The last time rock band Greta Van Fleet took the stage in Tucson was back in 2017 when fans crammed in tight for the sold-out show at the Rialto Theatre.
A few years and some quarantine months later, the pandemic gave the guys a lot of extra time to polish and perfect a new and improved elevated show that they are bringing our way. But this time, they will play Tucson Arena downtown, a venue that holds about nine times the number of people as the Rialto.
βVisually, itβs quite the show, itβs quite the spectacle, blowing a lot of (expletive) up on stage and lots of new lighting,β drummer Danny Wagner said during a phone interview last week to talk about Greta Van Fleetβs Tucson show on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
The band, known for its sonic similarities to legendary Brit rockers Led Zeppelin, has added lighting elements and a little pyrotechnics to their stage show.
So, the band announced new album today with a release of new awesome single "Age of Machine". Also they put pre-save album in Apple Music where we can see 3 more titled tracks including Heat Above. There are several confirmations that in this performance the guys played exactly the song called "Heat Above". Live performance from 2016. We can only imagine how wonderful this song will sound opening new band's album.
βWe have a completely white stage, and itβs kind of metaphorically like a blank canvas, starting fresh, but it absorbs all the lights ... and controls the mood,β Wagner said.
The drummer said his band is stoked to perform their latest album, βThe Battle at Gardenβs Gate,β which was released in 2021. But the pandemic paused plans to tour on the album until this year.
Wagner said he and his bandmatesβ approach to the album comes from always writing in chaotic moments, like backstage, but also by pulling from their βpersonal archives.β
βWe had a lot of these songs that had been sitting on the shelves for years,β he said. βWe actually attempted to record βHeat Aboveβ back in 2017, but it just wasnβt time. Sometimes songs just need to sit there and mature and you re-approach them later when you see fit.β
Wagner said the pandemic also gave them a lot of time to adjust and really dig deep to figure out how they wanted to perform this album live.
Greta Van Fleet has been on its 42-stop βDreams in Gold Tourβ since August; Tucson is one of handful of shows they will do to close out November before taking a short break. They have only a few shows on the books for December.
βWeβre busing itβ¦ . Itβs almost like camping in a way. Weβre all sleeping in little bunks next to each other and itβs a big massive bus,β Wagner said.
Legendary performer Elvis Presley sang to a capacity crowd at Tucson Convention Center on Nov. 9, 1972.
Elvis has previously performed at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds on June 10, 1956, when he was just 21 years old. Video by Rick Wiley / Arizona Daily Star
