Words and photos by TimelandIsWacky
Time Invention
Let’s go back in time to August of 1904. The third Olympic Games are happening in St. Louis. The Panama Canal is under development. Theodore Roosevelt and Alton B. Parker are running for president with a decisive election only months away. While it doesn’t make international headlines, the town of Ravinia (now included as part of Highland Park) welcomes a new attraction which will last generations: Ravinia Park. The amusement park is host to a wide range of sights, from toboggan slides to a casino, and becomes well regarded for its concerts. While it fulfilled its purpose as an entertainment complex, the original developers had an ulterior motive. The A.C. Frost Company bought the land after seeing it while working on the then-new Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad. Company president A.C. Frost believed that a park on the land would convince Chicagoans to use the line. The idea might sound ridiculous in today’s context but you have to remember that cars were a new luxury in 1904 (Ford’s Model A was only a year old at this point). While the company expected growth in the years to come, 1907 would be disastrous with the A.C. Frost Company going broke. The grounds would end up in the hands of philanthropist Louis Eckstein, who would form the Ravinia Company to maintain the space while adding new music to the repertoire, before going bankrupt in 1931. Despite this, the company would reform as the Ravinia Festival Association and forge their identity. The amusement park origins were fading from the public with a focus on classical music emerging from the ashes (quite literally, the original pavilion burned down in 1949). While Ravinia Festival dedicated themselves to classics from the past, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra finding a home there, new acts and artforms would appear throughout the years including Janis Joplin and The Mothers of Invention. This blend of old and new art continues to this day. In fact, fifty six years to the day of The Mothers’ first show at Ravinia, King Gizzard etched their name into the venue’s history with an extraordinary show.
I bought tickets during pre-sale because I knew I couldn’t miss it. As mentioned, Ravinia is a special place, and the idea of Gizzard playing all of Phantom Island and more with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra there was too sweet to pass up. To be fair, they could play Bee Gees covers for two hours and I’d still be there. Regardless, this was the one show this year I’d been intent on seeing, but I knew it was going to be a bit of an ordeal.
While Ravinia Festival is often considered a Chicago venue, it’s actually an hour away from the city, if not more due to traffic on the Kennedy Expressway. For anyone who lives outside of the city, it's even longer. I know this because I saw King Crimson there in 2021. It was a grueling trip. There are further complications. As to be expected, there was a fan meetup. I missed last year so I didn’t want to miss this year’s festivities. It ended up happening at Hop Butcher For the World, a brewery up on the north side of the city. You might already see the problem though: this is nowhere near Ravinia. While Chicago has been a difficult city for meetups as the venues are often out of the way (The Salt Shed is in an industrial zone, Huntington Bank Pavilion is in a museum campus on a peninsula), this wasn’t a Chicago show. While you could always take the train out to Ravinia, this wasn’t an option for me and others. I had to go all the way to the north side of Chicago and then from there, all the way to Highland Park. Somehow, this was not the end of my issues. A day prior to the show I got an email from Ravinia which warned of high traffic in the area starting around 3:30pm (thirty minutes prior to the main lot opening). These weren’t small delays either. They were warning of delays as long as three hours! Considering the fact the main lot could fill up in an hour, it became clear that if I was going to do the meetup and the show, I’d have to dedicate my day to this. So I did.
Before the Show
I left around noon and ended up getting to the meetup around 12:40-ish. I knew it was the right place because of the amount of strange, even downright existential stickers on the cars. “How am I driving? How does an engine even work? How can a loving god cause such agony?” I know I built up the meetup as something big given that I drove all the way to the city to see it, but it wasn’t a big deal. It was small with tables situated around the brewing tanks. There weren’t too many vendors this year, though it made sense given how the setlist was basically the same and not a lot of people were travelling from show to show. I took a quick look around and got a few things, my favorite of which was a print of Stu from 2023-03-15 from Jacob Stephens. I was out of there fast enough that I forgot to even get a photo for this post. Regardless of its size I’m glad I made it after not making it last year. P.S.: If you’re a vendor, I selfishly ask that you make more Timeland-related stickers, shirts, etc. because I will buy it.
