KING GIZZARD LIVE @ THE SALT SHED IN CHICAGO
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard play 3 incredible nights at the Salt Shed in Chicago.
By Eric Rauert
This is Eric Rauert’s third installment of his long trek following King Gizzard.
Salt Shed: Night 1
The week of work between The Caverns and Salt Shed shows was the longest of my life. But before I knew it, I was on a plane to Chicago to meet my lone friend who decided to join me for the run. We had sprung for VIP tickets, which gave us an excellent view of the stage from our perch on the covered balcony.
The six musicians took to the stage ready to lift constant rain with some killer music. We got a quick flurry of mostly Covid era microtonal hits, with “Pleura, “O.N.E”, and “Minimum Brain Size” as the K.G. and L.W. picks. For “Nuclear Fusion”, Joey Walker (Vocals, Guitar, Microtonal Guitar, Synth) will pull someone from the band or the crowd to do the throat singing intro. This time it was Seb from the audience and honestly, not bad dude: good volume and reverb.
The microtonal instruments were retired and “Gaia” was up next, dedicated to John Mayer for some reason. Like at The Caverns, this version broke half way through into new track “Motor Spirit” before crashing back into the second half of “Gaia”, I enjoyed it just as much the second time. McKenzie’s guttural chanting clashes well with Michael “Cavs” Cavanagh (Drums, Gong) breakdowns during the quieter sections.
“The Great Chain of Being” came next and it was just hard and heavy, giving way to “Witchcraft”. I was still as pumped to hear this song, as they threaded it well into the set coming after deeper and slower “The Great Chain of Being”. For only the second time since 2014 (they played it at Red Rocks a few days before), “Satan Speeds Up” was the deepest of deep cuts that few expected this tour. This lighter song off hard krautrock album I’m in Your Mind Fuzz is neat to catch as a “song collector” but certainly not a standout.
If you don’t like repetition, “Trapdoor” isn’t for you. Like its microtonal buddy “Rattlesnake”, this sharp, fast little song features backing vocals from Ambrose Kenny-Smith (Vocals, Keyboard, Synth, Percussion) repeating the track title A LOT. Still, McKenzie’s flute and the crashing yet consistent playing of the other members makes this a weird song that’s also weirdly danceable.
Next, it was time for a float on the Chicago river. “The River” is a personal favorite of mine, so I’ll just say: go listen to this song already. Not much to write home about on this one however: just a good steady “River” with not many twists and turns in the form of teases or covers. This version very heavily featured Cavanagh on the drums, with percussion dominating many of the breakdowns (no complaints from me).
“Evil Death Roll” was the next 13 minutes, nearly double the usual length. It’s hard to describe how Gizz came up with on this one but wow, I was blown away. We’ll try to link a live clip if its available, this is one to catch.
“Magma” was back solo with no “Lava” this time. More upbeat than The Caverns offering, this “Magma” came with heat to drive off the rain. Huge guitar from the trio Nicolas “Cookie” Craig (Vocals, Guitar, Microtonal Guitar, Synth, Keyboard) Joey Walker (Vocals, Guitar, Microtonal Guitar, Synth, Keyboard), and McKenzie gave this “Magma” a more funkadelic feel.
To conclude the show was another favorite from The Caverns, “Boogieman Sam”. I know I said the last one was massive but apparently it was all just a warm up for the Salt Shed. Gizz crammed a dangerous amount of quotes and teases into this version. Its seem they are breaking tradition and playing more covers; perhaps we can start getting full song covers as they embrace the jam band feel.
At just 14 songs, this show was a jam slug fest. Once we hopped on “The River”, songs didn’t fall under ten minutes and I was all about the second half of the show. Microtonal openers can be hit or miss for me but when King Gizzard is just on it and they’re down to jam, it makes any show magical. At shows like these, some fans can leave feeling unsatisfied when 4 songs are nearly half the set but a Gizzard show can contain anything, love it or hate it.
Salt Shed: Night 2
Despite raining during the day, it was looking like a dry show time and the crowd was in better spirits. We decided to catch this show from the sound booth, as I’m too old to mosh these days anyway.
It’s hard to argue with a “Rattlesnake” opener and this one turned into quite the microtonal jam session. “Rattlesnake” quickly broke down into the love song “Honey”. While the set list technically has an order, the songs felt completely indiscernible as they wove in and out of one another. The improv here was incredible and further shows the Australian’s jamming chops.
Just two microtonal songs and the sole live song off Butterfly 3000, “Shanghai” was up next. “Shanghai” features Gizz’s dreamy and light electronic music, with all members on synths but Cavanagh on the drums. Lyrics from McKenzie and Kenny-Smith gave way to an extended outro jam on the synths and the lyrical jam “let’s get real high”. And get high they did, pushing their synths to frequencies not seen for the rest of the show before fading out into two songs from Changes.
The combo of “Hate Dancin’” and “Astroturf” was welcomed with happy shouts from the crowd as they dove into the intro. Like many of Gizz’s lighthearted tunes, “Hate Dancin’” is a foot tapper that’s hard to hate and it had myself moving hearing it for the first time live. “Astroturf” seemed a lot more comfortable for the boys this time around, already showing more confidence over the Caverns debut.
