Hard.

These are my thoughts.

Asheville is a heady ass town, so it felt appropriate that my first ever King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard show would be there.

I've been an immense fan of Geese — who were supporting KGLW — for about a year now ever since I saw them in a small club in Durham, NC. They are in fact my new favorite band. This probably put me in the rare category of a person at a Gizz show who knows more material by the opening band, which is cool with me as I really enjoy going into shows blind (movies, too).

I had worked with Geese before — they're on the cover of issue 2 of PHILM The Magazine — so I scored a couple guest and photo passes. Most shows let the photographers shoot the first three songs and that's that, but for some blessed reason at this particular show, we were allowed to shoot the ENTIRE SHOW. Both bands. Whole show. Wow.

Geese ripped of course — I'm not sure if the crowd fully got it, but they ripped. One thing I think people don't quite grasp about opening bands in huge venues is that it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy of possible failure.

You don't get a light show, half the venue is empty, your volume is lower than the headliner, and no one knows your music. Geese should be absorbed for the first time in an intimate setting, but regardless, I'm sure they picked up a hefty amount of new fans from this tour.

The cool thing about being able to shoot the whole show is that the venue let us shoot some in the pit, leave and hang out, and go back in with no problem whatsoever. This is pretty unheard of, so it was like flying first class.

Gizz was about to begin.

The lights dropped. The crowd roared. The Gizz entered.

After that, I don't remember much.

For me, as a Gizz noob, a lot of the songs bled into each other — almost reminiscent of a DJ set or something. I mean this in a wonderful way, by the way. Like I said, I really only knew a handful of songs, and the ones that spoke to me the most were the more jazzy spacey ones. I kinda skipped over the Motorhead content, as it's not really my THANG, but I also didn't dislike it.

That ended at this show.

I get a lot of DMs and comments asking me how to get into Gizz, and — I never know what to say. Plenty of people have plenty of opinions on this, and you can fall into a harrowing wormhole with their catalog, but I gotta say - it's not unlike Phish.

You just gotta go to a show.

The whole show was a whirlwind of metal, insane visuals, pulsating guitars, wild dance moves, and unhinged jamming. I fucking loved it!

Between shooting video and photos — which was so fun — I ventured out into the crowd several times. I observed the crowd, the band, and everything in between. I took it all in. I didn't know any songs hardly, but it didn't matter. The Gizzverse locked in for me finally.

There's an argument to be made that King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard are the best band on Earth right now. Or at least the best live band. It's an adventure. It's a show. Here is a band who deeply respects their audience. Here is a band who doesn't take themselves too seriously. Here is a band who isn't afraid to make political statements. Free Palestine, by the way.

I felt no pretension in the audience. I felt fun and love.

Nobody seemed wasted or fucked up. No one was holding down their territory with a tarp. No one fought. No one was ejected. Even the crowd surfers were simply given a stern talking to and released back into the audience. It was amazing to see.

I've gone back and watched the show on YouTube — which is another great way to get into the band. Go to a show. Watch your show. Let it all lock in. You'll get it. My heart goes out to Asheville, which would be nearly decimated a couple weeks later. I'm grateful I got to see this show and enjoy the town.

Can't wait for my next one!