The trip there wasn’t all too bad, though I was ahead of rush hour. I ended up in the area by 2:00 and tried to find a bite to eat. Ravinia is in the middle of a residential zone. Nice, expensive houses line the winding, wooded streets. Most roads only have two lanes, and while there are some larger main roads, these lead to nothing interesting (the Chicago Botanical Garden being an exception). It’s so affluent that there’s modern art on the sides of the road. I probably passed ten different sculptures just poking around. Finding a place to eat was a bit difficult, especially considering I didn’t know where I was. I ended up in downtown Highland Park. I found Madame Zuzu’s, a tea place owned by Billy Corgan, and next to it was a Lou Malnati’s. I was somewhat excited for it only to learn it was closed, so I ended up at a McDonald’s down the street. I know, high dining. Didn’t know what else to do though. I still had a lot of time to kill so I poked around while listening to XTC’s Oranges and Lemons and a mix of the Grateful Dead.
After stopping at an old brick water tower out of curiosity, I tried to figure out where exactly I was supposed to park. Ravinia said to put in directions for the West Lot, which they consider their main lot. I put the directions in and it took me past some cozy homes to a very unofficial-looking gate with a sign reading “EMPLOYEE ENTRANCE.” A lot of people ended up going down that way instead of to the main gate, which seems like a critical flaw with the GPS request. Going back onto Green Bay Rd, the main road to access the venue, the gate was barricaded with cars lined up. I learned that this was done to prevent traffic as the lot had not officially opened yet. After some waiting, I came back down and hit traffic – a sign that things were open. While waiting, I saw an Amazon truck stop. Its driver hopped out, waved to the cars, and ran off to the house he was delivering to only to come back a few minutes later. Going under the welcoming entrance gate towards the lot, I noticed a house on the right side. A small garage sat at the end of the driveway, the only entrance and exit being the entry road for Ravinia. This, paired with the Amazon incident, made me wonder how much it would suck to live next to Ravinia for traffic reasons alone. Imagine trying to come home only to be blocked by a line of cars that slowly inch their way onto a two lane entry road every other day.
Through the Gates
Ravinia is really unlike any other outdoor northern Illinois venue, and most likely different from every other outdoor music venue in America. That becomes apparent just by going through security. A splitting concrete path brings you to an underpass for the train tracks. Yes, the train tracks that inspired Ravinia Park are still here, though they’re part of the Union Pacific North Metra line these days. In fact, Ravinia has its own designated stop at the venue with free rides for ticketholders. This alone makes Ravinia a black sheep venue, but it keeps getting weirder. While photos of the venue may make it seem like it's a usual amphitheater, it’s really five different venues around a massive (and mostly flat) lawn. The lawn actually makes up a majority of Ravinia – spanning three sections with no sightlines to the main pavilion stage (there are typically screens, but Ravinia, bafflingly, did not rent them for the first stretch of the 2025 Summer Concert Series). Part of the issue is that the pavilion is not centered to the lawn. Instead it sits in the back corner. If you look closely you can actually see the houses behind it. I can only theorize that this massive design flaw is a product of A.C. Frost’s vision for Ravinia, as if he said “put it there” under the belief that Ravinia would have more important attractions than a stage. For better and for worse, the original concepts of Ravinia remain in the venue you see today.
Amy Jean’s poster for the night was incredible, with butterflies making up a monster’s face. I was going for a poster no matter what but this was an exciting one. At first I was unsure where the merch tent was but I learned that it was at the opposite end of the lawn. When the gates opened, everyone sprinted towards the tent and a massive line soon took shape. I didn’t sprint and for this I was far towards the back. This was a worrying spot for me as I didn’t know if there were a few hundred or a thousand fans in front of me, and with only 1,200 posters, I was getting anxious. However I soon realized that this was the best spot I could be in. The line kept growing, and like last year at Huntington Bank Pavilion, it looped around on itself. This time, though, it made two turns. The line from the tent initially curved towards the fence separating the venue from the residential zone behind it, but when they ran out of space along that fence, it went inwards towards some benches. They let people through in groups, so the line didn’t move often, but when it did it felt massive. I got in, got a quick mark on my arm to note I was buying a poster (one per person), got it in the tube I brought and left. It took me about forty minutes. Better than I expected, and from what I understand posters were available even two hours after opening.
