By Genre: Psych Rock
Favorite Tracks: “Boogieman Sam,” “The River,” “Hypertension,” “Hot Water, Changes”
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard recently released LIVE IN CHICAGO ‘23, the latest live show in their ongoing “Bootleg Giz” series. The full show recording for all three nights during their residency at The Salt Shed in Chicago earlier this year comes in at nearly six hours, serving as a sort of spiritual sequel to last year’s eight-and-a-half-hour LIVE AT RED ROCKS ‘22. The prolific Australian psych rockers put together three nights of dynamic acid jams, head-banging thrash metal, and a handful of fan favorites from the band’s Microtonal series. With 27 albums to pull from (and more on the way), the band naturally didn’t repeat a single track all three nights and still managed to play all the hits; the first third of the record gets going with a few microtonal tracks bursting with energy, while live show staples like “Nuclear Fusion” and pulls from the new records like “Gaia / Motor Spirit” brought the energy on an unseasonably cold June day in Chicago.
The real gem of night one, and maybe the whole record, comes with the final four tracks of the first show, setting the scene for the end of the night with a Grateful Dead-inspired and effortlessly flowing run at “The River.” They broke out the last heavy one for the night with “Evil Death Roll” before leading into a proggy “Magma” as the penultimate track. To close night one, the band pulled out the bluesy “Boogieman Sam” off 2019’s bluegrass LP, FISHING FOR FISHIES; dripping in pedal effects and led by Ambrose Kenny-Smiths’ screaming harmonica, “Boogieman Sam” is the highlight of the record overall, with its incredible jam builds leading to an electric break into an acid-dipped interpolation of Canned Heat’s “Going Up the Country” about nine minutes into the track.
Night two took on a little bit more of a dream pop flavor early on, with pulls from 2021’s BUTTERFLY 3000 and last year’s electro-jazz LP, CHANGES. The second half of the set got a little more psych-heavy with the classic “Wah Wa” into “Road Train” pull leading into the jazzy “Ice V.” The centerpiece of the night was the “Loyalty, Horology, Supercell” suite off their 2017 psychedelic concept album POLYGONDAWANALAND. They closed out their stellar psych night with a wicked “Am I in Heaven,” leaving the Gizzard faithful humming the melody as they headed home and got ready for night three.
The last show of the residency started off heavy with the at-the-time unreleased “Gila Monster / Converge” off of PETRODRAGONIC APOCALYPSE, leading into the fan-favorite thrash tracks “Mars for the Rich” and “Planet B.” Frontman Stu Mackenzie broke out his flute for a ripping psych banger “Hot Water” before transitioning into the equally insane, 15-minute “Hypertension.” To close out the three-night run, the boys from Down Under introduced the synths and launched into the hotly anticipated live debut of “Changes.” The 18-minute lounge jazz cut off last year’s record of the same name brought the house down, and set the table for the ripping finish, a 20-minute-long, roaring rendition of “The Dripping Tap.” The lead single of 2022s OMNIUM GATHERIUM was an instant classic, eventually becoming a go-to on this summer’s residency tour—after teasing it all three nights, it was a rousing finish to an incredible three-night run.
LIVE IN CHICAGO ‘23 is an incredible live record, each night special on its own, but together unforgettable. For those fortunate enough to attend the shows, hazy, smoke-filled memories become clear for the first time; for those not able to attend, it is a document of one of the best live bands in the world deep in their element.
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