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.
May 25, 2022, The Higher Ground, Burlington, VT, USA
This is an outstanding recording by Mystery Jack. There is also a great recording at Archive.org by Evan Gorski that some might prefer. Night 1 of 2 nights in Burlington is highlighted by the 20+ minute versions of The River and the show closer, The Bitter Boogie, with The River being a best jam of tour contender. The mid-set metal trio of Gaia, Mars and Hell feels perfectly placed and leads into a highly memorable Magenta Mountain.
May 26, 2022, The Higher Ground, Burlington, VT, USA
This is an outstanding recording by Mystery Jack. There is also a great recording at Archive.org by Evan Gorski that some might prefer. Night 2 in Burlington, the spiritual hometown of Phish since 1983, so it's fitting that King Gizz closes the 2-night run with a 35-minute Head On/Pill (as Phish are known for their lengthy jams). The microtonal section has both the K.G.L.W. intro and outros as bookends, with a booming Static Electricity amongst the songs smooshed in between. Persistence, Muddy Water, Crumbling Castle and the live debut of Tetrachromacy are other big highlights. Post-pandemic Muddy Water jams are some of my favorite live Gizz moments, and this Muddy Water is one of the best.
October 19, 2022, L'Olympia, Montreal, QC, CAN
This is a great recording from Kingcrowing. It is also on YouTube if you prefer. This show is the live debut and to date, the only performance of Red Smoke. It’s difficult to narrow down the other highlights without listing out every song played. Gaia, Hot Water, Lava, Work This Time, and Iron Lung seem like safe recommendations, but really there is more to hear. This show runs hot!
January 6, 2023, TSB Stadium, New Plymouth, Aotearoa (New Zealand)
This is a wonderful recording with almost pro-shot video quality from Scott Rief (Scizzardland). It’s a very rare no metal or microtonal show and it's also Sammy’s birthday which is formally celebrated during The River. The set is mostly a bunch of jammy psychedelic bangers, most stretched out to 10-20 minutes, assuming you think of Mind Fuzz suite as a single banger like I do. There's also an Archive.org version if you prefer.
March 20, 2023, Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium
This is an outstanding recording by misterlorko. There is also a great recording at Archive.org by Tomcat that some might prefer. From the opening unique version of Rattlesnake this show is packed full of teases, quotes, and strange lyrics about monkeys in Australia. KGLW.net has like half a page of notes because of all the musical and lyrical shenanigans. The show is just a ton of fun.
Links to these and future Brent's Recs, highlighting the very best King Gizz audience recordings will be at King Gizz Live Spreadsheet. Make a recommendation for the next edition in the comments.