KING GIZZARD – LIVE @ THE CAVERNS DAY 1- 2
By Eric Rauert
This is the first feature in a series of reviews covering the King Gizzard residencies throughout the US. They will be in four segments published weekly. Eric Rauert’s journey starts with King Gizzard‘s first two nights of their four day stand at The Caverns in Tn.
I need to start this (in addition to the future write ups) with a disclaimer. I am a massive King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard fan. The number of shows I’ve attended since the beginning of 2022 is able to legally drive a car. A Gizzard gator tattoo adorns my bicep and I obsess over this band for how they ooze weirdness in every note. Because of that obsession, I hope I’m qualified to dig into their shows and highlight some classics in their prolific music catalogue. And at the same time maybe I can give you a small glimpse into why this band is worth paying attention to.
Photos Chris Bobillo
For those not in the know, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is a six-piece psychedelic rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Since 2010, the band has released 24 studio albums, with a rumored album later this year. The 24 albums have held a wide smattering of genres for the band: metal, acoustic folk, microtonal, psych rock, jazz, prog rock, electronic, garage rock, R&B, and blues to name a few.
Quantity doesn’t always mean quality but generally King Gizzard albums hit the mark (if the genre appeals to you). Besides, if you think a certain song sucks, King Gizzard promises no repeats within a state or location while touring. Metal can play next to folk only to be followed up by Turkish rock music into a 20 minute Grateful Dead style jam. It’s absolutely wild and one of the most creative acts currently touring. Certain live shows of theirs are released for free on their “Bootlegger” program, so I highly recommend checking out their website if you want to give this band a live listen on the cheap
Coming to America for a few weeks in 2023, the Australian sextet committed to what they call a Residency Tour. A few select “cool” locations throughout the US were picked (The Caverns in Pelham, TN, Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, The Salt Shed in Chicago, IL, and Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA), playing 3 shows at each location, except for an additional acoustic night at The Caverns. I took out a second mortgage and purchased the best tickets I could to all the shows at The Caverns, The Salt Shed, and Remlinger Farms: ten out of 13 Residency shows. Here on AMP, you’ll find a writeup summary for each Residency stop I attended.
Future King Gizzard Tour Writeups:
King Gizzard @ The Caverns Amphitheater, TN 6/3 & 6/4
King Gizzard @ The Salt Shed, IL 6/11 – 6/13
Lastly King Gizzard @ Remlinger Farms, WA 6/1 & 6/2
The Caverns: Night 1
For the first two nights at The Caverns, we would be inside the cave that made this venue famous. We got in line around 30 minutes before doors and setup to listen to the opener, Kamikaze Palm Tree, who seemed an odd choice considering the energy at a King Gizzard show. We caught them the second night as well (as well as probably half a dozen more times) and since they kept their setlist mostly the same, I’ll do the one writeup here. Kamikaze Palm Tree songs are categorized by light, airy guitar (Dylan Hadley) and key playing (Sofia Arregiun) complemented by ethereal vocals (Cole Berliner) and occasionally some harder breakdowns.
I would classify their sound as avant garde or noise rock but definitely with a lighter feel. The lead vocalist transitioned between the front stage microphone and the drum kit with vocals, and personally, I preferred the songs on the kit. She added some creative layering and vocals during the show, although I have to say, the song “Good Boy” will forever be cemented in my memory as one creepy live song.
I enjoyed several songs listening to the opening sets but the crowd was absolutely not vibing with the music. Comments I heard were generally neutral, although they seemed better received toward the end of the tour as they got more comfortable opening. King Gizzard is so intentional with its creative choices, so I hope Gizzard fans can continue to stay open minded for weird opening bands just to listen to their even weirder headliner.
After setting up, the boys walked from outside the massive cave to the stage, protected by a Tennessee security force wearing cowboy hats. The band thanked Kamikaze Palm Tree before launching into the classic drum intro signifying “The Dripping Tap” from Omnium Gatherum released last year. This song is great for electrifying an audience and that it did, quickly. Mosh pits immediately formed up front and in GA as they launched into the jam.
Next up was the literal first half of the intense psych rock album Nonagon Infinity. “Robot Stop” – “Mr. Beat” (5 songs) was played with no interruption. Punctuated by fast guitar playing on shorter songs, massive breakdowns, and some of guitarist Stu Mackenzie’s (vocals, guitar, microtonal guitar, synth, keys, flute) award winning guitar poses, Nonagon Infinity is a live experience that grabs on and doesn’t let go.
Never one to stop a good flow, Gizz transitioned into a three song jam of “Iron Lung” → “Hypertension” → “Hot Water”. I don’t know man, “Iron Lung” in the cave hits different and this version was an instant classic. “Iron Lung” gave way seamlessly to the spacey rock song “Hypertension” and the jam was finished with “Hot Water”, signaling McKenzie to break out his flute and put Ron Burgundy to shame.
Ending the jam session, the band took a well deserved break to setup before launching into three songs from 2017’s Polygondwanaland. The three songs that compose this prog rock nerd’s trilogy (“Inner Cell”, “Loyalty”, “Horology”) tell a fantasy story and can best be described as sounding like if Tool also throat sang.
