The floor was heated and the crowd grew closer together to get a glimpse of rock’s modern day kings. When the curtain falls (lol) and the blaring sounds of Jake’s infamous ‘61 Les Paul SG play “Built By Nations”, I ascended out of my body. The fact that I had most of it memorized was emotional for me. Josh gives his speech for all the world to feel at peace with. Familiar strums of “The Weight Of Dreams” are to be heard. Sounds of Josh Kiszka’s voice echoes throughout the building. When the track ends, the entire arena goes black. The comfort in the melodies, the realization you’re about to see a band you love so much in person (for the 5th time in my case), the feelings you’re about to experience. When “Reasons For Waiting” by Jethro Tull starts playing, you know it’s time. If you’ve seen Greta Van Fleet within the last few months or the last year, you know exactly which song I’m talking about. At precisely 8:55 pm, that song started playing. Built By Nations, The Weight Of Dreams, Heat Above, Light My Love, etc. The curtain rose as it had every single TBAGG symbol on it. As a band that’s been honing their own unique sound since 2014, The Velveteers finally receive the recognition and love they deserve. Amongst one of the most unique bands I’ve ever seen, the trio consists of vocalist/guitarist Demi Demitro, and drummers (yes TWO drummers) Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig. The trio carry themselves so well with their undeniably fashionable outfits, blaring instruments and alluring vocals. Performing a handful of their hits such as “Motel #27,” “Devil’s Radio” and “Father Of Lies”, the crowd couldn’t have felt more blessed with the scene on stage. As the house lights shut off and the place went dark, there was much anticipation for The Velveteers. I’d never been surrounded by that many people. I’d realized I’ve never been in a pit/up close at an arena show. (You can read about how I moved back further on the floor in my article for BANDED) Waiting three hours in line (which is NOTHING compared to how long people wait) was well worth it even though my view wasn’t as close as I’d hoped for. This time, I caught myself early and trusted my gut.

With smoke filling the stage as the lights lit up The Velveteers drumset, I was within the first ten rows on my favorite’s ( Sam Kiszka) side, awaiting the magic… But before The Velveteers even went on, I made a difficult decision. With the doors opening around 5:45 (fifteen minutes after originally scheduled 5:30 time), fans peacefully walked through the arena with gold wristbands that read “VIP” if you were on the floor as they made their way to the stage.

Greta van fleet champagne caviar