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

The second evening started off with a reprieve from the rain and the first microtonal music of the Seattle residency. “Static Electricity” had its tour debut and I would love to hear this more often. This haunting song keeps things interesting with verses that do in fact crackle with static.

Next, Gaspard, the band’s sound tech, was wrenched from backstage to do the throat singing intro to “Nuclear Fusion”. Sorry bud, you’ve got to work on your length and sustaining that vibrato. Still, he did it in French, so that was cool. No break in the music saw the transition into “Honey”. Kenny-Smith’s harmonica was the highlight of this love song, with the sweetest guitar and bass licks a King Gizzard microtonal song can provide.

Then it was time to yell, with live favorite “Gila Monster” back on the menu to start a quick flurry of metal songs. “Witchcraft” impressed as always, with McKenzie’s haunting punctuation of the title at the end of every verse and King Gizzard’s return to two drummers with Kenny-Smith on crash cymbal.

“Self-Immolate” continues as the chosen drum solo song and, even though I had seen it before, it can’t be overstated how impressive it is watching Michael Cavanaugh play. Maybe I just have a soft spot for sweaty drummers but the crowd formed a circle pit to encourage Cavanaugh on, exploding into chaos at the conclusion of his solo and the true intro of “Self-Immolate”.

I was happy to catch prog-rock combo “Crumbling Castle” -> “The Fourth Color” for the first time live, as it’s probably my favorite transition in all of music. The duo is played seamlessly together but splits the narrative thread of polyrhythmic album Polygondwanaland in exchange for some of the most mind melting psychedelia breakdowns the band has to offer. The creeping buildup and release of “Crumbling Castle” into the drum roll of “The Fourth Color” was transcendent and are the only songs I would make mandatory at every King Gizzard show.

Transitioning genres but keeping a similar pace, blues rock favorite “This Thing” turned out to be one of the few tracks played at every stop. The mosh pit changed to a dance pit as Kenny-Smith wailed on harmonica, only to give way to the expected Walker guitar solo (although I’m still wishing for more length here).

“Astroturf” continued to get its live reps in. The confidence and animation of the band had improved substantially since the debut at The Caverns, with McKenzie leaning into his usual vocal improvisations and strong flute solo. Cavs also plays expertly on this track, seeming to restrain himself from a second drum solo.

Walker had another chance at the spotlight during “Work This Time”, keeping his streak alive of soulful lyrics accompanied by a guitar that speaks for itself. A higher authority seemed to shed tears of approval as rain returned to the farm in the middle of Walker’s solo, finally giving me some of that sweet shredding I so desperately desired. The conclusion of a quick “Garden Goblin” from Nicolas “Cookie” Craig brought us to one last song to end the show. And what a finale.





“Dripping Tap” joined the other handful of songs played at every Residency location but this rendition was one for the history books at just over 30 minutes. During an extended intro that seemed to channel AC/DC and Tool simultaneously, Kenny-Smith left the stage, walking into the crowd before anyone could rouse from their jam trance. An inflatable raft and intrepid crowd member floated above the mosh pit as Kenny-Smith led the crowd through his vocal intro.





I always think I’m going to get sick of this song but the energy “The Dripping Tap” has as a closer is unbelievable. There are those who might say that taking 30 minutes for a song can exclude others and jamming can be “noodly” but the six piece balances these issues well. Pace stayed varied throughout the song, with features of four other Gizzard songs throughout for a killer jam medley. Any pace lost from stagnation during improv was regained simply by turning “The Dripping Tap” back on.

This show polarized me more than any of the others. Oddly the first half of this show was near the bottom of my Residency picks, while the second half is at the top. A microtonal and metal section with limited personal highlights was recovered by some of my favorite 2023 performances from the group. “Crumbling Castle” -> “Fourth Color” and a legendary “The Dripping Tap” were highlights to remember not only from Seattle but the whole tour.