Intro
A lot has changed for me as a fan since Chicago ‘23. After I wrote my recap of last year’s residency I was offered to join KGLW.net as a volunteer. I did and it opened up a can of worms after I became the lead writer for the site’s song histories, where I documented every song King Gizzard ever wrote or performed. From there I only got deeper into this with show recaps, tour guide help and forum threads. I was already following the band closely but now I’m even more obsessed, so waiting for the next Chicago show was certainly exciting. It was made even more exciting when it was announced that it would be a marathon show (three hour set) with no repeats from the Salt Shed. Not only that, the opening band would be Geese, who had just released an incredible record called 3D Country. Not to mention that Gizzard released Flight b741 and started live streams for the entire tour with bootlegs to come soon after.
Needless to say, I had some hopeful expectations. I wanted the first half of Nonagon Infinity. I wanted “Crumbling Castle” into “The Fourth Colour.” I wanted “Hell” and “Dragon” and “Flamethrower.” I wanted deeper cuts like “You Can Be Your Silhouette.” Time permitting, I would want a “Head On/Pill.” More than anything, I wanted to hear a full performance of my favorite Gizzard suite: “Han-Tyumi and the Murder of the Universe.” I was so desperate for this that my flair on r/KGATLW read “Praying for MOTU suite during Chicago ‘24” ever since the band announced the show.
Somehow, King Gizzard did all of that and then some.
Pre-Show
Last year when I discussed King Gizzard’s residency at The Salt Shed, I wanted to note how much I appreciate the work put into the venue to make it what it is (I’m happy to report they’ve only improved since then). That said, going into this I was a bit weary because Huntington Bank Pavilion is not one of my favorite venues by any means.
Some of the cons are actually its pros. Northerly Island is a peninsula on Lake Michigan that exists on the other side of a massive expressway called Lake Shore Drive. On said peninsula are a number of attractions such as the Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium. Not to mention it is home to multiple beaches, a dock and a few different parks. The idea of having a venue by the lake surrounded by attractions works on paper and it does pay off in certain ways. The view of the city is great and being by the water is really nice. Hearing the waves as you’re waiting in line is lovely. But all of this is part of the issue. Northerly Island is a packed area with few ways of getting in. In fact there’s really only one way in and out for Huntington Bank Pavilion, which sits at the very end of the road. The bottlenecking becomes an issue too when you have thousands of people trying to leave at the same time. I can only imagine public transportation isn’t great either, especially walking. It’s not like you can just take a three-minute jog from the city to the theater. You have to walk to Lake Shore Drive, go under it and then go to the very end of the road.
The other issue is that the venue itself isn’t spectacular. It’s essentially a parking lot with some bleachers, tents and a stage. There’s no incline outside of the elevated seats. There’s no cover like you see at Jacob’s Pavilion or the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater. There’s not even permanent buildings. Everything is shipping containers or tents, including the merch and the food. It’s the bare minimum of an outdoor stage, which is disappointing considering the artists that play there. I have no doubt in my mind that if they put the money in to make it a proper venue that it would be one of the best in the city. As it exists however, it feels like an afterthought with so much wasted potential. To put it bluntly, I did not have high expectations. That said, I will say that this was the best experience I’ve had at the venue and I’ll get to that throughout this recap.
I did try to go to the meetup at Flo and Santos but I saw the line go out the door with tons of people inside and figured it probably wasn’t going to be easy to get in. I also knew that for someone who doesn’t really chat with strangers, going to this wasn’t going to be my cup of tea. Flo and Santos did graciously provide a space for the weirdo swarm to converge, but they did it with the stipulation that no merch sales were allowed. From what I gathered people did give away things inside but it wasn’t your typical meetup. Between the long line and the lack of vendors, I gave up and ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe eating burgers next to Cab Calloway’s jacket. It was fine, probably not as fun as the meetup though and I regret not going.
When I got to Northerly it was clear that Gizzard was in town. A bunch of fans were huddled around the venue: some in line, some at the beach right across the way, some sitting and having picnics under the trees. It was the biggest crowd I’ve seen at the venue and I wasn’t the only one to say that. When walking around an older man stopped me and asked who was playing, where they’re from and what music they play (a question that is very hard to answer on the spot). He remarked that for as many times he’s exercised on the peninsula, he’s never seen a crowd like this, and that he was certainly interested in learning more about the band. Anyways, there wasn’t much of a lot scene here which was somewhat surprising, though I think there were one or two sticker vendors. I know Chicago has some strict laws about vending so this may have deterred people, though I can’t say for certain.
