[ATTENDED: August 30, 2019] King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard [rescheduled from May 22 and then October 22, 2020 and again on October 23, 2021]
After the previous King Gizzard show in this very venue, I was all set to wait in line for this one. People arrive very early for the merch. But when I got there (close to 8), there was no line to get in. That’s because the merch line was (once again) insanely long. It went almost to the stage. In fact, it was unclear who was on line and who was just milling about. Well, even though I would have liked a poster, I certainly didn’t need to wait in that line (or spend $50).
The show started very late. While waiting last time, I felt a sense of existential “what’s the point” last time, and I kind of felt this this time. It’s crowded, it’s hot, we’re just standing here.
And then they came out and all was forgotten. They launched into Oddlife. By the way, the band has released six albums since the last time they played here, so who knew what was coming. This song featured the “Flying Microtonal Banana” guitar, so there was bound to be a couple more microtonal music.
Up next was “Billabong Valley” on which Ambrose sang (and played guitar).
At some point, all the yahoos who were hanging back started pushing in trying to get into the center for the inevitable pit. I was really blown away last time at how mobile the KGATLW crowd was. Slamming, pogoing, bouncing, just full body contact everywhere. We were all pushed way away from our original position.
After the looming fun of “K.G.L.W.” Stu switched guitars to his new inverted flying V. Although they had played songs from Infect the Rat’s Nest last time, this time they played two different songs from it, and they inserted the thrashing “Predator X” from Omnium Gatherum which fit perfectly.
Then things slowed down immensely for the mellow acoustic vibe of “Her and I,” the final song on I’m in Your Mind Fuzz.
So far, “Billabong Valley” was the only song they’d played for me before.
Then they began “Crumbling Castle” and the fans went nuts. It’s one of my favorite songs, but I didn’t know it was everyone’s favorite song (who knows with KGATLW–they have 22 albums out). “Castle” and “Her and I” take about 20 minutes alone, and this show was turning from a headbanging ball into a jam fest. Especially when it segued into “The Fourth Colour” also from Polygondwanaland/
Then Ambrose said it was time to dance as they played King Gizzard’s rap song “The Grim Reaper.” There was much dancing and waving. And then they segued into “Ice V” the only song from the three albums that they released in October. It’s probably my favorite track on Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava.
Then they called Leah Senior out and she began reciting some of Altered Beast with Leah doing the narration. In 2018, they had played us Alter Me I and Altered Beast I. This time it was Alter Me III and Altered Beast IV It was like the ended the story four years later.
They ended with “Evil Death Roll” a rollicking good time from Nonagon Infinity. They jammed this out for a pretty long time, throwing in teases from other songs.
Comparing this show to previous shows, the number of songs in significantly lower. But they really jammed out some songs in the middle, giving this a more psychedelic feel than previous shows. This in no way stopped the crowd from pushing and shoving and surfing. Indeed ,some guy was just pushing me, for no reason that I could see–quite hard too–until I asked him to switch places with me. Which he did.
Despite how much I love them, I decided that I don’t think I’ll be seeing them again. The crowd is just not my crowd. Unless they play somewhere else (but there’s really nowhere bigger than Franklin Music Hall) and they keep selling that venue out pretty easily.
Markit Aneight had a much better view than me and filmed the whole show
| Franklin Music Hall October 22, 2022 | Franklin Music Hall August 30, 2019 | Union Transfer June 18, 2018 |
| Oddlife ∑ | Planet B ℜ | Digital Black ⊗ |
| Billabong Valley ⇔ | Perihelion ℜ | Vomit Coffin ⊗ |
| K.G.L.W. £ | The Great Chain of Being Ω | The Lord of Lightning ⊗ |
| Mars for the Rich ℜ | Stressin’ ℘ | Cellophane β |
| Predator X Ø | I’m in Your Mind β | Alter Me I ⊗ |
| Organ Farmer ℜ | I’m Not in Your Mind β | Altered Beast I ⊗ |
| Her and I (Slow Jam 2) [Iron Lung tease] β | Cellophane β | Evil Death Roll ∝ |
| Crumbling CastleΔ | I’m in Your Mind Fuzz β | Billabong Valley ⇔ |
| The Fourth ColourΔ | The Balrog ⊗ | Nuclear Fusion ⇔ |
| The Grim Reaper Ø | Acarine € | Rattlesnake ⇔ |
| Ice V ¥ | Murder of the Universe ⊗ | All Is Known Ω |
| Alter Me III (with Leah Senior) ⊗ | The Bird Song € | Crumbling Castle Δ |
| Altered Beast IV (with Leah Senior) ⊗ | Let Me Mend the Past ∼ | The Fourth Colour Δ |
| Evil Death Roll ∝ (Altered Beast & Hypertension teases; contained elements of Invisible Face) |
Billabong Valley ⇔ | Deserted Dunes Welcome Weary Feet Δ |
| Nuclear Fusion ⇔ | The Castle in the Air Δ | |
| Doom City ⇔ | Muddy Water Ω | |
| All Is Known Ω | The Wheel Ω | |
| Boogieman Sam € | Robot Stop ∝ | |
| Cyboogie € | Gamma Knife ∝ | |
| Self-Immolate ℜ | Some Context ⊗ | |
| Hell ℜ |
© Changes (2022)
≅ Laminated Denim (2022)
¥ Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (2022)
Ø Omnium Gatherum (2022)
µ Butterfly 3000 (2021)
£ L.W. (2021)
∑ K.G. (2020)
ℜ Infest the Rats’ Nest (2019)
€ Fishing for Fishies (2019)
Ω Gumboot Soup (2017)
Δ Polygondwannaland (2017)
⊗ Murder of the Universe (2017)
⇔ Flying Microtonal Banana (2017)
∝ Nonagon Infinity (2016)
β I’m in Your Mind Fuzz (2014)
℘ Oddments (2014)
∼ Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013)
On May 24, King Gizzard announced that they were pushing back this tour for another year. It seemed surprising since everyone else is filling in tour dates this fall, but they made a valid point
This is another new single from The Flaming Lips’ new, more mellow album American Head.
