Let me open by saying that I understand - eight and a half hours was incredibly daunting for me, too, and I was approaching any marathon-style listening far more cautiously after my tango with the Based God. Luckily, Gizzard has made the task a bit easier - three days, split into two halves each for six individual sets. Taken like that, it becomes less intimidating and far more like listening to At Fillmore East six times in a row in terms of length. In terms of contents across this show, King Gizzard draws plenty from their vast and expansive catalog - 21 albums are represented here, from their debut 12 Bar Bruise to the heavy psychedelia of Mind Fuzz and Nonagon Infinity to the progressive rock of Polygondwanaland to the thrash of Infest the Rats' Nest up to the jam material on Omnium Gatherum. Amidst this varied material is solid chunks of entire albums, which certainly makes for some truly interesting live renditions of some of these albums - Day 2 ends with a great performance of about half of Nonagon Infinity, which was certainly one of my favorite parts. They draw on more than entire album cuts, and many of the more iconic Gizzard cuts like "Work This Time" or "Magenta Mountain" while also giving plenty of love to more overlooked moments from their catalog - promotional posters described the concerts as a "Marathon Set", and it's easy to see why. It really is an excellent set, and one that lends itself particularly well to the group's jamming tendencies throughout.
Speaking of the group, holy shit - I don't think there's another modern group that can hold their own live quite like King Gizzard can. Don't believe me? Listen to the 18-minute version of "Her and I (Slow Jam II)". Throughout all three days of their performance, Gizzard is galvanized, technically proficient, filled with chemistry, and ready to have a good fucking time. Every song they do is practically exploding from start to finish, and to name any specific highlights is honestly hard because of the exceptional performance on display for all 8 1/2 hours here - "Rattlesnake" becomes a medley of other King Gizz songs in what may be the album's most action-packed moments. "Crumbling Castle", an already expansive progressive rock song, becomes even more soaring and chaotic. If anything, it feels like the further in you go, the group only gains energy and power - that isn't to say that moments like the 20-minutes of "The River" or the powerful I'm in Your Mind Fuzz medley lack energy, because of course they don't, but the slow burn of energy on "Wah Wah" that immediately follows the chaotic "Cut Throat Boogie" is fucking excellent. Every member is astonishingly good at what they do, from Michael Cavanagh's smashing drums to the guitar walls from Joey Walker and Cook Craig to the skillful frontman energy of Stu Mackenzie, who is certainly doing his part to keep it an entertaining show. There are so many mind-boggling individual highlights to this show that listing them out is rather difficult, but I'll do my best; "Mars for the Rich" is a fantastic way to open, immediately going in guns blazing; "Magenta Mountain" gets the proper jamming off to a great start with an incredible Joey Walker solo to boot; I'm all here for 10 minutes of "Evil Death Roll"; The Murder of the Universe medley from Day 2 is glorious in its meandering, as is the Nonagon medley from the end of the day; "Work This Time" is a showstopper; "Her and I (Slow Jam II)" may be the pinnacle of the show; the "Venusian" medley is 100% galvanizing thrash metal from the group, and contains a fantastic-if-brief drum solo from Michael Cavanagh; "Let Me Mend the Past" is a powerful and beautiful song in its melancholy; "Float Along - Fill Your Lungs" is a stunning way to end the series of shows - it really is perfect.
2022 was a miraculous year for King Gizzard, including five studio album releases (three of which in one month) - it's hard to see their three-day performance at Red Rocks as nothing short of the group's culmination. Their musical chemistry on point, their set drawing on the old and new for a miraculous experience of a show, and brilliant reinventions and performances of their material from start to finish. It's amazing how tight and consistent the group is across what is nearly nine hours of constant playing, even if it is divided across three days. The album is so tight and filled with brilliant performances that I can very easily see this in a few years going down as one of the most significant live releases of all time, and there lays little doubt in my mind that this is a seminal release from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - it must be heard to be believed.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Live at Red Rocks '22
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