King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard at Gundlach Bundschu Winery
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is an enigmatic band, somehow able to push out multiple albums a year, each building on the greater lore of the band while also having a stark contrast to one another. Hence my example would be the transition from their recognizable psychedelic, prog influenced album L.W. to a synth laden, dreamy album titled Butterfly 3000, back to their original audio aesthetic but even more grandiose. I’ve been a KGLW fan for a few years now and their existence has become the stuff of legend among friends. No one can agree on their favorite album, song or stylistic era. Their shows too are legendary, sometimes spanning hours at a time and attracting a diverse crowd of listeners, all bent on hearing their favorite song from just a slice of King Gizz’s diverse musical history.
It was an outdoor venue, facing the setting sun and overlooking the vineyard of Gundlach Bundschu winery. Fellow concertgoers consisted of young adults, some looked as if they had just come from a metal show and others as if they had left the local overpriced vintage boutique. I was dressed as the latter, I will admit I wore a sweater to a King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard show. The other half of the audience consisted of pinot noir clutching millenials and elderly couples reliving their rock and roll days. The mixed bag made it all the more interesting.
Spellling (with three L’s) opened the evening with a fantastical performance of cuts from her whimsically brilliant album The Turning Wheel. I had heard her music previously, and I was intrigued by the eclectic nature of her songwriting which was a dive into poetic psychedelia, dealing in a fantasy world that feels oddly familiar. Jazzy basslines, experimental pop production accompanied her beautiful vocals.
The opener, Spellling, playing with four accompanying musicians right before sunset.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard followed Spellling, and the energy in the crowd shifted. From the entrancing music of Spellling to the abrasive sounds of “Organ Farmer” from their album Infest the Rat’s Nest. Immediately a mosh pit opened in front of the stage, people diving in and out throughout the show. Although the band played recognizable songs , the show felt like a cohesive jam session as if an album was being put together in front of our eyes. Between some songs the band enjoyed bantering with the crowd and each other while guitars were switched out and vocalists traded microphones. It was an intensely collaborative effort, no single member stood out, each had their turn in the sun doing vocals, even if lead vocalist Stu Mackenzie was at center stage.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard playing at Gundlach Bundschu Winery. Image was taken while my hands were shaking from the movement of the crowd.
To be completely honest, I had to utilize Setlist.fm in order to recount what songs were played due to the elongation of each song, and the way in which one bled into the next. It was only the last song that I immediately recognized, it was the opening track “The Dripping Tap” to the album the band had released days prior, Omnium Gatherum. The song serves as an introduction to the rock masterpiece of an album, standing at 18:17 long, feeling like a blissful eternity in a live setting. The mouth of the mosh pit turned into a void that engulfed the hillside. I was nowhere near where the modest location I had started watching the show from. I was directly at the front, thrashing among a sea of limbs, carrying crowd surfers and picking up muddied moshers out of the grit. I relished in the chaos, singing “ Drip, drip from the tap don't slip“ over and over with the rest of the pit.
Where I ended up after my stint in the mosh pit, right in front of the stage.