King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard at Forest Hills Stadium

On the 55th anniversary weekend of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard brought a pair of three-hour marathons of psychedelic and hard rock music to Forest Hills Stadium. Thousands of fans watched the Australian band perform a fascinating feel-good mix of blues, garage and rock sounds that might have been equally at home at the historic music festival in 1969. This updated version included moshing, however.

“The mosh pit is a safe place for young, old, big, small and ppl of all genders,” read the LED messages on the two large screens flanking the stage after support act Geese completed its brief opening set. “If you see any dickheads, alert security. Look after each other in there and BE YOURSELF. We love you all.”

Formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) presently consists of multi-instrumentalists Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh. The prolific band has released an astounding 26 albums in its 14 years. The catalog has crossed multiple genres, including folk, jazz, progressive rock, synth-pop and thrash metal. The current tour celebrates the band’s 26th and most recent album, Flight b741, which was released on August 9, 2024, a week before the New York City concerts.

Anything goes in the Gizzverse. On the first of two nights at Forest Hills Stadium, moshing and crowd surfing remained constant throughout the three-hour concert. Several fans dressed in costumes. At one moment, the band noticed an enthusiastic fan in the audience holding a sign; the musicians invited the fan, Gabby, on stage to growl the introduction to “Nuclear Fusion.”

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard performed 25 songs from 12 albums, including two songs from the newest album. Much of the high-energy set seemed like one long jam; songs blended into each other with barely a pause, and segments of songs were teased into other songs. Often the band settled into a groove with speedy, wailing guitar licks soaring higher and higher, seemingly bringing the song to a conclusion yet instead inventively feeding the climax to unimaginable highs. Suddenly, another guitarist or a harmonica player would fluidly lead the song in another direction.

The musicians built the long songs on steady, extended riffs and grooves, yet the compositions grew far more complex than what most rock bands would attempt. No two shows are alike. As such, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is a unique band with much potential to become super popular.

Setlist

1. Field of Vision (Live debut)
2. Daily Blues (Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin drum intro tease by Cavs) (>)
3. Cut Throat Boogie (>)
4. Gamma Knife (Motor Spirit tease) (>)
5. People-Vultures (>)
6. Mr. Beat (>)
7. Boogieman Sam (Hypertension tease, Hog Calling Contest, Rats in the Sky quotes, b741 chant) (>)
8. Work This Time
9. I'm in Your Mind (>)
10. I'm Not in Your Mind (>)
11. Cellophane (You Can Be Your Silhouette and Crumbling Castle teases) (>)
12. I'm in Your Mind Fuzz
13. This Thing (With Joey led crowd sing along)
14. Self-Immolate (with drum solo) (>)
15. Organ Farmer
16. Venusian 2
17. Gila Monster
18. Flamethrower (Without outro)
19. Straws in the Wind
20. Pleura
21. All Is Known
22. Doom City
23. Nuclear Fusion (Fan (Gabby) sung 'Nuclear Fusion' intro, not written on the setlist)
24. Rattlesnake (Oddlife and Sleep Drifter tease)
25. K.G.L.W.

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The Manhattan Beat reports on New York City's live music circuit. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise.

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