North American Tour Recap #1: Anthem To Forest Hills
It’s your ground correspondent Rowdy here for a first-week recap of the ‘24 American Tour!
The Anthem - Washington, D.C.
DC was a win for the “King Gizzard is a jam band” camp with a MASSIVE two-and-half-hour-but-only-14-song setlist! A traditional opener at this point, “The Dripping Tap” started the show with heavy teases of upcoming setlist song “Antarctica” as well as “Am I In Heaven?” and “You Can Be Your Silhouette.”
After a classic “Iron Lung,” “Antarctica” stole the show for me with its debut. This is going to be a fresh and funky one to catch live every time. Played shorter than the album and pretty vanilla, this will be the case until they give it a few more plays. But after that? I can’t wait to hear this really jammed out.
“Evil Death Roll” is always a fun time and the mosh pit certainly loves a good Nonagon song. But the Washington DC ‘24 “Ice V” -> “The River” is one we’ll be talking about for ages, so you might as well check out our dedicated setlist page for the recording.
At the end of unfinished “The Fourth Color” was an incredibly notable jam based around the new song “Daily Blues.” I thought they were just going to play the whole song out of “The Fourth Color” but definitely check out the live twenty-two-minute “Crumbling Castle” and associated jams.
Then there was some metal (“Supercell” > “Mars for the Rich,” “Motor Spirit,” “Gaia”). Of note was Joey introducing the band after “Motor Spirit,” certainly not a first but it hasn’t happened in recent memory. As several members of the band went to pee, Joey jumped on the bass and accompanied Cavs for the drum solo. The whole band finally returned and ended the show with the refrain to “Gaia.”
Forest Hills Stadium Night 1 - New York City
photo by Frytography3540Things got off to a hot start in NYC with “Field of Vision”’s debut. This plays well live but not much to say about this short little number. Just make sure to yell along with “FIELD. OF. VISION.” with Stu so I’m not the only one doing it next time.
The only Nonagon of the tour (so far) appeared next in the form of “Gamma Knife” -> “People Vultures” -> “Mr. Beat”. Long and jammy, this is one to listen to for any fan of nine-sided shapes.
“Work this Time” has morphed more into a collaborative group jam session than the usual Joey wail-fest on the guitar. I think with more time this will develop but it certainly gives a different and stronger energy to the song than we’re used to. But it's never a bad thing to share the spotlight.
To close out the show, we were delivered a big ol’ microtonal section (the first of tour). Check out the instantly legendary “Rattlesnake” with a whole host of teases and massive shoutout to audience member Gabby for nailing the Nuclear Fusion intro after holding out for two nights to sing.
Forest Hills Stadium Night 2 - New York City
photo by Frytography3540Man, just look at all those setlist notes.
It’s always a fun time when Stu walks out on stage with flute in hand for the opener, and a classic “Hot Water” > “Robot Stop” was the reward.
“Antarctica” was back and nobody was complaining. Gotta hear it live folks, and let Cookie sing!
“You Can Be Your Silhouette” was a welcome deep cut to break up the slew of new songs in this set. Very rambly and jazzy, this plays a little harder than the album due to less measured notes of the Sketches recording from the studio.
“Dragon” saw its American live debut and the mosh pit was absolutely having it. The ending transition chugged expertly into “The Great Chain of Being” before finishing the metal section with “Motor Spirit.”
“Slow Jam I” made a semi-rare appearance, usually only showing up a few times per tour. Lucky NYC folks got serenaded and we’ll see who else gets lucky chasing the song this tour.
photo by Frytography3540There was some kind of improv jam as the guys changed to microtonal instruments. Sexy alien made a frightening appearance; apparently Joey was playing the Star Spangled banner (although you couldn’t tell live), and all weirdo hell broke loose. Banter and weird stage antics have been top notch on this tour already.
“Billabong Valley” was the usual soulful Ambrose-led start to the microtonal section. Only this time, Ambrose sang his vocals from an inflatable gator delivered via crowd-surfing. The sexy cowboy donned his mount and somehow survived the ride for the entirety of the song.
The “Digital Black” suite is always a treat and the pit added a certain intensity to this performance, especially from the packed bowl above. “Am I in Heaven?” was the jam that graced us after “Murder of the Universe” and while a satisfying conclusion to the show, I was spoiled by the Columbus ‘22 version (which was also outside and in the rain).
A big ol’ kick in the face with eight and a half hours of Gizz in three days was an excellent way to start tour. Plenty of metal, new material, and long jams to keep those fans eating. No synth table will be a disappointment for some, but catch the first appearance with our next show recaps from Boston to Toronto coming soon!