After that long wait, I explored the grounds. Beyond the strange layout, there are just odd things about Ravinia you don’t see anywhere else. Sculptures are everywhere. In fact, the first thing you see when going through the underpass is an “aquatic sculpture” (it’s a fountain). There are all different styles on display, but some of them deal with what Ravinia is. A figure of a man made of music notes was over near the merch line, while a statue of a merry-go-round horse was outside the pavilion where the band would play. Some, on the other hand, had nothing to do with Ravinia. Perhaps my favorite was a statue of two cocker spaniels on top of a four-way water fountain. The venue takes pride in these artpieces, listing them on their website and giving out pamphlets showing where you can find each one. Speaking of pamphlets, I did get a magazine in the front pavilion. It’s full of venue information as well as writeups and interviews about upcoming shows, but it also includes a whole section for King Gizzard – basically acting as a show bill. They wrote a surprisingly good description of the band, going into just about everything that makes them special. They also did a good job describing the career of conductor Sarah Hicks. That, however, is unique. You don’t see this stuff at most places, including classical venues in northern Illinois. A lot of effort is put into the handouts alone. Another interesting element is the modern building towards the main entrance. It holds multiple restaurants and a gift store. One of these restaurants is a stop-and-go service while the other is high class. I remember the food being pretty decent when I was here for King Crimson though I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to have dinner that night. Speaking of food, lawn rules here are very relaxed. You can bring in coolers and alcohol, as well as dining utensils. As one Reddit post showed, people were playing Magic: The Gathering on a fold up table. It feels like you could do just about anything you wanted to here. Despite the criticisms one could have of Ravinia’s layout and practicality, there’s so much here that kind of makes up for it. Perhaps that’s easy for me to say with pavilion seats but a lot of thought and effort goes into the operations. They’re interviewing bands for magazines which I can only imagine most people trash or ignore. They’re giving multiple food options. The lawn policy is so lenient that it makes my head spin. Everything feels intentional and purposeful, a far cry from Huntington Bank Pavilion’s slap-dash approach to their permanent venue last year. It certainly feels like something only Ravinia could pull off though, partly because it runs on large donations from various attendees. I’m not talking about $500 donations here. The magazine lists people and foundations that have spent over a million dollars on the place. Big name CEOs are thanked in it. This is a fancy place because the money it has brought in is ridiculous.
The Show
The festivities started very unassumingly, to the point I didn’t realize it started. DJ Crenshaw opened the show to little fanfare and cameras didn’t come on until a song or two in. This is to say nothing of the quality of the set, however. Tons of deep cut garage rock and punk. I didn’t catch the names of the songs (it honestly slipped my mind) but the inclusion of Pink Floyd’s “Wots… Uh the Deal?” (played off a Japanese copy of Obscured By Clouds) and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” stood out.
As Crenshaw played, KGLW.net contributors Rattle and rspro came around to hang out. We gathered at my seat and talked about the show, Field of Vision, Japanese vinyl, and the venue itself. It was a great time and I’m glad I got to meet up with them.
Ten minutes before eight, most people were in their seats and the Chicago Philharmonic had come on stage. After some tuning, the orchestra started tuning and the band came out with Sarah Hicks. Stu gave a quick introduction, loudly proclaiming “we’re from Australia!” before Cavs started “Phantom Island.” This was a highlight of the evening due to the collective excitement in the audience. As soon as the band hit the song’s groove, everyone cheered. When Cook started singing, more cheered. The crowd lost their mind when Ambrose tore through his verse, running around the stage and getting the audience even more pumped. The band was killing it. They had locked in with the orchestra completely, who were following Hicks’ directions perfectly. It’s a fantastic album opener but it was a blowout live, and it's a shame that we probably won’t hear many more performances of this one due to its reliance on the orchestra. Continuing into Phantom Island we got “Deadstick” which was yet another standout moment. Joey is the MVP here, impressively nailing the high notes while laying the guitar down. Admittedly, I never noticed that the arrangement had been changed for this one. Instead of only horns like the studio cut, the live version includes the entire orchestra. I’m excited to hear a soundboard of this or any live “Deadstick” if it ever comes. It was around this point that I really noticed Jason Galea’s visuals for the album. Throughout the night he showcased elaborate lightshows, fireworks off in the distance, a flight over a mountain, flowers under the waves, and other evocative imagery. While his style for these shows is often vaguely fitting, his choices here felt very purposeful with the material from Phantom Island. It struck a great balance between fun vintage psychedelia and sincere reminiscing – just like the album.
