Recommending the very best live King Gizzard audience recordings.
Thank You, Tapers!
As creator of the King Gizzard Live Spreadsheet and KGLW.net collaborator, Brent (@Gizzhenge here, /u/(yebrent) on Reddit) has a valid claim to having listened to the most live King Gizzard of anyone (outside of the band themselves and their touring crew). These recommendations are the best combination of complete recordings, in high quality, of the band in their top form.
4/24/2022 @ The Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, CA (USA)
This is a high-quality recording from Aaron "Ol' Dirty Taper" Miller. "The River" is the first truly jammed-out 20+ minute version, and the epic 20-minute "Her and I (Slow Jam 2)" closer includes some of the earliest "Iron Lung" teases. This is when comparisons to the Grateful Dead became more frequent. There is also an archive.org version if you prefer. Mystery Jack also has a very good recording of this show on YouTube.
4/28/2022 @ Bimbo's 365 Club, San Francisco, CA (USA)
This is a high-quality recording from Mystery Jack. There is also a high-quality audio recording from captainentropy at archive.org; I listen to both interchangeably. It starts with a strong "Rattlesnake" to kick off the microtonal section along with a jammy "Hot Water", but the "Mr. Beat" -> "Sea of Trees" is the main highlight here and may be the best thing King Gizz played in all of 2022. "Magenta Mountain" is majestic, as is the "Slow Jam 1" with "Iron Lung" teases. Closing with "Mars for the Rich" around the time Elon Musk was buying Twitter, not that far from the venue is just perfect.
10/22/2022 @ Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
This is a high-quality recording from Joe Burns and Rich Stoler. There is also a great video by markit aneight and another audio recording from Mystery Jack, both linked on the spreadsheet, but the version embedded above is my favorite. This show starts with a memorable microtonal section, including the increasingly rare "Billabong Valley" and a booming "K.G.L.W" (Outro) jacked along by the crowd's chanting and the band's throat singing. "Her and I (Slow Jam 2)", "Ice V", and "Evil Death Roll" are the obvious lengthy and hard-grooving highlights, but the less jammy material also seems to have some extra heavy sludge this night.
10/26/22 @ The Eastern, Atlanta, GA (USA)
This is a high-quality recording of Stu's birthday show from Alex Leary. There are also great videos of Disco Stu's birthday show linked at the spreadsheet and here on the kglw.net full setlist, but for the very best audio, I haven't found a recording better than Alex's embedded above. The heavy opening combo of "Perihelion" > "Hell" is top-notch, but this show is really highlighted by the jams and grooves, starting with "Hot Water" -> "Hypertension". The perpetually grooving "Persistence" is paused for the birthday celebration, but once going again the silky jamming doesn't let up for the next 30+ minutes of "Ice V" > "The River". The dual "Magma" and "Lava" closers are particularly euphoric.
3/03/2023 @ Gashouder, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
This is a high-quality recording from "team no drama" at archive.org. There are also great videos from Altered Beast Broadcasting and misterlorko YouTube channels, but the embedded version is my favorite audio of this show. This is the "Jamsterdam" show! From the opening "Dripping Tap" you can tell the band is locked in tight. "Ice V" is next with one of the more interesting jams of the tour, leading to Amby and Joey coining "Jamsterdam". Still lots of show left, and it's fire — particularly the "Mr. Beat" -> "Hot Water", an extra expressive "Horology" trilogy, and the closing "Magma".
Links to these, and future Brent's Recs highlighting the very best King Gizz audience recordings, will be at King Gizz Live Spreadsheet. This will be an ongoing feature at KGLW.net on The King Gizzette Blog.
To see what other live Gizz we're listening to, join us at this thread at the KGLW.net forum.