King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard finished their three-show run at Red Rocks on a strong note, even after a rain delay pushed back their normal 2-hour performances past their normal 11 p.m. cutoff.
Most of the crowd had been waiting for several hours following an “early show” that started at 1:30 p.m., with opener Kamikaze Palm Tree. Check out the write up on that show here. For this “late show,” the opener had their set cancelled by the rain delay. Some rain did fall but the main cell missed the park and most attendees held on to their seats during pause.
When the band came out finally, about 20 minutes after they likely would have started at 9, they went right to business with fan fave “Rattlesnake,” off 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana.
That put the flying yellow banana guitar into the hands of frontman Stu Mackenzie to start the show, and despite the song’s aggressive format, the band took it for a long improvisational journey. There were “Sleep Drifter” and “Honey” quotes in this notable version – the band played several notable versions of songs in this show.
Mackenzie and Ambrose Kenny-Smith traded turns issuing, “Rattle, Rattle, Rattle.” They then switched out “Rattle,” for “Boogie, Boogie, Boogie.”
Just when you thought it was over, they cranked up the jam even harder, and it ended up going about 15 minutes long.
The band went with three other older favorites, with “Open Water,” also off Flying Microtonal Banana, “Pleura,” off 2021’s L.W., and “Straws in the Wind,” from 2020’s K.G.
The guitarists got a microtonal jam going at the front end of Pleura.
Kenny-Smith’s performance on “Straws” was something to see and hear, and he left the stage with a remove mic, to sing a portion of the song near the sound board.
“Is it all
Is it all
Straws in the Wind”
Then he had the spotlight with the ensuing “Presumptuous,” off 2022’s Omnium Gatherum. Cook started that song out on the keys, producing some organ sounds, with his guitar slung over his shoulder.
They went to “Hypertension,” off of last year’s Laminated Denim, and this one started out pretty loud. It ended up in jam territory and this ended up being a pretty solid and unusual version of the song.
“Ice V” off 2022’s Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava was next and this was a very good version worth going back to – and the band has been playing lots of nice versions of this song in the last year. Kenny-Smith spent some time on the saxophone. This extended version got almost ambient near the end before the phrasing returned.
In the pause before the band begun “Slow Jam 1,” Kenny-Smith said it was probably “my favorite song of ours.”
I’ll admit, the song is also my favorite King Gizz tune, and this may go down as at least my favorite version of the song that I was there to witness.
The song, off 2014’s I’m In Your Mind Fuzz, started out real bluesy on the guitars, and Mackenzie’s vocals echoed. It included “Iron Lung” quotes and it also seemed to include “Hot Water” teases.
The song was definitely extended, and its jam kept building, while staying true to its psychedelic nature. There were also “Her and I (Slow Jam 2)” quotes.
The band returned to its heavy nature with two from 2019’s Infest the Rats’ Nest, “Hell,” and “Mars for the Rich,” and then two from their forthcoming LP, “Supercell” and “Gila Monster,” ending the run like a steaming locomotive.
Check out KGLW.net’s setlist here.