Australian jam band King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard rocked the Ark
The massively uplifted modern psychedelia rolled over our meadows and groves and created many projects worthy of attention. But on Friday evening, the Archa Theater resonated with a foreign name. For the first time in Prague they played King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, an unmissable form of this style.
Live: King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard
support: Grace Cunnings
place: Archa Theatre, Prague
date: August 5, 2022
set list: The Dripping Tap, Shanghai, The River, Wah Wah, The River (completion), Ambra, Slow Jam 1 (with Iron Lung), Organ Farmer, Gaia, Static Electricity, Ataraxia, Sleep Drifter, Billabong Valley, Float Along – Fill Your lungs
Photogallery
The band with the catchy name King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard has been on the scene for the twelfth year and during that time has built up a reputation for being extremely prolific – at its end it has twenty albums, two live shows and three EPs – and therefore a rather erratic party in concert. He can pull an ace up his sleeve: classic guitar psychedelia from the records “KG” and “LW”, synth pop from “Butterfly 3000” or one of the long opuses that appeared on “Made In Timeland” or “Omnium Gatherum”. Here it is worth noting that we are only talking about recordings released in the last three years.
© Adam Hencze / musicserver.cz
The introduction belonged to the Australian Grace Cummings, who performed a pleasant half-hour set with her accompanying group, mixing echoes of the sixties, country rock and songwriting. A pleasant start, but it lacked a more readable sound. The vocals especially took it away, which is a bit of a problem for music that primarily wants to communicate. As expected, the first Prague concert of the Australian six-piece packed a sold-out hall, and much more was heard. An unconventional choice at the beginning was the almost twenty-minute long “The Dripping Tap” followed by the densely electronic “Shanghai”. And then it went on, often without interruption, for two hours across a rich discography. The musicians were often superimposed with color projections, as bands from this genre have been doing since the ancient performances of early Pink Floyd. In Arš, they created a complex, colorful musical picture. Intermingled here were relaxed, supple, tested passages, guitar battles and elaborate solos, almost thrash riffs, sad Popeye and echoes of the sixties.
© Adam Hencze / musicserver.cz
And they immediately had the excited audience on their side. The ark basically swayed and undulated from the first notes, and the movement didn’t stop until the end. During the wilder passages, swimmers appeared on the hands of the spectators, from time to time a circle pit was opened, to be somewhat timid. When you have your audience in front of you, who literally welcome every familiar melody and tune with a roar, it’s played in such a way that you don’t even want to leave the stage. I wouldn’t be afraid to compare King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard to the Grateful Dead. At one time, the rather big band (admittedly, across the ocean) became famous for similarly energetic concerts, erratic, full, long jams and rare chemistry between individual members. This Australian jam band can create a spark-like energy – or so I imagine. In Prague, it was a rare moment of perfect connection between the groups and the audience, a low-key evening that hit the right spots.