About King Gizzard’s Aug. 30 Asheville show…
If you’ve been following my King Gizzard show write-ups the last few years, you know I do get a bit in the weeds on the play-by-play. I’ve never been accused of brevity by any of my editors over the last two decades. In the interest of getting these stories up quicker and making them more readable, I’ve decided to change up the format. Let me know what you think — and if you miss the longer form style I had utilized up until now.
The Skinny: Asheville was a solid show that checked all of the boxes this band has been checking this tour, solid, psychedelic jams, a loud metal section, several songs off their latest album and an extended electronica section to just about close out the show. Swan Song got played live for the first time.
The Setlist: Boogieman Sam -> Hypertension -> Rats In The Sky -> Ice V -> Antarctica, Flight b741, Gaia, Converge > Witchcraft, Mars For the Rich, Inner Cell > Loyalty > Horology, Swan Song -> Gilgamesh -> Swan Song, Float Along – Fill Your Lungs
For the full annotated setlist, head over here to KGLW.net.
Out for a Metal: The band didn’t get real thrashy until about the half-way mark of the show with Gaia, off Omnium Gatherum, and then Converge into Witchcraft, a pair of songs off of PetroDragonic Apocalypse. Gaia ended with some an amazing drum solo from Cavs. That really fired the crowd up heading into the next two songs off PDA. “Mars for the Rich,” while not too thrashy, kept the band playing loud after that trio of songs.
The Jams: Hypertension, in the two spot of this show, really got stretched and fiddled with. It also included some Boogieman Sam quotes and teases, as well as Ice V teases. I enjoyed the “Ice V,” the back end of which had a very bluesy section. “Ice V” contained a “Hypertension” tease and for the third time in August, teases of “Blindness” by The Fall. All three times, “Blindness” has been teased inside “Ice V.” There was an outro jam inside “Antarctica,” which, according to KGLW.net, was for Cavs to take a pee break. “Float Along - Fill Your Lungs” was particularly jammy, and, in a twisted turn, the band started jamming on “Dragon.”
Flight b741: Gizz played three songs off the new LP, “Rats in the Sky,” “Antartica” and “Flight b741.”
So Suite: Asides from the three off Flight b741, Gizz pleased fans later in the show with three in a row off 2017’s psych-prog classic Polygondwanaland. It went “Inner Cell,” into “Loyalty,” into “Horology.”
The Untz: The band’s four-sided electronica station didn’t come out until the end of the show, during the Polygondwanaland suite, but they didn’t really utilize it until they started into “Swan Song.” They went into “Gilgamesh” and then back into “Swan Song.” I’ve noticed that the crowds have had mixed reaction to these EDM sections, with some really enjoying it, and others seemingly not moving much to what is pretty danceable music. I grew up in the 90s, attending some underground raves — I love that the band has taken a turn down this rabbit hole. It’s just another vehicle for improvisation, and I love how experimental they are getting during these sections. Every show on this tour, except for the acoustic show, has had about 25 to 30 minutes of what I think of as Gizz’s take on jamtronica. On more than one occasion, a jam friend has turned to me and mentioned The Disco Biscuits during these sections.
Debuts: Swan Song, off of 2023’s The Silver Cord was played live for the first time.
Bustouts: There was not much of note here. Boogieman Sam hadn’t been played in 10 shows according to KGLW.net.
The Quotes: Ambrose Kenny-Smith called for the fans to do the “Mexican Wave,” at the end of Antarctica, which was executed. “Them pits smell good,” he said. … After the band played Flight b741, some fans handed Stu some “Supercell” stickers. “Thanks for the stickies,” Stu said, then saing “Supercell, Supercell.” The band then went on to launch into their metal section, though played “Gaia.”… Stu put on a pair of glasses and backwards baseball cap, comparing himself to according to KGLW.net to former Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, before playing “Mars for the Rich.” “It’s the new me,” Stu declared. The hat flew off his head during the song, due to some head banging, and he tore off the glasses after the song.
Personal notes: This Asheville stop will be one I won’t ever forget. After two years following this band through seven countries, I finally had the chance to meet members of the band the day before the show while I was eating lunch at Salsa’s in Asheville. A friend had recommended the place, noting that Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon of Phish have stopped here in the past. The food, a Mexican-Caribbean fusion joint was indeed pretty good, and I am particularly picky when it comes to Mexican food. Stu, Joey, Cookie and Cavs all walked in to the place about 15 minutes after me and a friend had been there. I waited until they were done eating to bother them, with hardly anyone left in the place. Stu, who I mainly chatted with, was particularly kind to me.
The Venue: ExploreAsheville.com Arena, formely the Asheville Civic Center, is one of the few indoor venues on this tour. Built in 1974, it’s somewhat of a throwback. I sat in section 229. The sound was not good there, though I talked to various folks who were on the floor who said sound was good or not an issue. The staff was generally friendly and helpful. The venue allowed fans into the building early to purchase merchandise hours before the doors opened.