure to come back here for our review on it and check it out for yourself.

Album Review - This is It

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The Greeting Committee lives up to their name as they welcome listeners to the 40-minute party that is their debut album, “This Is It.” Released October 26, “This Is It” is jam packed with warm indie tunes that make you want to dance but are in no way lacking authenticity or emotion. The Kansas City-based band takes on topics of growing up, love, and a hint of existential crisis throughout the album.

“Is This It?” throws the listener into the album as they’re greeted by the horn section and a groovy bass line. The tone slows for anticipation-building chorus leading us to wonder if we’re about to find out if this is, in fact, it. The seemingly carefree feel of the song is thrown by the daunting question, “is this it? Is this all there is?”

The light and airy “Some Kind of Love” provides a break from the up-tempo songs the album opens with. Featuring a quiet guitar and trumpet that are grounded by the repeated piano notes, the song tells a brief story of a relationship and the fears and excitement that accompany it. Frontwoman Addie Sartino sings of the hesitation at the beginning, “you were running / afraid of what you’d find when I found you,” and the payoff of the risk, “for better or for worse but it can’t get bad if I get to say I’m yours.”

Sartino’s crisp and commanding voice helps carry the album forward. The dynamic nature of her voice allows for tender moments, such as in “Some Kind of Love,” while proving she can belt it out with the best of them in “More.”

The juxtaposition of cheerful music with melancholy lyrics continues in “Gold Star,” which brings up the pressures of not wanting to let people down. Caught up in this mindset, Sartino sings, “I don’t think I can be all I want in the hearts of others.” This ever-present desire to please shows the innocence of wanting to receive a gold star doesn’t go away with age.

“Odds of Forever” gives the listener another chance to bop to the music. The lively tune continues the discussion of growing up and how some appear to have it all figured out. Sartino admits she most certainly does not as she sings, “in some ways some may say its all coming together / as I shuffle around to the sound of unsettled.” The song reassures its listeners that they don’t need to have it all together either.

“This Is It” culminates in its closer “Don’t Go” as it ties together the musical and lyrical themes of the album. It contains all good vibes brought to you by light guitar riffs and a booming chorus. The track discusses dependency as Sartino sings, “don’t go I’ll never make it on my own.” The comfort comes as she sings, “don’t you worry I’m right here,” in response.

The Greeting Committee has created an authentic body of work in “This Is It.” The brutally honest lyrics are sure to resonate with those who give the album a spin, providing a sense of community in shared experience. With their ability to craft bright songs with genuine messages, this debut effort is certainly not the last we will see of The Greeting Committee.

Concert Review - LANY

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The best way to get over someone? Definitely dancing around with your best friends, or, in LANY’s case, with a crowd full of a few thousand friends. LANY with their chill California vibes and smooth danceable tracks got the sold out crowd at the Riviera Theater moving on November 1st. The LA based band is on tour in support of their sophomore album “Malibu Nights,” an album of heartbreak and healing.

Electropop singer-songwriter Anna of the North opened up the show full of energy that transferred right over to the crowd, preparing them for LANY. In a mess of fog, LANY entered the stage to “Thick and Thin,” the opening track of “Malibu Nights.” The track introduces fans to lead singer Paul Klein’s heartbreak, as the album is his way of processing his breakup with pop singer Dua Lipa. The crowd showed its support as it sang back every word with enthusiasm.

LANY’s dream pop sound and Klein’s dancing kept up the positive energy in the venue. The audience bopped around song after song, keeping the positivity flowing and Klein smiling. Fans even gifted Klein with a bouquet of roses, an homage to the band’s self-titled album where a rose is the cover.

Large LED screens covered the background of the stage and allowed the imagery to change from song to song. A California sunset during “pink skies” and the music video for “Super Far” were just a few of the scenes set. The screen was split in half, with the bottom half as the base for an elevated stage where guitarist Les Priest and drummer Jake Goss resided during the show.

The higher energy songs were contrasted with the more emotional ballads played towards the end of the set. Klein performed a particularly passionate version of “Hericane” that was soon followed by the piano-based track “Malibu Nights.” The touching song wouldn’t have been complete without the starry background and a single spotlight streaming across the stage falling on Klein playing the piano.

The band returned to the stage for a three-song encore starting with the lead single for “Malibu Nights,” “Thru These Tears.” The content of the song is sure to resonate with those who have been deeply hurt as Klein sang, “in the end I’m gonna be alright / but it might take a hundred sleepless nights.” Despite the sad lyrics, the catchy nature of the chorus kept fans energized. The band closed the show with their breakout hit “ILYSB.” Before leaving the stage, they expressed their love for their fans and the special place the city of Chicago holds in their hearts.

This LANY show gave fans an opportunity to dance out their feelings. Providing that healthy balance between happy love songs and embracing tough emotions, the band has proved there’s more to them than their synth-pop exterior. LANY may not be the biggest band in the world, but the dedication of their fans is evident and that dedication cannot be ignored.

Photos by Mary Grace Ritter