This was a hometown show, and I was fortunate enough to know the venue staff well enough that they offered me a backstage pass. Thank God for you Riley, the crowd at Waterstreet was absolutely packed in there like sardines, both on the ground level and the balcony. Sight-lines were non-existent, and if you're not familiar with Waterstreet, the sound quality there plummets anywhere behind the pit. I was the guy standing in the front corner in front of the speakers with a grin on my face a mile wide, with plenty of elbow room, and access to the bar whenever I needed a fresh beer.

 

Sweet baby Jesus was I pumped to hear the opening notes of The Dripping Tap, a tune that I had obsessed over since it's single release earlier in the year. The long-form composition and jamming that this tune showcases boded exceptionally well for the future of a phish convert, and 2022 would further cement KG's prowess as a quasi-jamband (minus all the wooks).

 

I like ITRN, but it's by no means my favorite subsection of their ever-growing genre hopping capabilities. Venusian 1 & 2, however, are two of my favorites from their metal catalog, so I was thrilled, knowing that they typically showcase the metal tunes at the beginning and end of their sets. While ITRN may be a bit too much thrash, Mind Fuzz is the perfect mix of their earlier aussie rock chaos and melody. The Mind Fuzz suite was just perfect, but it didn't just end as expected, we were instead treated to a seamless transition into our only MOTU of the evening, a flawless Balrog, which then went straight into the only Nonagon sighting of the night with 15 minute rendition (!!) of Evil Death Roll, which was packed with teases and really superb jamming skills from a band that up until 2022 hadn't really done much jamming at all (outside of Head On/Pill, Am I in Heaven? and FAFYL).

 

The rest of the show was a bit of a jukebox, which really encapsulated the  Omnium Gatherum feeling in a nutshell. Presumptuous got a nice jam, with Amby taking the lead vocals for the first time that evening, after which Stu busted out his Flute for readings of Trapdoor and Grim Reaper. One memory that particularly stands out from this show is being in the basement (private bathrooms were particularly clutch!) during Trapdoor and hearing the floor above me creaking and bouncing under the weight of the fans. It was an awesome moment, everyone was moving. 

 

Cookie got his moment next, with a surprising Down the Sink, a tune I was not at all expecting to hear, but as Gumboot was my intro to KG, it was a welcomed treat. Amby took center stage again for Straws in the Wind, which featured lots of crowd call and response (perhaps a bit too much in my opinion, but Shrimp Boy gonna shrimp!) including a call-out for low crowd energy. Our only dose of microtonal writing closed the show out with a monster Rattlesnake, filled to the brim with teases (Automation, Minimum Brain Size, O.N.E, Nuclear Fusion, Sleep Drifter, and Honey) and furious guitar shredding.

 

I've seen and performed a LOT of shows at waterstreet, but this one tops them all. The energy was just massive. You could feel that everyone in the room was on the same wave length, and that we were sharing the same thought: that this band is one of the greatest bands on earth right now.

My first time catching KG, and I had to cross the border to do so, but it was worth it!

 

The sound at The Rebel was subpar at best, but the band was firing on all cylinders this night. Starting out with the ITRN tunes is always going to get the crowd going, and the screen behind the stage provided awesome pixelated and evil visuals. Being a huge Polygondwanaland fan, I was elated to hear Crumbling Castle and Fourth Color, which was followed by a nice cool down pairing of Bird Song and Work this Time. Joey really shreds on the latter, which was a nice surprise, as I hadn't heard any live versions at that point.

 

Next up the boys switched over to their microtonal instruments for a triple dose of FMB. Little did we know KG & LW were just around the corner, but back then, this pairing of Open Water, Doom City, and Nuclear Fusion felt like one of the most unique concert experiences I'd been fortunate enough to witness.

 

I've come to love how they group their tunes, and a FFF pairing of Cyboogie & Real's Not Real was an awesome follow-up to the surreal microtonal section of the show. A quick dive into Nonagon got the room moving again, before another ITRN pairing really brought the roof down. People were going nuts. After following the ever-docile Phish around the country for the last decade (sup fellow phish.netters!) this was a much needed shock to the system of energy and mayhem.

 

As we had a long drive back to the states that night, we dipped during Am I in Heaven? , a tune that was fairly unknown to me at that time. Shoutout to Toronto Parking Enforcement for the parking ticket, which I finally just paid last week to ensure I'd be allowed back in Canada next month after the Thrice show in Niagara.