After a quick “Down the Sink” with “Cookie” Craig on lead vocals, it was time for the typical Gizzard jam session. Playing most of what they left from the Caverns, “Invisible Face” -> “Wah-Wah” -> “Road Train” from Nonagaon Infinity was the choice for most of the jam. “Invisible Face”, in a rarity, was played in full and with some very jazzy improvisation contrasting with McKenzie’s creepy vocals.
Following was the trilogy of songs from Polygondwanaland, “Inner Cell” -> “Loyalty” -> “Horology”. These songs are played similar to the studio version, so not much different to report from the Caverns set of shows. But Polygondawanaland is a definitive prog-rock and Gizz album, so be sure to give it a listen.
The two song metal section up next would be the shortest of the Residency tours but certainly brought the thunder on a cloudless night. Both “Supercell” and “Self-Immolate” were back and it was now clear that “Self-Immolate” is Cavs’ designated drum solo song. The Tool influence is still very evident and some might find these solos boring but anyone with a good view of Cavs keeps themselves entertained by seeing how hard he’s working.
“Alright we’ve got one more!” was the announcement from Kenny-Smith before ending the evening with “Am I in Heaven?”. This live “Am I in Heaven?” abandoned its lo-fi krautrock origins for a blues-psych rock build up into a freak out that delivered. For a shorter song length, they packed a lot of energy into this one and were pushing the volume right to curfew.
This set list was all over the place, even for King Gizzard. Variation is never a bad thing, as I feel like they touched a lot of their music and gave a wide audience what they were looking for. No cohesive theme or section lasted more than a few songs and this Night 2 setlist seemed like a “greatest hits” for the group. For me, it didn’t have a lot of crazy standout moments but was a solid show nonetheless. We still had one more night in Chicago and it turned out Gizzard had a lot more in store for us.
Salt Shed: Night 3
It was violence right out of the gate from the Australian rockers, with the new pair of “Gila Monster” and “Converge”. I like “Gila Monster” better as a closer after hearing it at The Caverns but Gizzard sure knows how to pick songs that just make the crowd energy peak straight away. Not even the heavy rain could keep people from chanting in unison on “Gila Monster” and having an absolute blast for “Converge”.
Two Infest the Rats’ Nest songs (“Planet B” and “Mars for the Rich”) kept the momentum going, featuring slower head-bangable choruses and crazy speed metal breakdowns.
Dialing back the energy knob just a click, Gizz segued into “Plastic Boogie”. Indeed a song you can “boogie down” to, King Gizzard foregoes the usual 70’s style for a blues-rock interpretation of the genre. This is a rare live song and I don’t know why: more than just the mosh pit was dancing.
Time was made for a two song jam, with excellent flow from “Hot Water” to “Hypertension”. The nearly 25 minute jam featured McKenzie’s flute heavily in the first half, while giving room for Walker and Craig to dominate the second half on guitars. McKenzie keeps impressing with his flute skills, especially as a mostly secondary instrument.
Continuing the guitar domination, Walker also featured on a solo during “This Thing”. Much more of a collaborative jam effort this time around, Walker kept it short and sweet, foregoing the usual indulgent wailing for a more harmonica heavy outro. I was certainly mourning a shorter solo, as this is one of my favorite songs for Walker to show off his rock and roll prowess.
It was again time to look for “Magenta Mountain”, with McKenzie’s guitar as the main feature on this take. Their lights and visuals have gotten so much better since I’ve started seeing them, even from the 2022 tour. Powerful magenta visuals and spotlights complemented by blue laser lights made this a mesmerizing performance.
The long-awaited live debut of “Change” made for one of the most special moments of the Chicago run. Every member had a chance to shine here. Harwood’s prominent bass lead handed off to “Cookie” Craig’s weird synth and vocals (my favorite) only for Kenny-Smith’s short but sweet rap verse to round off the first half. Walker’s electronic dance side-projects come in handy on his section, with Harwood dropping his bass in favor of a synth to help keep the beat.
McKenzie’s lyrics were featured throughout, evoking a pessimistic version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” but in “Changes” experimental keys. I’m not sure Cavanaugh dropped a note the whole song, bringing his usual metronome like precision for 17 straight minutes. The last minute everyone strapped in for one last rock breakdown that had the entire crowd jumping. I was left speechless from this performance, showing a confidence and creativity far above anything I had seen on tour so far when it came to debuts.
In a pattern I’ve seemed to pick up, King Gizzard followed a very serious and difficult debut with “Garden Goblin”. Seemed like a good palate cleanser and you love or you hate this goofy little pop song.
“Dripping Tap” continues to impress as one hell of a closer. While the great tap in the sky had been relentless all night, the cold and wet did nothing to dampen the energy I saw on the floor. A circle pit formed, seemingly trying to flush the water left by the rain. Slower guitar improv from Walker and McKenzie was featured about half way through but you could tell the crowd was craving the second intro where McKenzie typically yells “LET’S FUCKING DO IT AGAIN”. And fucking do it again they did, with an energy I’ve rarely seen from a closing crowd that only stopped when the music did.
Night 3 was a fitting end to the Chicago run. Gloomy and rainy weather didn’t keep anyone down and the boys came to inspire every night. “Change” was the easy highlight of the night, if not the entire tour. “Plastic Boogie” was a deep cut I was happy to catch and “The Dripping Tap” continues to impress as a long song with replay value.
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