“Lonely Cosmos” started quietly with the orchestra. Very quietly. I could barely hear them start up and it seemed like Stu was even a bit confused, looking back at them quickly before strumming. As we’ll get back to later, something was happening. Regardless, it was a nice change of pace after two exciting songs, and Stu, Ambrose and Cook nailed it. That said, I think the star of the show here was actually Terence controlling the lights. He made the most out of the pavilion – projecting lights onto the ceiling like they were stars, which really added to the atmosphere. “Eternal Return” followed and was another highlight. This one has grown on me, with Cook’s ethereal choruses backed by Lucas’ low counterpoints being a highlight. Hearing Stu hit those low notes was very odd (I never associate him with that lower register) and Ambrose was having fun with it, chuckling at the start of his verse. “Panpsych” was one of my favorites. This one has been consistently fantastic across all of these orchestral shows and Ravinia was no different. The groove on this one is infectious and it built tremendously into Joey’s verse. Stu was getting into it, so much so that he changed the lyric “panpsych in hand” to “panpsych fuck yeah!” Fuck yeah, indeed. This rocked and it wrapped up the first side of Phantom Island nicely.
As we got into the second half of the album, the vibe got much more relaxed. Part of that comes from how personal and bittersweet it gets. “Spacesick” is such an emotional song and the live performance was, arguably, more impactful than the album. I think it comes from the setting. Hearing Stu sing this story about being far from his family and the sadness that comes with it for both him and his family in front of thousands of people across the world was touching, especially with that final verse (which he did spectacularly). The orchestra stood out on this one and provided one of their best performances of the night. “Aerodynamic” brings us to something a little more fun, with the band switching to acoustics and Ambrose leading the band through it well. His “never gonna get there” break was a lot of fun. Joey wrapped it up well, too. Good showing. “Sea of Doubt” went over well too, with Stu charging through on electric guitar (including a brief solo towards the end). The most impressive part was Ambrose and Stu’s harmonies. It didn’t compare to my favorite Phantom Island song “Silent Spirit” however. Admittedly, I think this one has had a bit of an odd transition to the stage, especially with the lack of harmonies. That said, I thought this was the best “Silent Spirit” yet. The orchestra did great and the band was getting into it. The solo on this one was wild, with Stu really laying into the whammy bar on his Yamaha. I say all of this with the caveat that there was a quick slip up at the beginning. Cavs tried to start the song while the band wasn’t ready. Some in the audience caught the mistake (as heard on Andrew Rhea’s tape). It was a funny little moment and one you might have missed if you weren’t paying attention between songs.
