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SHOW REVIEW: Greta Van fleet Play Boise Idaho featuring Hannah Wicklund, and The Pretty Reckless

Laura Kane

The best Greta Van Fleet show ive been to so far…” was everyone’s sentiment after the band of brothers finished their set at the Extra Mile arena in Boise, Idaho.

Tears were brought to my eyes when Hannah Wicklund took center stage starting with her biggest song “Bomb through the Breeze.” I have been a huge fan of Hannah’s music for a little over a year now. In my opinion, Hannah is one of the most influential lyricists and guitarists in womans rock today. You can hear hints of Janis Joplin and Joan Jett in her songs in such a remarkable way. Her artwork and craftiness with her album covers and merchandise are her own authentic work. My favorite song off of her title album Hannah Wicklund and the Steppin’ Stones is “Shadow Boxes and Porcelain Faces.” The Arena was lit up and everyone swayed as Wicklund’s story telling voice sang the beautiful lyrics. All my worries and doubts went away as I cried taking in all of the music. She also sang two new songs which will be on her next album. I don’t recall the names of the songs, but excitement built up in me knowing she will be releasing new music. Hannah’s set was short but special and very spiritually uplifting for me. 

Hard Rock band The Pretty Reckless took over the stage after Hannah. Lead singer Taylor Momsen is a hardcore rocker and an incredible front woman. You may recognize Momsen from the popular TV show Gossip Girl. I don’t know much about these crazy rockers or their music but “Make Wanna Die” is a banger of a song. Their set was exciting and powerful, and I became a fan of their music that night. 

Photo courtesy of Greta Van Fleet

“Reasons for Waiting” by Jethro Tull swarmed the arena as fans eagerly waited to hear Josh Kiszka’s haunting poem….

People need People, Enjoy all of it always.” 

Words cannot describe how much I love Greta Van Fleet. They are the most unique group of individuals, with talent that goes beyond the spectrum. Each song of theirs is crafted with the most care and imagination. When it comes to their shows they have something new for us every time.

The Boise show started off with “Built by Nations” then into “Black Smoke Rising” which led to “Caravel” and then my favorite part of the show, Danny Wagner’s drum solo. Wagner changes it up almost every time, which I believe is his way at hinting that new music is coming.

Two songs that are not commonly played but made an appearance were “Broken Bells” and “Age of Man”. I believe we got the most unique Greta performance by far that night. A power outage didn’t stop anyone from having a good time. Even though “My Way Soon” was cut short Danny kept going at it with his drums as the whole band joined in to give us an extraordinary end to an amazing concert. 

“I guess that’s it! They shut me off bitch.”