King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in Cleveland – Concert Review
by Bill Kurzenberger
This article originally appeared in Psychedelic Scene Magazine, November 2024
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard embarked on their first extensive North American tour in two years in August and September 2024, encompassing twenty-two concerts from the east to west coast in support of their new album Flight b741. In late August, the enigmatic band stopped in Cleveland for a memorable outdoor show on the west bank of the Flats at Jacobs Pavilion, aka Nautica Stage.
The crowd was at near-capacity when the group took to the stage promptly at 8:30PM, following a brief set by opening band Geese. Guitarist/vocalist Joey Walker started the proceedings by declaring that “Cleveland is fucking underrated and a sick fucking city.” They quickly launched into the incendiary rocker “Magma,” driven by bassist Lucas Harwood’s primal hook. With the requisite musical tension and semitones, this version of fan-favorite “Magma” included throat singing by guitarist/vocalist Stu Mackenzie on the chorus, while Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s saxophone was sadly inaudible in the din. Building patiently after the sedated bridge to a raucous finale with staccato sixteenth notes by drummer Michael “Cav” Cavanaugh that you could set your watch to, it was a metallic and dramatic start to the show.
Without pause, the Gizz figuratively dove into “Muddy Water” as a nod to the Cuyahoga River behind the venue, with initial hints of the Grateful Dead’s “The Other One.” The crowd joined in on the sing-along chorus while the middle section featured effective dynamics led by Cav, with Ambrose’s sax more audible but used sparingly.
Bill Kurzenberger
After brief banter and a call-out to the passing Goodtime III sightseeing ship, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Cook “Cookie” Craig kicked off “Antarctica” – the first of several songs from the band’s new album Flight b741 – instantly recognizable by its hooky rotary organ intro by Cookie. “Antarctica”’s catchy groove was performed vivaciously, an apex of the evening and an instant classic in the annals of rock.
The b741 theme continued with “Raw Feel,” lyrically mulling various sensations on the skin. This rocker was driven by Cav’s unique, syncopated 7/8 drumbeat and electricifying power chords with Mackenzie playing slide guitar at times. “Daily Blues” followed, teasing “Roadhouse Blues” moreso than usual, featuring Ambrose on harmonica. The various rhythm & chord changes – which included two false endings and a frenetic rock climax – were held together by the recurring debaucherous theme of “getting fucked up daily.”
The Gizz continued uninterrupted into “Mr. Beat” from Nonagon Infinity, providing moments of jammy, even Phishy bliss while returning to seven beats per measure. “Mr. Beat” can be a love-or-hate song due to its repetitive lyrics. This version was a coitus interruptus after only a few minutes as the group took a left turn into “Ice-V,” a fan favorite from Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms, and Lava two years ago.
This exceptional version of “Ice-V” was highlighted by the inclusion of the rare ‘B Flat jam’ with Stu calling out impromptu chord changes, extending the song significantly beyond its original arrangement. Joey Walker drew a roar from the crowd while vocally imitating his guitar lead and invoking Jimi Hendrix. “You can light ‘em up for me” repeated Walker during the brief pause that followed, while Ambrose solicited “are you picking up what we’re putting down, Cleveland?” to a rousing cheer from the crowd.
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“The Risque” came next, keeping the party going as Flight b741 fans were eating well. Cav picked up Walker’s vocals with maniacal cackling, with the band joining in all around on the Evil Knievel shout-out and “take the risk” chorus that stresses the mantra “you only live once.”
For the first time this tour, the group busted out the hallowed Polygonwanaland triad consisting of “Inner Cell,” “Loyalty” and “Horology.” “Inner Cell” is pure Gizz, tense and angular with algebraic time signatures. It leads into the synth-heavy “Loyalty” with Cookie momentarily channeling Richard Wright before the metal semitones and crunchy feedback-laden guitars re-take the reins. The medley concludes with the brief “Horology,” supplanted by Stu’s off-time guitar hook which played against the rhythm section.
Of all the shows of the Gizz’s adventurous summer excursion across North America, their Cleveland concert was perhaps one of the top five of the tour.