I didn’t see any reported soundchecks on Reddit or on the KGLW.net forum so out of curiosity, I wandered over to the back of the venue where its lawn is. While there are fences in front, you have some clear shots of the stage and are perfectly positioned to hear the music. What I got to hear was really special. As I made my way there, I could hear the band soundchecking “Vomit Coffin,” which instantly made it clear that at least one of my hopes for the night was locked in. The band made a transition into the epic finale “Murder of the Universe” which went well enough for a quick jam and contained teases of “Sad Pilot” and “Road Train,” though the Han-Tyumi narration was doubled. When it finished, Joey started jokingly saying the song’s title in a Liverpudlian accent, as if Ringo Starr was Han-Tyumi. Stu added something along the lines of “it makes sense, he is Charles (UK).” The synth table was then checked with the band starting to build up “Swan Song.” Stu said he wasn’t sure how to play it and Joey sang improvised lyrics about the sun hitting the stage. This ended up being the roughest of the soundcheck as Stu sang the first verse twice and the band missed cues. It was clear that it was giving them some issues. Joey mentioned that he wasn’t too confident in it but Stu said it was more a matter of figuring out the structure itself than anything with Ambrose backing that sentiment. They ended up doing it again, this time much stronger than the first. The soundcheck ended with a quick “Set” that was rough around the edges but clearly able to grow when showtime came around. As all of that happened the crew was testing out the screen and showed some visuals such as the Cyboogie face and the Nonagon Infinity symbol. At the very end, everyone but Ambrose and Cook left the stage while they noodled on keys and saxophone.
photo by TimelandIsWackySeeing this from the lawn behind the venue was really unique. People heard it in line but I watched the band play and experiment through the fence. At most there were about ten of us who watched it in total. It really showed that for as fluid as Gizzard shows can be, there’s always so much hard work behind it. When I heard those synth sets I thought that it’s just a few dials to twist and turn, that it’s all automated. Then I saw them work on it and was really humbled by it. You see the effort that the entire band has to put in to get something to work right. You realize the collaboration between the band and techs over at the soundboard. There’s so much to sync up that it’s mind boggling. It put it all into perspective and I was so glad to have witnessed this moment.
The line for Northerly was something else. By the end of soundcheck it had reached the lawn of the venue, but that was really just the beginning. More and more people came and the line went from being steps away from the venue to across an entire field. It then got crazier. At some point the line started wrapping back to the sidewalk everyone else was on, creating a very long U-turn shape that went all the way back to the venue’s parking lot near the Adler Planetarium. I’ve never seen a line like it, and it filled me with some dread considering I wanted to grab a poster.
Besides the anxiety, waiting in line was actually pretty fun. Outside of hearing Geese soundcheck “Gravity Blues” and “Disco,” listening to fans talk about the music and seeing all their unique shirts was entertaining. Some fans even gave stuff out in line. One person (who I unfortunately cannot credit as I didn’t get their name, reach out to me if this sounds like you) gave free stickers of the Chicago flag with gators over the four red stars. It immediately went onto my water bottle. But they weren’t the only one. While I was waiting in line I noticed that someone else on the other side was wearing the exact same KGLW.net shirt I was wearing. I looked at him, he looked at me, and we ended up talking. Turns out it was Tora Tapes, who just flew in from Denver to catch and record this show. He handed me a custom made CD called “Tora Tapes Vol. 1” which had a bunch of highlights from Gizzard shows he taped in Europe and Australia, and explained that each CD has custom writing. My CD is labeled “Stu Feet Pics,” which is highly suspicious but very funny. The creativity of King Gizzard’s fans is really something special and it was on full display despite there being few vendors.
Getting back to the line itself, it was a bit confusing. What didn’t make sense going into it was that they wanted to separate those with bags from those without bags. They did this by separating the lines in two, but also not really telling you how to separate. Bag check obviously means those with bags, but it also means people with poster tubes or other containers. Really anything that has to be searched is a “bag check” ticket, but they didn’t explain it well which led to a weird fork in the road with one guy quietly telling us through a megaphone how it’s supposed to work. It’s not like the bag check was horrible though, at least for me. I showed the inside of the tube and walked through the metal detector, phone and wallet on me. That was allowed and there wasn’t a fuss about it. I heard stories about others getting stopped at the gate but I got through just fine.