Good thing we had that three song prog break because things heated up immediately with a (at the time) unreleased live debut. Off their latest album PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation (seriously), “Supercell” would feel at home at a Metallica concert if they switched time signatures every verse. This was followed by a pair of songs from 2019’s metal Infest the Rats’ Nest and concluded with another unreleased metal song “Gila Monster”. I wasn’t 100% set on “Gila Monster” until I heard 1400 people chant “Gila! Gila!” and fist pump simultaneously. This is a frighteningly good live metal anthem.
As shown by the set list, King Gizzard absolutely came to collapse the cave Night 1. I thought it had a very solid offering for some of the harder Gizz fans but softer, electronic, and microtonal fans probably left without hearing their favorites. This is one of the down sides of a Gizzard show: no repeats at the same venue and 24 studio albums means you wont always hear what you want.
The Caverns: Night 2
Looking forward to a fresh set list, we eagerly descended like so many “Garden Goblins” into the cave for the second night.
As soon as that iconic bass line from Lucas Harwood (bass, microtonal bass, synth) started, the crowd was instantly ready to go. The songs (“I’m In Your Mind”, “I’m Not In Your Mind”, “Cellophane”, and “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz”) are defined by ripping harmonica courtesy of Ambrose Kenny-Smith (vocals, harmonica, keyboard, sax, tambourine) and fast driving riffs from the other guitarists Joey Walker (vocals, guitar, microtonal guitar, synth) and McKenzie.
Next up was some even harder energy with a quick three song metal section. “Planet B” off Infest the Rats’ Nest is always a crowd pleaser, as “there is no planet B” is a fan favorite lyric for the environmentally minded crowd. Gizz then slowed down into the heavy but marching “Predator X”. I’ve listened to the studio version of this song a lot and I’ve listened to this song 3 times live. I’ve given it its chances but I will never be a “Predator X” fan.
But recently released “Converge” brought me right back. Just because I haven’t mentioned the two armed beast on the drums, Micheal “Cavs” Cavanagh’s drumming really shines on the new album, “Converge” being no exception. It has been awesome to see Cavanaugh grow creatively as a drummer and be able to nail the double kick, although we left the metal section once again without a famous Cavs drum solo. Rolling into a bit of a one off, Gizzard played “This Thing” next. This is just a good old blues rock song off Fishing for Fishies, a boogie and electronic album. Walker absolutely rips an extended guitar solo that would make anyone want to fan girl this band.
Now, it was time for the “eclectic” part of the show. First up was “Magenta Mountain” off the odds and ends collection Omnium Gatherum. “Magenta Mountain” is one of my most heard live songs and while its always a good song, this specific version wasn’t near the top of my list. Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of 90’s hip hop here in America, next up was “Grim Reaper”. One might mistake this song for a political “Beastie Boys” song if it wasn’t for Gizz’s usual flood of weirdness. Kenny-Smith can spit bars and his unique vocals continued to impress while McKenzie laid down his backing track on the flute.
The world debut of “Astroturf” off of 2022’s Changes was a special moment for any fan of the album. Whether it was the technical difficulties right before or a world debut of a stupidly difficult song, it felt like they didn’t loosen up until Stu’s flute breakdown near the second half of the song. I’m thankful to catch such an awesome debut and I’m excited to see where they take “Astroturf” and more off Changes with live familiarity.
Never to take themselves too seriously with jazz, the mood was immediately bubbly hurtling into “Garden Goblin”. This is a “Cookie” Craig special and is just a fun, weird pop rock song about his dog digging up his garden. “Ice V” up next meant it was time to funk. Jam fans will find a lot to love in this song, with its great groovy base to lay down improv. Kenny-Smith came in several times with his saxophone while McKenzie and Walker laid down alternating jams on guitar over the course of the song.
With no microtonal songs Night 1, now was the time to break out the oddly tuned instruments for the first time of the residency. I’m no music theorist but microtonal music typically sounds “off key” to Western music fans, as it is the tuning used in Turkey and other parts of the Middle East. You’ve probably heard this type of musical tuning before but never like this.
Starting the microtones was “Doom City” on Gizz’s 2017 Microtonal Vol 1. Flying Microtonal Banana. Vol. 2 and Vol 3 (“K.G.” and “L.W” respectively) fleshed out the microtonal concept into true stadium rock songs, like “Automation” up next. Kenny-Smith came off his usual keys and grabbed the guitar from Stu for “Billabong Valley”, which is a favorite for any fans of Kenny-Smith’s vocals. Fittingly, “K.G.L.W (Outro)” was also the outro for the show. This is sludgy, metal music at its finest that pulls from Black Sabbath and the like to provide a heavy finish to an incredible show.
With a little more variety than Night 1, Night 2 grabbed my favorite set of the two. The “Astroturf” debut was an awesome treat and several other special moments from “This Thing” and “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz” kept the energy while doing a lot to keep a varied pace.
Stay tuned for next week where I hit up days 3 and 4. Until then.
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