Live music review: Diary of a Perimenopausal Gal at King Gizzard’s Field of Vision Festival

Dear Diary,
It’s almost 1 a.m. and our ride is coming at 4:30 a.m. My chest is tight from not knowing if I have everything done at home and at work, but it is what it is. When I wake up from my short nap, it’ll be go time to head from Austin to Colorado for King Gizzard’s second Field of Vision Festival in Buena Vista August 14-16. The psych rock, metal, electronic and rock n roll band from Australia has become a touring phenomenon.

Early Arrival Thursday
It’s 4:04 a.m. and we’re up and getting ready. We land at the same time as our other friend coming in from Dallas.

Later
Flight was chill, my cousin Leia asked the pilot for some birthday wings and they gave her an entire party pack of paper crowns and the coveted wings. Which are now just a sticker instead of a pin. She wore the hat and wings all day with pride.

Between a nice birthday brunch and needing to drive across town to a friend’s house to borrow supplies, we ended up way behind schedule. We weren’t camping, but we had some lovely friends creekside glamping at FOV that are sharing their space as a communal home base. We wanted to be as comfortable as possible. Festivals include a lot of walking and I’m out of shape, plus parts of me hurt that didn’t hurt last year.

It ended up taking hours to get out of Denver and was dark by the time we drove into Buena Vista.

Once we checked into our motel, we rolled over to Field of Vision to find our friends and set-up before vanishing for cold fried chicken and a much needed soak under the stars in the sacred waters at Cottonwood Hot Springs. 

Ended the night with a joint and some laughs after discovering our apartment at the motel is the only place on the property without air conditioning. My favorite invention. After opening all the windows at our lil place near a prison (no joke), we finally drifted off to sleep.

Day 1 Field of Vision – Friday, August 14
After making sandwiches and filling our little cooler, off we drove to the festival to get in line. Despite the long lines for the security car search, we were able to get into the festival and to a sweet parking spot rather quickly.

Just as the clouds started swirling all around us due to impending mountain storms, we saw friends parked nearby, so we hung with them, gathered our stuff, sadly, minus the cooler or any of the layers we packed for later, and went to our satellite camp to find our peeps.

That turned out to be a bust as our friends were already in the show venue, so we ventured on and stood in a dripping wet line for merch so Leia could get a poster and such. I’m jealous now, but in the moment I was extremely worried about the time we were wasting before Angine de Poitrine, plus the walk to get into the venue.

Turns out we had plenty of time since rising Austin act, Die Spitz had to cancel due to an injury and weather delays. FOV was forced to shuffle schedules around.

We made it into the venue for the last part of Upchuck’s set; my glamping friend was stoked and fell in love, but I thought it was a little more screamy than I needed at that particular moment, but still a fun way to kick-off the festival. *When returning to give this band a fair listen after the festival, i could hear why my buddy was so into them. It’s a pretty great female-led, bipoc punk band. They get a ‘fuck yes’ from me.

Then Angine de Poitrine (ADP) took the stage or as Wendy questioned as they took the stage, “oh the polka-dot people are playing?” Yes. That’s why I was a whiny bitch about standing in the very wet merch line, and not wanting to miss ADP. Also known as the polka dot people. Wendy later shared that her algorithm kept forcing them on her and she willfully ignored them because of their black and white, polka dot schtick. She then tells me about a cool polka dot hanky a great aunt left her, and how she found it before she left. It’s cool, but only something she’d take out of the closet to don on occasion. This turned out to be a metaphor for how she felt about their microtonal music, and honestly I agree with Wendy about Angine de Poitrine, I liked some of the material. The music isn’t only played backwards, it sounds like they turn the chords inside out. It’s trippy and hypnotic, but I only want it for a little while and then it’s going back into the closet with Wendy’s scarf.

Then we waited for the main attraction. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) were set to come out around 8 p.m. They kicked open their set with “Self-Immolate” which lead me into believing that they were doing a metal set. You’d think I’d learn that the only thing you can expect from this band is to be equal parts surprised and stoked when seeing them live.

I really dug what they did with “Extinction” and while I noticed that it’s listed as a metal version on KGLW.net, I think it solidifies that they’re a jam band. The jam/metal version was 10 minutes long! The original version is less than half the length of what we were treated to on Friday night. They jammed the middle of that song hard, stretching out the meaty stuff in the composition deliciously. Like them or not, they write and perform epic aural tales ready to be devoured by hungry music fans.