As soon as I entered I immediately went into the merch line on the left side of the pavilion. It was massive with at least seventy five people waiting to get what they wanted. I was going to get in line no matter what but it made my heart sink a little. I didn’t want to wait there all day. Then I got a point of advice from someone that ended up saving the day. On the right side of the pavilion was a smaller merch table that specialized in vinyl and CDs, but they also had the posters. I got in that line and it moved faster than the other one. While I did want to get more than the night’s poster (such as a Geese shirt and maybe the Portland poster which was somehow still in stock), I wanted to make sure I got this show’s poster more than anything else. While in line at the other tent, I noticed that they still had foils. I’m never the type to go for them but as I waited there and thought about how special the night was going to be, I decided that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I bought the foil out of a stack of maybe fifteen remaining and got it in the tube. By the time I was in my seat, the remaining foils had sold out completely. Based on a quick Reddit conversation I had, they had already sold out at the main tent while I was in line. As I sat in my seat and watched the line continue in its weird hook shape, I felt lucky.
Let’s talk about those seats, by the way. I sat up in the bleachers on stage right. I didn’t know what to expect but the seats themselves were decently comfortable. Nothing spectacular but they did their job and the height created a good view of the venue. What I didn’t expect was the wind. I probably should have considered this is Chicago, but you could really feel the wind hitting you the further you went up and it stayed like that the whole night. The other thing that stood out was how wobbly the seats felt. I never got the feeling I was in any danger but for their size I was a bit shocked by how as soon as you moved, you could feel the structure move as well.
Thinking about it more, those seats are either really good or really bad. If you’re sitting towards the left of those stands, I’d imagine you’re not seeing the band or the screens very much. Even from my seat there wasn’t a direct view of Galea’s visuals. I could make things out but I didn’t get the full experience. It seemed like a bigger issue for the VIP side than it was for me as they came in at an even worse angle. This is one of those things that really highlights the lost potential of the venue. If it was a curated stage you could have better sightlines while not relying on bleachers and massive tents. I didn’t ruin my night and I ended up enjoying the seats but I couldn’t help but feel it was a bandaid on a much larger issue.
Geese
The opening act for the night was Geese, a five piece rock band from Brooklyn that recently came out with their second album 3D Country, an incredible piece of rock that straddles the line between beautiful and charming country music and paranoid post-punk, all with apocalyptic and spiritual lyrics. When they were announced as the opener, I was fully on board. In fact the reason I knew about them was because of King Gizzard fans telling others to give the album a listen. They had a good name within the community so it was exciting right from the start. After the release of Flight b741, it made even more sense. It felt like they were an extension of the album’s classic rock and boogie influences and a perfect way to set up the main act.
Their set was unfortunately short at about thirty minutes but they sure left their mark. A surprising performance of “Disco” (I didn’t know they played material that early) was followed up by an emotional “Gravity Blues.” “2122” was the highlight of the set for me and got things moving to a breakneck pace with chaotic prog-rock builds and a hilarious “My Own Worst Enemy” tease. “Jesse” was funky but stood out because of a flock of geese that flew over the audience, which felt like the equivalent of jets flying over a football game. There was a good performance of the earworm “Cowboy Nudes” which led to a fitting end on “4D Country.” There’s many songs I wish I got to hear such as “St. Elmo” and “Mysterious Love” but it was a good set. What a powerhouse of a band too. They’re led by Cameron Winter, a vocalist/guitarist with a unique vocal delivery that fluctuates between gravelly crooner and young rock star. To his right is Emily Green, a great guitarist who’s clean tone is as striking as the brutal distortion and shrieking noise her Reverend guitar shoots through the amp on a song like “2122.” Mas Bassin and Dominic DiGesu make up a brilliant rhythm section that Sam Revaz soars over on keytar. I was already a fan of Geese going into this show but this brief performance really cemented my appreciation. Again, I wish they were able to play more, but I’m at the very least excited for the next time they play in town. They’re showing a lot of promise and I cannot wait to see what’s next.
(By the way, this performance and all of their other King Gizzard opening gigs can be found on Nugs!)
King Gizzard
Before Gizzard got on I decided to turn on the stream to see what the band had done in the city, which is usually shown in the pre-stream compilation. Since it was Labor Day weekend, it seems they stayed around the venue and hung out on the beach. I still haven’t seen the full stream from this show, maybe I should do that now.
