Late during Mammoth’s concert Wednesday night, Nov. 19, at the Fillmore Detroit, Wolfgang Van Halen took audible, and visible pride, in telling the crowd that “everything you hear tonight is generated by an actual (expletive) person, not some AI bull.” And rest assured that was more than sufficient. The entire evening including support performances from Myles Kennedy and Los Angeles’ Return To Dust affirmed the continuing potency of brawny hard rock of the old school aesthetic. It was guys with guitars, basses and drums (although Van Halen played keyboards on two of his songs) bringing the big whomp, with just a modicum of visual pizzazz. The show was in the sound, in other words, and all concerned sounded just fine from start to finish. Return To Dust did it with a grungy energy that nodded to vintage Seattle of the late 80s and early 90s, with some solid songwriting that made its 25-minute set more attention-worthy than most opening acts. And Kennedy, in addition to the generational vocal pipes he’s demonstrated with Alter Bridges and Slash, showed off his guitar chops as he fronted his trio through seven songs mostly from his latest solo album “The Art of Letting Go” even pulling out a resonator for the rootsy stomp of “In Stride.” Mammoth, meanwhile, is well known in these parts; Wednesday marked the quintet’s seventh performance in the metro area from Saint Andrew’s Hall to Comerica Park and Ford Field and second at the Fillmore. It was the group’s biggest headlining show, however, and, with a prolific three albums out during the past four years, Mammoth delivered 110 minutes that lived up to its name. The current wealth of material seven of Wednesday’s 17 songs came from the new “The End” brought depth and greater dynamic to the show. Accompanied by a series of animations on a stage-wide video screen, punchy tracks such as “The Spell,” “I Really Wanna” and the Nirvana-saluting “Happy” allowed Mammoth to keep things moving and set off the more intricate and expansive arrangements of “Epiphany,” “Optimist” and the angsty drone of “Stone.” The set hit its emotional zenith just past its halfway point, as following a powerhouse “Mammoth” “Resolve” featured Van Halen on acoustic guitar and led into a moving rendition of “Distance,” his tribute to his late father Eddie Van Halen, which was accompanied by home movie clips of the two together, from Van Halen’s infancy through his time playing bass with the Van Halen band. The near-poppy “All In Good Time” then brought things back into party mode. Van Halen was, of course, already a seasoned musician and live performer by the time he took Mammoth on the road four years ago, but on Wednesday the greater confidence and comfort were evident as he stalked is way around the stage, singing from multiple microphone positions and firing off guitar solos that, without necessarily trying to, lived up to the family name. And the rest of Mammoth guitarists Frank Sidoris (also a Slash veteran) and Jonathan Jourdan, bassist Ronnie Ficarro and drummer Garrett Whitlock has been behind him long enough to play like an instinctive and energetic precision. In that time Mammoth has certainly built a connection to the city, which Van Halen also acknowledged on Wednesday. The group will certainly be back, and Wednesday’s reception certainly indicated those fans will be happy to return, too.
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2025/11/20/mammoth-delivers-a-big-time-for-fans-at-fillmore-detroit/
Mammoth delivers a big time for fans at Fillmore Detroit
