King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Wrap Red Rocks With Another Debut & Weather-Shortened Set

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard wrapped up their Red Rocks run with a double header that kicked off with a “The Dripping Tap” and saw the band dipping into their expansive catalog early. The late show naturally felt a rain delay but rallied with “Rattle Snake” along with a standout performance of “Straws In The Wind.”

“The Dripping Tap” was a long-awaited tune for KGLW to kick off the early set at Red Rocks after launching their run at The Caverns in Tennessee with the jam vehicle. The Australian rockers then offered tunes from Polygondwanaland, Fishing for Fishies, Butterfly 3000, Gumboot Soup, I’m in Your Mind Fuzz, Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava, Omnium Gatherum, Nonagon Infinity and more. The songs flowed freely for the early set. The Gizzverse faithful getting into the venue early, and staying all day.

The band — Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood and Michael Cavanagh — went in and out of classic material and new stuff from their latest LP, PetroDragonic Apocalypse, beginning with ”Converge” into “Witchcraft,” ahead of the “Satan Speeds Up” debut. Stu MacKenzie busted out the flute, taking flight on the riffage. The group then told the story of “Shanghai” before heading into “Most of What I Like” and “The Wheel.” “Evil Death Roll” had shades of “Iron Lung” before the band wrapped things up with a flowing “Magma.”

The late show was a little later than expected. A classic Red Rocks storm rolled in and had everyone hunkered down. After about an hour-long delay, the band came out, excited to play. KGLW ramped things up with “Rattle Snake” and kept the motif going with “Open Water.” “Pleura” came next ahead of an incredible performance of “Starws In The Wind,” which saw Ambrose Kenny-Smith getting into the audience. Amby had to keep going for “Presumptuous,” which headed into a 13-minute “Hypertension,” and a saucy “Ice V.”

King Gizz slowed things down before dropping everyone into “Hell,” which kicked off a “Mars For The Rich” from 2019’s Infest The Rats Nest. A fitting “Supercell” blew up as lightning zigzagged across the sky. “Gila Monster” brought things to a rowdy close.

Watch fan-shot video featuring high-quality audio of both shows below:

Photos by Jeremy Williams

Setlists (via KGLW.net)

Early Show

Set: The Dripping Tap, Crumbling Castle > The Fourth Colour, Self-Immolate[1], Converge > Witchcraft, Satan Speeds Up[2], Shanghai, This Thing, Most Of What I Like, The Wheel, Evil Death Roll, Magma

Footnotes:

• [1] With drum solo
• [2] Debut

Show Notes: This show featured the debut of Satan Speeds Up. Shanghai featured the “let’s get real high” jam. Evil Death Roll contained Iron Lung quotes. Following the show those attending both the early and late shows were allowed to stay in the venue and the band’s new album PetroDragonic Apocalypse was played over the PA.

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Late Show

Set: Rattlesnake, Open Water, Pleura, Straws In The Wind, Presumptuous-> Hypertension-> Ice V, Slow Jam 1, Hell > Mars For The Rich, Supercell, Gila Monster

Show Notes: Scheduled opening band Kamikaze Palm Tree’s set was cancelled due to an inclement weather warning. Rattlesnake contained Sleep Drifter teases/quotes, Honey teases and Boogieman Sam quotes, and had some of the “Rattle, rattle, rattle” refrains changed to “boogie, boogie, boogie.” Slow Jam 1 contained Iron Lung quotes. Slow Jam 1 contained Her and I (Slow Jam 2) quotes. Hell contained Superbug teases.