Right on time, the band got on stage. What instantly grabbed my attention was Stu’s pink jumpsuit. Up to this point he had only been wearing black and white undershirts, so seeing such a colorful outfit was surprising. I honestly thought it was Ambrose at first. Speaking of Amby, he stated that they’re starting on an “old school” song and it turns out that it’s much larger than that. It was the first half of Nonagon Infinity.
The band starts incredibly on “Robot Stop.” This is one of my favorite Gizzard openers just because it sets the bar high. Stu’s proclamation about opening the door followed by that descent into chaos is an experience in and of itself, but the jams that come during the middle only hammer home the intense energy the song has. Those lyrics about touring sure hit different live too. Stu singing “I’m up here for the weirdo swarm, I’m the door when you come for more” in front of a massive crowd of fans during a three hour show is magical–you realize how interconnected this whole thing is. The night wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for us coming together for it. This performance was electric with Stu doing all his on-stage antics from that high-flying kick over the pedal board to those moments where he flings his guitar over his head. The band is in high gear too. Cavs and Lucas are keeping that steady rhythm while Ambrose improvises on saxophone next to teases of “Sad Pilot.”
photo by TimelandIsWackyAs the song reached its end, it was clear that the momentum wasn't stopping and they barrelled from “Robot Stop” right into a scorching “Big Fig Wasp” that begged the question: “why do these guys not play this one more?” I’d argue this performance was better than the “Robot Stop” before it because the energy was unmatched. Stu was clearly feeling it as he ran across the stage to his amp to get the feedback out of his pickups, creating sounds that came straight from the band’s mind-melting 2016 shows. They even expanded on the song as Stu threw in some PetroDragonic Apocalypse-like riffs before reprising “Robot Stop.”
Keeping in line with the track listing, we got a powerful “Gamma Knife” with unique guitar harmonies, guttural vocals from Stu and an atmospheric drum solo from Cavs. The performance isn’t all too unique in the grand scheme of Gizzard history but it kept us going after fifteen minutes, which in retrospect was only the halfway point of this opening jam. “People-Vultures” started sinisterly, accented by Ambrose’s shrill scream before the breakdown. From there, the band dived into an “Iron Lung” tease which instantly reminded me of the Megacorp Pavilion show on 2024-08-25 and its “Iron Vultures” jam. They only expanded on this connection following the first chorus with an even more blatant tease. The song itself was as intense as you’d expect and featured Stu’s usual vocal slip-ups. At this point the sky was getting dark but the momentum just wouldn’t let up. They were raging and while they could have stopped at this Nonagon high point, they kept it going with a transition into an incredible “Mr. Beat” that relieved a lot of tension from the song prior. This performance was a blast with those prominent organ parts from Cook and Ambrose, as well as yet another “Sad Pilot” tease. The jams in this song as of late have been so much fun to hear and this was no different. By the end, the Nonagon Infinity opening went just under thirty minutes in length and set the scene perfectly. Between this show and the three from the Salt Shed last year, King Gizzard played the entire album for Chicago. You couldn’t ask for a cooler way to start things off.
After all of those “Sad Pilot” teases, it was only fitting that they’d play the song proper. There isn’t too much to say about this one as the band played it close to the original (barring the jam before Stu’s verse). That said, it was a good showing from Flight b741, though only the first as the band would pivot from “Sad Pilot” to “Rats In The Sky.” Ambrose introduced it with a monologue about feeling like “a scumbag to everyone.” There’s also a quick remark about chicken which led to Ambrose saying the song is about “those chickens in the sky.” Once again, I don’t have much to say but I did find it somewhat amusing that the cameramen at the venue could not get a camera on Cook for his parts and frantically went through every angle they could until they gave up. The setlist kept moving with the band going into “Daily Blues” and at this moment it really clicked that they were just playing the end of Flight b741 in order. This one fit in well with Chicago and its history with the blues and the band killed it. They were locked in with each other the whole way through, then they started changing things up. Cavs increased tempo gradually while the band followed along, jamming some riffs from the song before making a (somewhat odd) transition into the oldest song of the entire set: “Cut Throat Boogie.” The energy of this medley is peaking here with the groove taking over the audience as Ambrose tells his harrowing story. It’s not a perfect “Cut Throat” due to its rocky intro and Ambrose’s vocal slips but that’s all forgotten as the band made their way into a swampy jam that switched back and forth between a heavy beatdown and a brisk boogie jam.