I am even more Team Ambrose after seeing him perform wearing a weird clown mask. Why am I like this? Moving onto Nathan’s debut…

I know there is controversy around Nathan (a sweet-ass custom synthesizer rig that they named Nathan), some people just aren’t into it, well I’m not really into metal, but since there’s already been 28 albums, there’s room for coloring outside of the lines with KGLW. That’s kind of their scene. In fact, seeing it in real life, two years in a row at Field of Vision solidifies that these are my people. At typical rock n roll shows of the psychedelic persuasion, most people are wearing black. I’m always in bright colors, as that’s my brand of psychedelia, and King Gizzard fans tend to be a mix of the more colorful weirdos from every weirdo-subculture you can think of.

Nathan came out at the middle of the set to change the trajectory of everyone’s trip, as they tend to do. I’d like to think that maybe they’ve opened people up to electronic music who have previously ignored it.

The “Presumptuous” and “The Grim Reaper” rap on “Smoke and Mirrors” was sick as fuck and a weekend highlight for me. And no, not just because Ambrose rapped to us in his creepy clown mask. But also because he rapped to us in his creepy clown mask.

Give me some form of “The Grim Reaper” at every show and I’ll be happy. 

Nathan Time also brought Field of Vision two new songs from the album that dropped upon our arrival to the fest, “Level V” and “Rapid Alpha Decay” on KGLW’s most recent album, Alien Metal.

I have Google Fi and my phone only worked at the motel, so I haven’t listened to the new album yet, and that includes the self-titled single that dropped back in July, so all of it was new and exciting for me. 

“Level 5” and “Rapid Alpha Decay” sound like the inside of a DMT trip and while it wasn’t my favorite, I still enjoyed getting to hear it for the first time with so many people and look forward to giving the album a deep listen. 

“The Land Before Timeland“ and “Iron Lung” were the other highlights from night 1. They ended without ending “The River”, which is truly some jamband shit.

The late night show at The Castle stage included Blood Incantation and while I wanted to catch them, we were tired and hungry and by the time we were going to check them out, we did it from the parking lot while we did what the police told us to do which was, “smoke inside your car”. We did that and ate our snacks with the heat on. Since we’d left our layers and food in the car, we were cold, so when the music ended, we decided to head back to our sweet motel apartment to chill, shower, and snack some more. I know part of the charm of camping festivals is the camaraderie you build with the other campers, but at my age, I can live without that part. I need to be out of dust, constant noise, and pain for as long as possible between show days. My ankles swell on a good day and we’re at almost 9k feet, so it’s a lot for fit, young people to handle and I’m neither of those.

I love drifting off to sleep while I’m reviewing show photos, videos, and notes. Especially when it includes people I love. It was really great to share this experience with my best friends. 

Saturday Day 2 

Dear Diary,
Saturday another soak at Cottonwood Hot Springs. Since it was day time we also soaked in the 55 degree river behind the hot spring pools. It’d been rainy on and off all morning, so when the sun came-a-blazin’ over the mountains, the river water felt amazing. I can’t even begin to tell you how much better my legs, feet, and knees felt after the hot and cold dip. More festivals should be in towns with hot springs. I know the locals will disagree, and I get that, but goddamn, it’s a lifesaver.

By the time we got through the swift security line, we’d fucking missed Blood Incantation again! At least this time, we listened from our camp where we had layers and supplies this time around. From what I heard, I enjoyed the atmospheric and theatrical music they played, but the screamo metal wasn’t my jam. I know many people consider King Gizzard to be a metal band, but with 28 albums, there are options for (almost) every music taste. 

KGLW started with the song they didn’t finish from night one (N1), “The River”. These guys are so fucking tight! Not only is that a completely unorthodox thing to do at a concert, they pulled it off flawlessly.

The rest of the set was a blur from being exhausted from N1, so another listen was in order, post festival. What I discovered was a very shreddy-metal set that I didn’t have the energy for. The crowd was going wild and I was sitting on the ground trying to chill. The pain of a midlife crisis steeped in hormonal changes screamed out in unison with King Gizzard through the rowdiest parts of N2’s 3 hour set.

I was relieved when Nathan came out, as I thought we’d get to chill, but I was wrong. It was time for Nathan Dance Party 2026 Edition. While they were getting weird with Nathan, Gizz busted out more new music with “Alien Metal” and “Kill for the Steel”. I think you’re either going to really love these songs or hate them. I dug getting almost the entire new album played for us over three nights. Let’s circle back about my DMT theory on the new album at a later date. 

