Note: this was posted to a blog and not necessarily aimed at just Gizzheads.

Forming the traditional King Gizzard powder keg, metal songs “Mars for the Rich”, “Organ Farmer”, and “Supercell” opened the first night with a bang. “Organ Farmer” was a little short but “Supercell” continues to deliver, officially released that day along with the rest of the songs from PetroDragonic Apocalypse.

The “Mind Fuzz Suite” was back once again and King Gizzard continues to add improvisation to this collection of four songs to keep it fresh. Several people have asked me “Why would you see the same band so much?” and catching live re-creations of old classics is near the top of that list. An electric “Sense” with plenty more teases and covers continued the jam session. I much prefer this album, Paper Mache Dream Balloon, acoustic but “Sense” makes for a great jam base with the amps plugged in.

“Grim Reaper” was back once again, only skipped this tour in Chicago. Homage was paid to their supposed influence, the Beastie Boys, with “Intergalactic” quotes throughout the song. We may never get a full King Gizzard rap/hip-hop album but at least for now, “Grim Reaper” scratches the itch. Wanting to keep the momentum from the last show Chicago show, “Change” graced our ears once again. This song will be played fairly vanilla until they incorporate it more live but it was just as emotionally moving as the world debut from Chicago.

After the usual soft synths and “lets get real high” electronic hit “Shanghai”, funk rock “Ambergris” this time was introduced as a “song about Free Willy”. Bringing the funk I was expecting, Joey Walker’s (Vocals, Guitar, Microtonal Guitar, Synth) soft tones complemented the electronic key playing of Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s (Vocals, Harmonica, Keyboard, Sax, Percussion) and Nicolas “Cookie” Craig’s (Guitar, Keyboard, Synth, Vocals) “G-funk” style support.

“Hot Water” was once again a hit with Stu McKenzie (Vocals, Guitar, Flute Microtonal Guitar, Synth, Keys) on the flute. Lyrics halfway through changed from repetition of “Hot Water” to “Joey Walker”, honoring the co-creator of the song in the classic tongue and cheek King Gizzard style.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, King Gizzard has multiple albums that tell a sci-fi fantasy story within their songs. “Altered Beast I” -> “Alter Me I” -> “Altered Beast II”, tells a horrific story of a man changing into an “Altered Beast”, complete with narrative breaks. This is Gizz at its weirdest. It’s also their most technical material and a strong rock saga resides underneath the horrifying tale.

Shifting into “Robot Stop” should have meant relentless energy all the way to the end of the show but this rendition gave us a little breathing room. After a quick tour of the stage by Kenny-Smith with a tequila bottle and a slower tease of “Witchcraft”’s main riffs halted the pace before catapulting back into the refrain of “Robot Stop” for the finale. This was one of the most creative “Robot Stop” jams I’ve heard to date, bringing an interesting variance to a classic hit.

The weather did little to keep this show from being a set to remember. An explosive metal start gave way to extended funk and jams, only to be sandwiched by an even more explosive finish in “Robot Stop”. No microtonal songs and lack of an extended heavy offering was no problem for me, with “Sense”, “Change”, and “Hot Water” as easy highlights of a funky focused set.