The band slowed things down and dedicated the next song to Alex Brettin of Mild High Club, who worked with the band on one of my favorite albums Sketches of Brunswick East. At the time I was looking at the Chicago skyline and when everybody started cheering, I looked back at the stage to see him walk on stage. Cavs was playing the bossa-nova rhythm of “You Can Be Your Silhouette” and before I could wrap my head around a potential sit-in, Brettin left the stage. A nice surprise regardless. This is one of my favorites from the band and hearing it live was interesting. It’s one that I don’t really associate with a live setting due to its laid back attitude. That carried over to the stage though with Stu leading the band through with different vocal cues, telling everyone where the next verse will be. It was strange and I wish they explored the grooves on it more but I was excited to hear such a rare tune nevertheless. The band continued after Stu’s final verse and all signs pointed to a transition into another song. That said, I think there was a bit of confusion on how to do it as Stu played the new chords while everyone else kept on “Silhouette.” The two keys didn’t match well so it was sort of ugly. Anyways, Gizzard moved into their only Ice, Death… song of the night “Iron Lung.” Nothing too notable about this performance as it was just about what they do every night, but it stood out to me because it was the first song I’ve ever seen them do twice. I got to see this one shortly after the album’s release at Radius on 2022-10-15. Listening back to these two, I ended up preferring the Radius performance but that’s not to say 2024’s performance was bad. The audience sure seemed to like it.
Everyone took off their guitars and grabbed their C#-tuned metal gear. Someone threw a shirt to Stu, Joey commented on Jason’s visuals before he showed the breakdancing Ambrose from “Straws In The Wind,” and Ambrose said the next song will take us back to the middle ages. For a second I got a bit concerned thinking that we were going to get something like “Witchcraft,” which would break their rule about avoiding songs from their last performance in the city, but those fears were put to rest with “Crumbling Castle.” This was the first King Gizzard song I ever heard and one of my favorites, so seeing it live was exhilarating. Out of everyone, I think Cavs was the star on this one with his precise drumming driving the complex piece into a show highlight. I can’t leave everyone else out on this though as the whole thing goes well with no notable flubs or missteps. Certainly one of the strongest performances of this song I’ve heard this year. They flew out of this into “The Fourth Colour” which was also a highlight. The new jam past the first verse is the thing that makes it interesting. If I had to pick the star of this tune like I did with “Crumbling Castle,” I’d have to go with Ambrose who provided bluesy harmonica during the break as well as quotes from “Gila Monster” and “Mars For The Rich.” While I’ll give Ambrose his flowers, I also can’t forget Stu’s hilarious burp before going into the final chorus. This was a great way to start the middle of the set.
We finally got to some metal with yet another favorite of mine, “Hell.” The song’s frantic pace and quotable lyrics made for a crowd pleaser. A cool thing about having the bleacher seats was that it gave me the ability to watch the crowd from above. I was able to see the crowd mosh and throw their fists in the air. The energy was palpable, especially by the end. I could see everyone in the audience getting into it and as soon as Joey sang “Hell’s where they wanna be,” you could hear everyone join in unison.
Cavs laid the foundation for “Predator X” as soon as “Hell” ended with a solid beat that everyone else eventually joined. While this one has never been a go-to metal song from the band’s discography for me, I must say that it hit different live. That solo was brutal, especially paired with Jason Galea’s awesome visuals showing the prehistoric beast itself.
Of course the band had to play some PetroDragonic Apocalypse and they went with the two songs they didn’t play at the Salt Shed. “Dragon” was so much fun. The entire crowd was invested, singing along with the various chants like “Petro! Dragonic! A-poc-a-lypse!” and “The eye dilates, the air gyrates…” This is as heavy as the show got and they kept the intensity going with a diabolical “Flamethrower.” These two created a wild pair and brought the metal section to a climactic end.
I wasn’t sure if the band were going to do some microtonal music but it turns out they wanted to dedicate some time to it. After Stu was handed a “banana” hat by the audience, they started the Gumboot Soup classic “All Is Known.” This song rules live. It’s not one I would typically choose if I was looking for a killer microtonal tune (not that I hate it) but hearing it opened my eyes. I was wrong. I underestimated it. This should be played at every show. The other microtonal song of the night was “Straws In The Wind” and apparently Ambrose went into the audience and to the soundboard during it, but I didn’t notice. It was good but not the most noteworthy part of the show. That was what happened next.
