It’s rare that you arrive at a venue to see two full drum kits, four guitars, a bass, keyboard, flute, harmonica and several other percussion instruments all meticulously crammed onto a compact stage. But then, it’s not often that you’re faced with a band quite as eccentrically norm-defying as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. This 7-piece are an outfit of longhaired psych infused garage rockers from the Land of Oz, and though they openly cite many influences, their live shows prove that this band are unlike any other.
The show kicks off with an electrifyingly heavy new track from upcoming album, Nonagon Infinity, and the crowd is instantly enamored – perhaps due to the infectious pseudo-aggressive stage bravado displayed by front man Stu Mackenzie. And after already having seamlessly swapped from a 12-string, to a 6-string guitar and back again within the first ten minutes, he picks up his flute and brings in the melody for ‘Hot Water’. Like many songs across the set, it delivers with far more intensity live, and with an awe-inspiring level of energy.
As they blare through crowd favorites such as ‘Hot Wax’, and a medley of ‘I’m In Your Mind’/’Cellophane’/’I’m In Your Mind Fuzz’, the pits increase and soon body after body is being surfed over the heads of the adrenaline fuelled audience. Because of how captivatingly energetic the band are, it is only when the smooth, Dave Burbeck-inspired ‘The River’ begins that the backdrop of psychedelic visuals comes into focus. The trippy music video plays behind the band as they groove through a shortened version of the ten-minute track.
Throughout their set, the passion, devotion, and pseudo-aggression displayed is gratifying to watch. Though sloppy in parts, (such as when the band seemed unsure of what to play next), if anything their relaxed approach to the show made the band more accessible and admirable. As the show came to a close, even over the beer and sweat, there was no denying the pungent scent of success.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Live @ The Lexington, London 14/02/16 It’s rare that you arrive at a venue to see two full drum kits, four guitars, a bass, keyboard, flute, harmonica and several other percussion instruments all meticulously crammed onto a compact stage.
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