Live music review: LEVITATION Night Three – King Gizzard headlined mesmerizing Aussie invasion

Night Three of LEVITATION at Stubb’s (the second of consecutive nights headlined by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard) also marked the second sold-out show in as many nights for the band at the historic Red River venue, Stubb’s BBQ last Saturday.

Opening the showcase for the evening of October 29 were The Murlocs, the Australian band who share member, Ambrose Kenny-Smith(vocals, harmonica, percussion, keyboards, guitar) with King Gizzard. The rest of of the group is comprised of; Cal Shortal (guitar, backing vocals), Matt Blach (drums, backing vocals), Cook Craig (bass, guitar), and Tim Karmouche (keyboards, guitar, vocals).

It was a perfect opening performance for the evening, delivering a tight, succinct, psych-rock set that engaged and impressed the expectant crowd. By the end of The Murloc’s set, the backyard at Stubb’s was already packed shoulder-to-shoulder with anxious fans, many of whom were in costume for the Halloween weekend.

The Murlocs set list:
Francesca
Skyrocket
Bellarine Ballerina
What If?
Bobbing and Weaving
Loopholes
Virgin Criminal
Living Under a Rock
Wolf Creep
Rolling On

By this point, Stubb’s was so thick with King Gizz fans one could barely lift their drink to their mouth, much less navigate the venue.


Second up for the evening was Tropical Fuck Storm, the Melbourne-based psych-punk band consisting of Fiona Kitschin (vocals, bass), Garreth Liddiard (vocals, guitar), Lauren Hammel (drums, MPC), and Erica Dunn (vocals, guitar, keyboards, and synthesizer).

The quartet engaged the crowd with banter between the ultra-funky, hard-hitting musical numbers that had members of the audience banging their heads and rallying in response.

Although the music was heavy, there was an underlying lighthearted tone conveyed throughout the performance.
The final song, a cover of the Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” was a delightfully jovial exclamation point to end Tropical Fuck Storm’s set. It set the tone for a massive King Gizzard party.

Tropical Fuck Storm set list:
Braindrops
Chameleon Paint
Antimatter Animals
New Romeo Agent
You Let My Tyres Down
Ann (Stooges Cover)
Rubber Bullies
Paradise
Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees cover)

After a brief intermission, enter King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. The six-piece from Melbourne consisting of Stu Mackenzie (vocals, guitar,bass, keyboard, flute), Ambrose Kenny-Smith (vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass), Joey Walker (vocals/guitar), Cook Craig (vocals/guitar), Lucas Harwood (bass, keyboards),and Michael Cavanagh (drums), prefaced the show admitting that they were “hungover as fuck,” continuing with, “and were going to rock this,” then proving that they would rock even harder, putting on a show for the ages. The Australian sextet kicked things off with “Rattlesnake.” Stubb’s fans were in a frenzy from the first note.

Those familiar with their music, specifically live, understand that King Gizzard jams out on stage, meshing tracks together, flipping genres, and putting on an absolute musical masterpiece of a performance.  The band teased a bit at shifting to “Sleep Drifter,” teasing the song at times before heading right back into the opening song. They followed it up with “Honey,” then really transitioned to “Sleep Drifter,”  eventually blending the segments of the previous two tracks in a furious musical stew of captivating performative splendor.

Cavanaugh his displayed drum skills with a solo for the ages. The drummer teased a finale, instead, he kept going… and going, changing pace with a furious driving line as the other five members of the band stepped aside in awe.  To say the solo was memorable, or astonishing would be a vast understatement.  It was beyond impressive; it was a draw-dropping from “Pleura” to “Gaia.”

Throughout the evening, King Gizzard transitioned from heavy-hitting rock tunes to a bit of electronic and funk with numbers like “Magenta Mountain” and from one of the most recent of the band’s five releases this year, “Ice V,” and ultimately returning to heavy rock for a beautiful, extended crescendo of mind-melting, hard-rock bliss with “The Dripping Tap.”

This second of consecutive-night, sold-out King Gizzard shows was mind-blowing and amazing. The Australian band proved in two and a half hours why they are considered by many to be the best live band on the planet.  A good chunk of their fans set destination trips, following the sextet to various locations (like their two-night stand at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheater) to witness their greatness.

After witnessing this LEVITATION performance, there is no question as to why fans travel to see King Gizzard.  One audience member who attended night one at Stubb’s, mentioned that they did not duplicate one song from the previous evening’s set list. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are making musical history and doing it a different way every night.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard October 29 set list:
Rattlesnake
Honey
Sleep Drifter
Pleura
Gaia
Hell
Crumbling Castle
The Fourth Colour
Magenta Mountain
Ice V
Lava
The Dripping Tap

All photos by Michael Maly