During the “Straws In The Wind” jam, the crew wheeled out the synth table. While you’d think that would signal some material from The Silver Cord, it instead was the start of the one suite I came to Northerly Island praying for: “Han-Tyumi and the Murder of the Universe.”
Shockingly, they started with a performance of “Welcome To An Altered Future,” a song which had not been heard in 304 shows with a last appearance on 2018-03-16. I think it may have been the best performance of the song I’ve ever heard, with eerie guitar and prominent bass that made Lucas bob up and down. Stu said he was scared going into this one but it went perfectly. Joey was stoked when it ended as he yelled “TURN IT UP SAMMY” into the mic. That moment gave me goosebumps, like the moment on a rollercoaster when you get to the top of the lift hill and see the steep drop. “Digital Black” was the cart rolling down the hill and moving so fast that it breaks through the track and drills into the ground. The band blasted through the song with noisy guitar and a heavy rhythm that rivaled the metal section earlier that night. It was perfect minus a lyrical flub by Stu, but at that point we were all expecting it. The suite kept moving with a unique “Han-Tyumi, The Confused Cyborg” which utilized the synth table alongside the usual noises from the semi-modulars near Ambrose. It’s the most electronic version of the song I’ve ever heard, and truly reinforced the suite’s sci-fi themes. Following “Soy-Protein Munt Machine” we got “Vomit Coffin,” which again rivaled the metal section with its brutal beatdown and vile lyrics. Stu was getting into character throughout with multiple coughs. The suite wrapped up with the titular “Murder of the Universe” that has proven itself to be a beast. The distorted lead bass from Lucas paired with the double bass drum from Cavs and the frantic guitar work from Joey and Stu created one of the best performances of the song I’ve ever heard. Stu even did that siren-like guitar that mesmerized me so much back in 2023 during “Hypertension.” This was everything I ever wanted from this show. I wanted to hear so many songs but this was the only one that I felt I needed to hear. I could wait on “Robot Stop” or “Dragon,” but this one is just that much of a favorite.
photo by TimelandIsWackyWhat didn’t register to me at the time, despite the fact I wrote comprehensive song histories about all of these tracks, was how significant this was. Obviously there was the 304 show bustout with “Welcome To An Altered Future,” but bustouts happen (wasn’t even the biggest bustout of the tour). What’s more interesting to me is that this was the first show in King Gizzard history where they ever played the suite in its entirety. They’ve done most of it live since 2022 with various takes on the medley appearing since 2017, but by bringing back “Altered Future” they finished one of their most essential pieces. Not only that, this was the first time any suite from Murder of the Universe had been played in its entirety. Neither “The Tale of the Altered Beast” and “The Lord of Lightning vs Balrog” have been done all the way through on stage, in fact they both have songs that have never been given the spotlight like “The Floating Fire.” It took King Gizzard seven years to do one of these suites in full and it was glorious.
The synth table stayed out following Han-Tyumi’s historic apocalypse. As the band began to set up something from The Silver Cord, Cavs ate a banana, brought the peel back to his kit and then flung it over the table directly into the audience. It took some time to get moving but the build up was fantastic with piano swells and heavy drum machine before it all dropped out, bringing fans to “Swan Song” proper. I was curious to see how this was going to go after the rocky soundcheck and I was pleasantly surprised as they seemed to work out some of the troubles heard earlier in the day. They played with dynamics more and the added improvisation made for a unique moment in the show. “Set” came up next and this, in my opinion, was the better of the two Silver Cord tracks. It’s a long one coming in at just under nineteen minutes yet it didn’t lose my attention. A groovy build leads to a funky main song, but that’s only the start. Past the six-minute mark you have these odd arpeggiating synths that slowly fade out for a quick Cavs solo as Joey and Lucas pick up their instruments and play along. Stu and Ambrose (at the table) go deep into their vocoders before an explosion of sound that at times reminds me of Daft Punk. They’re all in on funk at this point as Ambrose leads on saxophone, but the best part is the following synth jam that gets into the trance-influence. At this point they’re far beyond “Set” and into something completely new. The table shows some serious potential.
