Forest Hills II was the third show in three nights to start the tour, and the second consecutive marathon show. In some senses, these first three shows can be grouped together as the launching pad for the tour. Things began to shift a bit (perhaps two nights later in Boston, for sure the night after that in Portland) but these still lay down a marker for King Gizz's ambitions for this tour. For my money, the opener in D.C. is the best pound for pound show of the first three, but this night in Queens is also jam packed, so let's get into it.

The flutter of Stu's flute gets us going, and there's an extended lead-in to Hot Water, with the band in playful mood. In fact, the Hot Water riff itself doesn't materialize until the 4:00 minute mark (I'm listening to the Bandcamp recording directly from the band). From there you get one of the honest-to-goodness best version of Hot Water you're likely to hear. It's blows right through it's 12 minute runtime, and lands in an equal not Robot Stop. It's a tease-heavy version, throwing in quotes from at least five other Gizz songs, and segueing into the tour's second version of Ice V.  Like the D.C. version from a couple nights ago, this Ice V focuses more on chunky guitar riffs than dancey grooves, but it smokes nonetheless.

After a great Bitter Boogie, we get a suite of Flight b741 songs, which is a feature of these early shows on the tour, and that's chased by the always enjoyable Hot Wax. 

The metal set follows, and that peaks with the Dragon > The Great Chain of Being pairing. Dragon is such a wild song to play live, and I'm always sort of just impressed that they can pull it off. And The Great Chain of Being is a treat in a metal set.

After a supersized Motor Spirit, the band hangs out in Slow Jam 1 for a bit, which unspools slowly and delightfully. The Billabong Valley features Ambrose crowdsurfing on an inflatable gator and quoting The Clash, which sounds awesome when I type it out but no doubt was a thousand times better to witness in person, and an unfortunate drawback of reviewing shows only through the audio and/or YouTube videos. Remember, kids, nothing beats being at the show in person. 

I consider the Han-Tyumi suite an absolute treat, and I hope to catch in person one day. Not sure how to review it other than the band absolutely sizzles all the way through. Am I in Heaven? could be one of the best Gizz closers. Such a great way to end the show. 

All told, this one is a heater of a show, and a nice cap to the opening three-show run. I'm excited to listen to the evolution of the band over the coming weeks, too, since I know what's coming. Nonetheless, it's quite a start to a tour. 

Highlights are Hot Water, Robot Stop > Ice V, Dragon > The Great Chain of Being, Slow Jam 1, MOTU suite, and Am I in Heaven?