Nearly a year has passed since a friend of mine first introduced me to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Despite having heard of them before, I have never been driven to explore them because I hadn’t previously been a fan of psychedelic music. But nonetheless, I decided that I’d give them a shot as I was browsing for new bands to play. I was told to listen to I’m In Your Mind Fuzz (2014) first, and I was instantly hooked. I could visualize the songs in my mind, with the combination of guitar riffs, incredible basslines, and distorted vocals. I knew from there on out I needed more, and my love for King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard began.
The Australian psychedelic rock band has been making music for a little over a decade, with over twenty albums to date. They just recently played at Radius Chicago, a show that was supposed to happen back in April 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After about three months of listening to King Gizzard, I bought a ticket back in March. While the ticket itself was way too much than what I should have paid for, it was honestly worth every penny.
If you know anything about this band, you know that it is difficult to fit them into one genre. They are mainly known as a “psychedelic rock” band, but over the years, the band has experimented with garage rock, acid rock, metal, and jazz fusion, just to name a few. Each city they have toured has had a different setlist with different songs. So it is safe to say that I was unprepared for this concert, as I had absolutely no idea what they would play.
I arrived at the venue around 3:45 p.m. because I wanted to be in the front row and didn’t want to get into a mosh pit of people. As soon as I got in the line, there were about 25 people in front of me, so I was good to go. However, I felt extremely out of place as I arrived because King Gizzard’s demographic is not young teen females. I was surrounded by out-of-college thirty-somethings, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. It was so strange to me as I usually go to concerts where the band/artist appeals to people my age, so it definitely had a new vibe for sure.
Photo: Line around 4 P.M. (Source: @psychslowdownnn on Instagram/Ariele Palmer)
Doors were opening at 7:00 P.M., so I had a bunch of time to spare. I did end up talking to people in line to pass the time, as well as watching some Netflix, ordering Doordash, and face-timing my best friend. I also posted a bit to my show’s Instagram account @psychslowdownnn to vlog during my time at Radius.
At around 5:45 P.M., we moved to the doors in four rows, and I happened to be at the front of the fourth row. At this time, I am getting more anxious to be let in as the minutes pass. When 7:00 P.M. hit, the doors were opened, and I walked to the stage. The goal had been accomplished: front row.
After I had arrived, I talked with this nice woman who recently saw the band at their Red Rocks show in Colorado. The Red Rocks show consisted of a three-hour marathon set compared to their normal lineup. She also told me that she had been to multiple King Gizzard shows in the past and that they were always amazing. I told her that this one was my first Gizz concert, and she was very excited for me, and rightfully so.
Photo: Standing in front of the door (Source: @psychslowdownnn on Instagram/Ariele Palmer)
Opening for King Gizzard was Leah Senior and her band, and they were so lovely. Her music is an entirely different style compared to King Gizzard, but it was such an excellent way to start the show. Playing folk-alternative songs such as “Time Traveller” from The Passing Scene (2020) and “Black Limousine” from Pretty Faces (2017), she was able to warm up the crowd in a calming manner.
Photo: Leah Senior and her band opening (Source: Ariele Palmer)
After she finished her set, it was time to get crazy.
The six-piece entered the stage, and the crowd went wild. The band opened their set with “Venusian 1” and “Venusian 2”, both from their metal-themed album Infest The Rats’ Nest (2019). From those two songs alone, I knew this would be the craziest concert I have ever attended. Since I was at the front, it felt like every note from each instrument was flowing into my bloodstream. At this point, a mosh pit had formed behind me, and I was getting smushed into the barricade. Not to mention, I was one of the shorter (and younger) attendees at the very front, so that was not ideal, but still fun regardless.
After these two songs, they decided to slow things down a bit with “Slow Jam 1” from their psychedelic/garage rock album I’m In Your Mind Fuzz (2014). One of the very first songs I listened to when starting my adventure into King Gizzard and a phenomenal way to see it played in person.
The band then started to pick up with more upbeat/moshable songs, that included “The Grim Reaper,” a rap-based song coming from Omnium Gatherum (2022), their first album of this year, “Doom City” from Flying Microtonal Banana (2017), and their live debut of “Lava” (Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, And Lava, 2022), coming from their first of three released albums of October.
Photo: King Gizzard opening their set (Source: Ariele Palmer)
Each song that was played had a completely different vibe. At the very beginning, all I wanted to do was head bang, and during their slower, more chill songs, I felt like I needed to sail off to an island. That is what I love about King Gizzard: you can feel every emotion with their discography. Whether it is rage, love, or confusion, they have a song for everything.
Towards the end of their set, they brought Leah Senior on stage for her narration of “The Reticent Raconteur,” “The Lord of Lightning,” and “The Balrog,” all from Murder of the Universe (2017). Her calming voice over insane instruments was something that I had never thought I would ever experience in life, and, in all honesty, it was magical to see those songs come to life.
After a nearly two-hour set, the band closed the night with “Float Along-Fill Your Lungs” (Float Along-FIll Your Lungs, 2013). I played this song at the end of my very first “Psychedelic Slowdown” episode, my show on Radio DePaul, as it remains at the top of my list as my favorite King Gizzard song. You can only imagine my reaction when I heard the first guitar riff; I was so incredibly happy. I felt like I needed to float along, no pun intended, on a boat in the middle of the ocean. This was such an amazing way to end such an amazing concert.
Photo: King Gizzard in the middle of a jam (Source: Ariele Palmer)
As for a review: I may be biased, but I would easily give this concert a ten out of ten. It was everything I needed in a concert and more; The visuals, the setlist, the crowd, literally everything. The one complaint I have is my body getting smashed into the barricade, but I was expecting that to begin with. I can say I have no regrets about overpaying for a single ticket back in March. This band is the reason why “The Psychedelic Slowdown” even exists. If you ever get the chance to see King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard in a city near you, please go. You’ll be a completely different person coming out of that concert, just like I was.