King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Enmore Theatre
April 22, 2021
Sydney, Australia
Claiming that the collective known the world over as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is “prolific” and “productive” would be an understatement par excellence: The band has steadily pumped out quality releases ever since their inception ten years ago, clocking in at currently seventeen full length albums.
If I had to pin down the DNA of King Gizzard to the uninitiated, I would probably start by explaining that they have created their own microcosm, i.e. “The Gizzverse”, where psychedelic rock is married with a knack for catchy and innovatively compact song writing with enough space for all things weird to be incorporated, not for novelty’s sake but to add to their idiosyncratic allure. Needless to say, with close to twenty albums under their belts, the driving force is the will to consistently reinvent oneself and avoid stasis at any cost. It also allows to confidently march down off the beaten track routes and if it proves not fruitful, the sheer volume of outcome helps to make it fade in the wealth of goodness that is being produced.
Having used the lockdown period to work on new material and with pandemic related restrictions easing on terra australis, I was excited to celebrate the attendance of a proper live show with the sextet.
The ability to draw from an extensive, stylistically varied catalogue bode well for an evening that proved to be a celebration of music and life within the realm of the Gizzverse. With an unrivalled fluidity, the King Gizzard was not only frenetically welcome by a hungry audience at the sold out Enmore Theatre, but incarnated with a nuanced set synthesizing their entire musical prowess, taking detours via Kraut rock, microtonal Middle Eastern influences, Americana, homages to proto punk and metal, world music and everything in between. The fact that it never feels overloaded, speaks volumes about King Gizzard having finetuned carefully calibrated their live performance while still allowing for improvisational impulses to blossom, which because of their surprising nature and crescendos the whole band gets involved in, become highlights in themselves.
Set against projections framing them in their own worlds, King Gizzard in a live environment is a treat to be savoured and a mesmerizing and unique experience where a band is unveils its very own distinctiveness by being musically chameleon-esque as they could be.
A much needed life-affirming musical rollercoaster ride.
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photos by @k.a.vv