“Grow Wings and Fly” has really become something special. I got to hear this in an early form back in 2023 when the band played “Shanghai” at the Salt Shed, and ever since then it's grown into something grand. These orchestra shows have only pushed it further. This one starts fast with explosive moments at every turn before settling into a calm jam. This is really where it got exciting. At this point of the show, the orchestra takes a twenty-minute break while the band continues into one or two unique songs which won’t appear elsewhere on the tour. While songs like “The Dripping Tap” and “Magma” had appeared prior, Chicago was in a unique spot. We had just gotten a massive marathon show the year prior, knocking many classic songs out of rotation. Fans had also just heard a rock show at Forest Hills, so it made little sense for something from that to reappear so soon after. When talking with Rattle and rspro, we had tried to guess what the night’s mystery song would be. Rattle guessed “Float Along – Fill Your Lungs” while I was convinced that it would be “Ice V.” Both of these had not appeared since 2022 and 2023 respectively. Instead, we actually got a song I thought would be a shoe-in pick for the orchestra: “Theia.” Rather than the standard Nathan version, we got the rock arrangement which debuted earlier this year in Barcelona – an evolution of the acoustic “Theia” from Detroit ‘24. This was its third ever performance and it was definitely my favorite. It came out of a good Krautrock jam and ended up going into some really dark territory with the middle section of “Vomit Coffin” appearing. It opened back up and kept building until it reached a boiling point and entered a “Field of Vision” jam, before pivoting once again into teases of “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top, with Ambrose quoting the chorus (one guy in front of me called it as an AC/DC tease, referring to “Bad Boy Boogie,” but the riff’s rhythm alongside Ambrose’s quote makes it distinct). This was the highlight of the show for many and I can definitely see why. The band kept the energy up and were switching moods perfectly. The transition into “Field of Vision” is particularly strong, so much so that I thought we were going to get the song proper. These mid-set jams are going to be standout moments of the year for sure and I wouldn’t be shocked if this “Theia” in particular becomes a fan favorite.
After they wrapped up “Theia,” the orchestra wasn’t on stage. This was unusual given that the other shows of the tour had them come back on gradually. As the Chicago Philharmonic started to make their way onto the stage, Stu mentioned that some of the members from prior shows weren’t coming back due to it being too loud on stage. This could have just been a joke, but I think it gets at the one flaw of the night. I mentioned the orchestra being way too quiet during “Lonely Cosmos” but it's something that permeated the entire night. There were times where they seemed to cut through perfectly and other times where I just couldn’t make out the details. It didn’t ruin the show by any means but it was easy to forget the Chicago Philharmonic was playing behind the loud guitars and drum work. Other venues did much better on this front, at least from the recordings I’ve heard.
“The River” was the moment where it really struck me how special this show was. This was the oldest song of the night and certainly one of the most beloved. As they played it, I couldn’t help but think about the history of it. The band were working on this one when they first came to America in 2014. We see them crowded in a van in upstate New York listening to its demo during BOOTLEG HOLIDAY FROM HELL. That was over ten years ago now. So much has changed for them in that time. I got in a bit later at the beginning of 2019 and even so much has changed from then to now. I could have never imagined this band playing with renowned orchestras across the world. I don’t know if they could have imagined it either. As they made their way through this epic, it felt like a victory lap, and what a victory lap it was. While the band skipped the third section, they went through the song flawlessly. The first part seemed effortless, the second section devolved into chaos, and the fourth was a grand return to form. All of it was accompanied by Galea’s iconic visuals from the music video, which only made me think more about the history that led up to this moment. I know, I’m a nerd about this stuff.
This would have been my favorite moment of the show but then we got “Crumbling Castle.” I think most people imagined this one making its way into the setlists but I don’t know if we expected it to be as good as it was. Somehow they made such an epic song even more grand. The orchestra really shined here with them repeating the lead parts behind Stu and Joey. The energy was unmatched, at least near me. People were singing along as the band tore through it. By the ending it had turned into a frenzy. The icing on the cake of this performance was the return of the song’s outro. The band had never done this section within “Crumbling Castle” before (for some reason it was paired up with “Doom City” for a short while) and after this, I hope that it continues to emerge from time to time. You know that moment in Godzilla films when Godzilla emerges and begins to wreak havoc? That was the vibe this ending gave. It felt massive with the Chicago Philharmonic adding new variations each repetition. The orchestra were the stars here, though Cavs also had his moment as well. It was such a big turning point that Joey ducked out of the way so that everyone could take in what was happening.
“This Thing” was one that I really didn’t expect, but now that I think about it I don’t know why I thought it wouldn’t show up. It already has orchestration on it! In fact I feel some other Fishing For Fishies tunes like “The Bird Song” and “Real’s Not Real” would have fit in well too, though “This Thing” makes more sense as a Joey standard. This was a lot of fun though I wish we had more time with the outro.
