Greta Van Fleet at the Fillmore Detroit

Brian McCollum | Detroit Free Press

Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press

These moments don’t come too often nowadays in the rock world.

But there’s still nothing quite like catching a talented, rising young band, just as it’s feeling the wind at its back and hitting its first fearless strides.

Greta Van Fleet — full of grins, sweat, concentration and high spirits — delivered big Tuesday night at the Fillmore Detroit, the first of three sold-out shows from a Frankenmuth-bred, Detroit-based rock quartet that’s been piling up buzz and international airplay.

It was a special night for the fortunate 2,800 who crammed into the Fillmore to watch the three Kiszka brothers and their drummer pal Danny Wagner pump fresh air into old hard-rock conventions. The 90-minute performance showed off a band that’s clearly riding high on confidence, propelled by self-belief and the empowerment that comes with newfound success.

There was a hum in the air even before showtime, as fans streamed into the Fillmore for one of the hottest hometown rock events in recent memory. At ticket resellers such as StubHub, floor spots for Greta’s Friday show — initially sold for $29.50 — are going for $150-plus. All for a band you could have wandered upon at Arts, Beats & Eats two years ago.

Tuesday’s set list wasn’t dramatically different from the one Greta served up in December at Saint Andrew’s Hall. A couple of tweaks to the song order and a sneak peek at new material were the extent of the changes. This time the band opted for a bold opening move, placing its best-known number — the sinewy, Led Zeppelin-streaked “Highway Tune” — at the top of the set.

Where that holiday-week concert at Saint Andrew’s had a cozy family vibe, Tuesday’s show swaggered with the feel of a big-time event. And Greta Van Fleet, its eldest members all of 22 years old, largely rose to the moment with a performance that was both tighter and looser, executed with the sharpened chops and relaxed touch that emerge from time on the road.

Much like the December affair, the Fillmore show drew a generations-spanning crowd. Fresh-faced teens soaked in the novel thrills of loud, live guitar, alongside graying rock fans happy they’ve got something new to latch onto. One older gentleman proudly sported the T-shirt he’d purchased at Led Zeppelin’s historic Pontiac Silverdome concert in 1977 — while declaring Tuesday’s show a must-see event.

Josh Kiszka, in his dark tunic and feather headband, held court at center stage, where his petite frame was belied by the powerful, elastic voice that howled and shrieked from it. He’s a singer who seems to relish exploring the outer limits of his vocal gifts, whether soaring to the very top of his register or gleefully sustaining (and sustaining and sustaining) the lengthy notes that punctuate songs like “Watching Over” and “Black Smoke Rising.”

GVF isn’t the most visually dynamic band: Aside from a new light show, the persistent drum workout in back from Wagner, and Jake Kiszka’s periodic guitar-hero moves — including a Hendrix-style behind-the-head solo — the Fillmore performance drew its energy entirely from the music.

A stretch late in the show offered a promising glimpse of what-could-be as Greta Van Fleet continues to grow — a touch of organic explosiveness from a band whose live routine has otherwise seemed tightly drilled.

It came with “Lover Leaver Taker Believer,” which unfolded into an 18-minute jam with moments of ecstatic transport. As drummer Wagner and secret-weapon bassist Sam Kiszka held down a roiling bottom end, singer Josh and guitarist Jake Kiszka activated into wonder-twin-powers mode, playing off each other in an improvised call-and-response. The lengthy breakdown eventually morphed into material unfamiliar to the Fillmore audience: a hot medley of pieces from the band’s upcoming debut album, which is due later this year.

The preceding hour had its share of highlights: GVF summoned brothers-in-peace vibes with “Edge of Darkness” and its big closing jam, and the sun-kissed “Flower Power” got fans across the venue lifting their hands in a mix of metal-horn gestures and peace signs.

“Evil” and its frisky ascending riff delivered a slice of Howlin’ Wolf by way of the ‘70s band Cactus, while “Mountain of the Sun” laid its feel-good beat under Jake Kiszka’s wiry slide guitar. A two-song encore closed out with the molten-grooved, melodic blues-rock of “Safari Song,” capped by an unorthodox show ending: a drum solo.

It’s clear that many vintage-rock lovers are pinning their hopes on the fledgling Michigan band. As one ecstatic fan shouted while leaving the Fillmore, “It’s the start of the revival!” And it’s fun to imagine what might lie ahead as the guys in Greta Van Fleet move through their 20s, an age span that has proved so creatively fruitful in rock’s past.

So let’s check back in a decade and see if Tuesday night stands as an I-was-there moment. For now, it certainly does on Wednesday morning.