After having our minds blown at King Gizzard, we listened to La Luz from the glamping camp because our combined six legs were absolute toast. I’ve only felt this particular pain in my right hip while riding 100 mile bike rides, at around the 35-40 mile mark. Why I didn’t suck it up and take something for it besides edibles and smoking flower, I don’t know. I’m hard-headed as fuck and suffered greatly from it. Had it been early enough, I’d have driven us right back to Cottonwood for a late-night soak. We made it back to our home away from home to eat a frozen pizza and smoke some of Colorado’s finest until my head hit the pillow and the King Gizzard show review dreams began again. 

Sunday Day 3 aka Drag Day

Dear Diary,
By now you’re sick of the whining, but today I’m feeling every bit of my age (50-ONEderful), my skin is peeling like a lizard from a sunburn the previous weekend tubing on a 103 degree Texas day, my hands look 97 years old, and the feeling I have in my legs is something that will haunt me the rest of my life, but I’m getting used to the pollen having the windows open in the apartment without air conditioning, and I’m feeling relatively hydrated as far as not having headaches and feeling like utter dogshit. Seriously people, never underestimate the sun and dry, thin air in the mountains, especially on drugs.

Sunday was Drag Day and the band along with many festival goers dressed up and got into rainbow/sparkly vibes for the day. Sad that we missed outdoor-enthusiast and activist drag queen, Pattie Gonia’s show, but from what I’ve seen, it was amazing and well-received. Some campers stopped by our camp to give out colorful mustaches in case we wanted to be lil kings for the day.

King Gizzard took the stage in drag for night 3, and if I wasn’t the professional that I am, I might mention how amazing Joey looked in his “yikes” tiny shorts, but as I said…I’m a professional. Cousin Leia did walk away with a crush on Joey though.

The set started with the other part of “Pill” as that’s how they ended N2, and they didn’t want people to miss the after shows. At some point Cavs gave everyone a little break with a drum jam early on, which was nice considering we were all feeling it. Well, based on the crowd, plenty of people still had an abundance of energy and based on my sluggishness, I understand why people pop Adderall and such at shows. My secret ‘keep partying’ weapon has always been weed and ice tea – I added edibles for FOV, but it didn’t cut it.

I’ve touched on this topic before, but, I still think Gizzard is a jam band. Not in the classic sense like Phish or the Grateful Dead, but they definitely stretch out songs, or play a song in a totally different style than how it was originally recorded. They borrowed The Grateful Dead’s “drums and space” trope to give most of the band a much-needed break on Sunday during “Sea of Trees”. 

Nathan rolled out a little early which was a fun, chill surprise. As much as they threw down with the dance music, it was somehow equally chill. You could dance your ass off or groove sitting on the ground and both were sound options depending on which direction the music took you. King Gizz played one of my faves, “Slow Jam 1” right into “Ice V” then back into “Slow Jam 1” as one sexy groove. The chorus of “Ice V”reminded me of an LCD Soundsystem song.

With “Sapience” and “Superheavy, Supercritical” back to back, the audience was once again invited to experience brand new material in a communal space. It was so rad. Very Kraftwerk meets John Carpenter.

Deep into the set, a gal behind me said to her friend, “I like that they consider our bodies with their set list.”

I think it’s probably more about the band as they gently begin to age and feel every minute of the nine hours they’re playing for us. How do they play for three hours straight each night?! Yes, what I’m saying is, the band doesn’t take a set break. This means that you’re going to miss something as there’s no way to avoid needing a bathroom break, or at least more water. 

Metal “Gilgamesh” was a highlight for many fans, but that warm and sexy “Ambergris” into the fiery and extremely jammy “Work This Time” helped restore balance in my life.

Belting out the lyrics of “Field of Vision” with the crowd from our whole hearts as the second Field of Vision ended was perfect.

For the folks who wanted and needed more music afterwards, there was Lisa Bella Donna and Bullant who we missed checking out another friend’s camp. We caught part of Joey’s DJ set and headed out. The spunions need an outlet and if speaking honestly, most of us weren’t ready for the weekend to end.

Wendy thought Night 2 (N2) was the best, I think after writing this review my favorite night was N3, but I enjoyed all of them for completely different reasons. I think N1 and N2 went the hardest with the metal, and all 3 Nathan breakouts were fantastic, and as a gal who loves copious noodling, there was plenty all 3 nights.

The Sunday scaries were real coming off of festival time.

We ended our ladies trip with a dab/joint session with some Austin friends, got a solid brunch and headed back to Cottonwood Hot Springs before embarking on the long drive back to Denver for our flights.

Thanks to everyone at the fest for bringing your A-game to Field of Vision 2.

All photos by Jupiter