“Mars For the Rich” was another track that I didn't expect for the orchestral tour given its jaunty rhythm, but it ended up being another one of my favorites from the night. The Chicago Philharmonic was holding it down and while Lucas got his moment with the bass solo, the Philharmonic followed right behind in one of the most brilliant moments of the arrangement. Stu and Joey were having a blast with it, changing lyrics to insult Elon Musk (“Mars for the privileged, fuck Elon Musk” and “just forget it, you ain’t coming here ‘cause the Tesla’s too dear”). It was certainly funny to hear this song at a venue made possible by the types of people who would buy a ticket to Mars if Earth hit its final tipping point.
“Dragon” was another “Crumbling Castle” situation where I think most people expected it but may have underestimated how hard it would go. I’m relistening to it as I write this and I’m taking breaks just to headbang. I’m shocked I didn’t hurt my voice during it. Everyone was chanting along by this point. You really had to join in. The song is already such a crowd pleaser but the arrangements really added to it. I especially love the orchestral hits with each “petro-dragonic-a-poc-a-lypse!” So intense! This was heavier than I ever expected an orchestral show to get. There would have been a dangerous mosh pit if there weren’t seats restricting the crowd’s movement. Did the lawn turn into a warzone? Apparently a pit had formed outside the pavilion at some point so it’s possible.
Before the final song of the night, Ambrose thanked Chicago for hotdogs and the Blues Brothers. As “Iron Lung” started up, Stu said “Free Palestine and send all billionaires to jail.” Joey capitalized on the moment by getting the audience to yell “Free Palestine” on the count of three. It was one of the loudest moments of the show and one of the most powerful. I don’t know how to speak on it without ruffling feathers, though I also recognize that that’s probably an impossible task anyways. I also don’t want to sound as if I am speaking for all King Gizzard fans as I’ve heard a few people say that some attendees left after that. Whether that’s because of the statement or that they wanted to beat traffic, I can’t say. What I can say is that I appreciated the band’s statement. I think it's important to speak up regarding injustice and to form solidarity with those affected by said injustice, especially in this climate. That’s what they did.
“Iron Lung” ended the show on a nice note. It was the third time I’ve heard this over six shows but it was probably the strongest of those examples. It brought the energy down after “Dragon” while also giving one last flash of energy with Ambrose going nuts (as to be expected).
From the Belly of the Jungle…
Everyone made their way off stage and fans slowly found their way out through the darkness. For as built up as Ravinia is, there was not a lot of light out there near the lawn. I imagine at least a few people tripped over something. The opening concourse was flooded with fans, a lot of whom were getting on the train. It had to smell horrible after such a hot day. It was a long line to get out of the parking lot but as soon as I got past the gate it was fine, the opposite of what I had to go through to get there.
One of the things I was most curious about in the days afterwards was how the weirdo swarm would react to such a unique venue. I think this was a lot of people’s first time at Ravinia and the lead-up to it kind of showed that. Multiple threads on r/KGATLW detailed all of the complaints, from the lack of view on the lawn to the distance from Chicago. There was a lot of concern about it, and a lot of which I think is warranted. That said, I think most people came away happy. I certainly did, even if the experience basically took over the entire day. It’s hard not to come away happy when we got the show we did.
The orchestral tour has really exemplified why I love King Gizzard. So many bands do orchestral shows these days (I noticed promotion for a UB40 orchestral show while waiting at Ravinia) but none are as diverse as what happened that night. It was rock, jazz, metal and so much more. I came away from it feeling like I got so much more than I expected which is saying something considering I knew what the setlist was for the most part. It’s wild to think that not too long ago these guys were playing clubs. That came up in my discussion with Rattle and rspro and it was something I thought about the entire day. I first saw them in 2022 at Radius: a medium-sized venue that can only hold a few thousand people. Now we’re at a point where they’re filling Ravinia’s massive lawn. It’s no small feat, and while many bands would rest on their prior achievements, Gizzard continues to expand on what they’ve already done while exploring new territories. The idea of an orchestral show for this band is something I never even thought I’d see and yet here I am writing about it, recounting how incredible it was.
All of it makes me ask “what’s next? How do you top this? What could you possibly do that will eclipse the scale of this?” I think we all know that they’ll find a way.