“Set” comes to an end but one that feels incomplete as the table is rolled off stage, still playing, and as the band put their instruments to the side and begin to head out. That is except for Stu. He doesn’t call it there. He actually picks up his Yamaha and starts tuning it when all signs point to the fact that there is nothing more. Joey even goes up to him and asks him what’s going on. Cavs looks confused. Everyone does, including the audience. Stu breaks the tension by explaining that even though they’ve just played a three hour marathon set, the venue has told him through his in-ear monitors that there’s still time to do more. The band is being allowed to play beyond the end of their setlist. It’s unheard of and the audience is flabbergasted. At this point all cards are on the table (not the one just taken off stage) and the band mentions it’ll be a fast one. They lied. Somehow, what they decided to do as a quick final tune was a wild “Head On/Pill” that shook the audience into a frenzy. While it started relatively normal during “Head On” with some “Am I In Heaven?” teases, the “Pill” that followed was high energy with an extensive “Chang’e” quote from Stu and a “Hot Water” jam that kept giving. They swerved into teases and back out into “Pill” as we expect it, keeping the audience on their toes and giving them a truly memorable ending to an already memorable show.
As people left their seats and headed for the doors, I contacted KGLW.net writer RattleRattleRattle who mentioned a few days before that he wanted to meet up. So we did over near the pit. On top of crushed Liquid Death and beer cans, we talked for a few minutes about the show we just saw and both of us didn’t really know how to process it. Otherwise we talked about the site and he gave me a copy of his zine sToned Ear. While leaving I noticed the sound of popping balloons. The Nitrous Mafia. They were around last year but I wasn’t sure if it was a one off or something bigger. It seems to be the latter, which isn’t surprising given the band’s growth within the jam band scene. I still wonder what the end game of these changes will look like, or if we’re heading towards a ‘90s Grateful Dead endpoint as I theorized last year. Not really certain but I do have my concerns.
It was surprisingly easy to get out, which was a very welcome surprise considering I had planned on waiting in standstill traffic. Certainly made my time at the venue a lot more sweet. When I got home I immediately took the foil poster out of the tube, put it in an 18x24 frame I had, and went to my computer to start writing this blog post.
Three days later on September 4th, the band released the show as the bootlegger Live at Northerly Island, Chicago, IL (9/1/2024). I’m not sure if there are any plans to get this on vinyl but I’m very interested in grabbing a copy.
Thanks For Flying
I’m writing this section ten days after the show and I have to say that I can’t stop thinking about it. The conclusion I came to about their Chicago shows last year was that Gizzard was in a transitional period. You could tell that it was still the start of their jam band phase, both within the music itself and the scene around the band. It was defined by certain moments too, like the rain of the third night or the debut of “Change.” I had a lot to say about this evolution from my appreciation of the fan community that has grown alongside the band to my skepticism of its future with the nitrous outside casting a shadow of an altered future that could still very well be coming. Chicago ‘23 was, to be a bit pretentious, glory within chaos. If you braved the weather, you got something special.
Chicago ‘24 doesn’t have that same story. It was not defined by freezing weather, groundbreaking changes in the community or huge debuts (unless we count the full “Han-Tyumi” suite). If anything it was kind of the opposite. It was one show where I really felt that Gizzard had found a comfortable pocket to be in. For all the little flubs I can point out, my general takeaway was that Gizzard was really onto something here and they weren’t letting go. Each section just kept building from the last. There’s not a dud in the setlist and the peaks of it are best-of-the-year material. They had finally gotten into the swing of it. It felt like from the start they were creating a masterpiece and I wish I could give that as the conclusion but it isn’t the truth. That was made apparent as soon as I got to Northerly and heard them struggle through “Swan Song” with Joey stating his lack of confidence in it. It showed up at the very end as well when the band was left confused as Stu tuned up his guitar for a knockout punch with “Head On/Pill.” The audience is always in for a ride but the band is too. They didn’t know what they were getting into at the start of this. I can do this whole show recap and analyze the set like it’s holy scripture, but they had no clue how hard it would hit or how good they would be. They’re pilots with no forecast telling them what weather’s ahead. There is chaos here, it’s just different than freezing Chicago winds. Things are settling in but there’s still that spark of joyous unpredictability that has driven this band to this point. The strange valley between confusion and order that this band (and this show) sits in was perfectly described on Flight b741.
“We couldn’t tell you what the local time is, but the weather’s fine out, get on your horse and ride out.”