While capably and unassumedly holding down the low end, bassist Harwood seemed primed to leap off the back riser and join in the fray at front of stage, but chose instead to remain in close lockstep with drummer Cavanaugh. As was my experience seeing the Horology trilogy performed live in Columbus in 2022, it’s a lot to absorb and process live due to its density and intensity, as King Gizzard’s intricate compositions often make more sense after successive experiences.
“Superbug” commenced the metal portion of the night that most often dominated the last hour of this tour’s concerts, initially gravitating between melodious metal, grunge and a Band of Gypsys motif before diving full-fledged into metal. After an off-beat intro with Cav accentuating the ‘and’ beats, “Supercell” came crashing in as a headbanger that would do Megadeth proud. Keyboardist/guitarist Craig donned his axe alongside Walker’s Gibson Flying V and Mackenzie’s Gibson SG for a triple threat guitar onslaught for the duration of the show.
Bill Kurzenberger
The percussive metal of “Predator X” was accompanied by fiery visuals flashed on the screen behind the band and bombastic guitar wizardry by Walker. Drummer Cavanaugh took the spotlight during “Self-Immolate” with multiple manic drum solos to bookend the song, with Mackenzie throat singing while nailing triplet rhythm chords.
The Gizz closed out the show with the last three thrashers from their 2022 metal album Petrodragonic Apocalypse, albeit out of order. The impossibly fast power chords persisted in the crunchy and inflammatory “Flamethrower.” Pulsating, flashing stage lights accompanied “Dragon,” with Mackenzie dramatically waving his arms during the melodic middle section. The small mosh pit that finally developed the center of general admission was respectfully tame, while a few adventurous fans crowd-surfed instead.
The band ended the night with the brief banger “Gila Monster” – the band’s ultimate singalong metal anthem – with especially animated lead vocal delivery by Ambrose Kenny-Smith. While not my favorite songs of the evening, the metal songs that closed the night were played proficiently with impeccable precision, adding fuel to the fire and accelerating to a high-energy finish with “Gila.”
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It was a relatively flawless show, with the band performing and singing the material expertly aside from the occasionally pitchy vocal. Each player brought out the best of their various instruments endlessly expanding their horizons as a unit. While Mackenzie, Kenny-Smith and Walker have always provided consistently strong vocals, the addition of lead and accompanying vocals by Craig, Cavanaugh, and under-utilized Harwood are increasingly welcome.
Their live repertoire is twice as exciting and well-varied with the addition material from Flight b741 and Petrodragonic Apocalypse. However as the two albums are musically polar opposites, the eventual transition from rock to metal presented on this tour is jarring and somewhat polarizing, with the microtonal rock serving as the middle ground.
It’s exhilarating to see the Gizz perform live, breathing fresh life into new music for fans of rock-n-roll and metal, genres which have increasingly stagnated due to commercialized pop proliferation. Perhaps to compensate, the Gizz reached a compromise on providing songs which are more accessible, as is the case with the radio-friendly Flight b741. However despite their more lackadaisical approach on their most recent album, the quality of their music has not suffered by equally accommodating and stretching typically ‘popular’ music in their direction as great bands do.
Of all the shows of the Gizz’s adventurous summer excursion across North America, their Cleveland concert was perhaps one of the top five of the tour (save for a few of their three-hour marathon shows) having watched over half of the tour on the band’s YouTube channel and related channels.
Before returning to the states this past weekend for a southwestern U.S. jaunt for the duration of November, King Gizzard just announced that their upcoming accompanying album to Flight b741 – as well as several concerts of their just-announced summer 2025 U.S. tour – will be joined by an orchestra section. As is always the case with the Gizz, continue to expect the unexpected, even as the band continues leaning towards more traditional musical concepts while bending the mainstream and heartbeat of rock music to their collective will.
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Setlist:
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
8/24/2024 Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica Stage, Cleveland, Ohio
Magma
Muddy Water
Antarctica
Raw Feel
Daily Blues->
Mr. Beat->
Ice-V
Le Risque
Inner Cell->
Loyalty->
Horology
Superbug
Supercell
Predator X
Self-Immolate
Flamethrower
Dragon
Gila Monster
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