King Gizzard & Lizard Wizard with King Stingray 11.15.24

Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Austin, TX

Words & photos by Nicholas Stock

When King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard announced their monumental 2024 North American tour they put a few jewels on the map in the form of Marathon and Acoustic sets. Last year we were treated to a deluge of 3-hour shows, however this time around there would only be 5 on the docket. When I saw a late fall date in Austin had an asterisk I was all in. While other friends hit Vegas, Phoenix, Atlanta or Albuquerque I put my chips on the blueberry in the tomato soup, Austin, Texas, and boy did it pay. I spent the day disc golfing before we made our way out to God’s country for the show. Germania Insurance Amphitheater is Austin’s largest outdoor amphitheater and has hosted the likes of Phish, Slipknot and Keith Urban. The venue itself sits in the middle of The Circuit of The Americas race track, which is home to a yearly Formula 1 race. It features a sloped lawn, seats, and a massive pit area that is standing room only.

As we entered a carnival style promenade an old fashioned rollercoaster welcomed us. Food trucks and merch booths were everywhere. The King Gizzard Record Fair was in full effect featuring mutant pressings, rarities and their entire studio catalog. The sun was already gone by the time King Stingray took the stage. Musically they felt like a throwback to an 80’s World sound. That makes perfect sense given that lead vocalist Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu is the nephew of Dr. M. Yunupinuand and guitarist Roy Kellaway is the son of Stuart Kellaway who both founded Yothu Yindi, a legendary Australian rock group that blended Aboriginal and Western sounds. King Stingray is relatively new having only formed in 2020, but they are already making big waves in their home country and abroad. They opened up the show with “Lookin’ Out” about good times on the beach. Many call them surf rock which is how King Gizzard was pigeonholed in the beginning as well. I would say they have a bright and fuzzy sound overall. It’s all very danceable stuff. “Malk Mirri Wayin” is about the big red kangaroo told through the aboriginal tongue. It was a hard hitting highlight from their 40 minute set. They invited up Joey from KGLW for a cover of Warumpi Band’s song “Waru.” They wrapped is all up with their anthemic rager “Let’s Go” about heading out to the ‘bush.’ All in all they were fun and worth getting to the venue early.

King Gizzard’s marathon sets are the stuff of absolute legend and given their scarcity this year fans flocked to Austin towards the end of the tour to get their faces melted one last time. King Gizz did not hesitate to deliver. The entire tone of this outrageous show was set by the massive version of “Head On/Pill” that stretched past the 26 minute mark. “Field of Vision” and “Antarctic” were the first offerings off of the new album Flight b-741. With no hesitation drummer Mickey Cavs led the band into a jazzy “Wah Wah” at the one hour mark. They weren’t taking a breath, they were rocking with precision and determination. We got our first taste of the heavy stuff with “Road Train” their ode to Austrian fuel tankers. The title track off the new album is scuzzy but it has a pop sensibility that differentiates it from the others. It’s a modern day rocker and I can’t wait to see what they do with it in the future.

“Raw Feel’ is that quintessential bluesy rock sound that we’ve come to know from the King Gizz catalog. They invited a young fan named Ethan up to the stage to introduce “Nuclear Fusion.” With some prompting from the crowd and band, he finally understood the assignment. Ambrose adorned with a chicken hat gave us a gritty soulful take on “Straws in the Wind.” In order for this band to play their entire catalog they’ve had to build a portable synth lab with more keys, samples, loops and midi pads than you can shake a stick at. That table has a name and it is Nathan. They started the dance party with Joey on the mic for “Intrasport.” Stu donned his bucket hat for the festivities as the boys continued with a trance-y “Set.” “Extinction” built it all back up and “Interior People” burned it to the ground. Their synth/dance sound teased in Butterfly 3000 has been solidified with The Silver Chord. It’s nice that they now have a way to do it all in a live setting with Nathan. “Shanghai” melted into a new tune "Grow Wings In Fly.” Austin would mark it as the first time played. With “Le Risque” they bid adieu to Nathan and got back to rocking. The shredding went into second gear with their song about class division set in outer space “Mars For The Rich.” They kept it deep and dark with a trio off of PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or,"Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation starting with a fearsome “Converge.” “Witchcraft” shook the rafters, but “Gila Monster” is unmatched in intensity.

They wrapped up the metal with a singalong for “Dragon.” And we were over time, but as an encore of sorts they invited members of King Stingray along with Roy Kellaway who happened to be there up for a cover of Yothu Yindi’s “Treaty.” This is an Australian protest song calling for the acknowledgement of the rights of Aboriginals to live as they see fit. It’s a historic song that has a lot of meaning to Australians. Their version was amazing and just like that the 3 hour + show as over. Fans filtered out past the roller coaster with smiles and laughs. It was a “Marathon” to be sure and given that King Gizzard has already announced a European run, a symphony backed tour and a festival in 2025 we may not see another 3 hour show for a minute. Time will tell, but if this was the last hurrah for a while, they shelved it in fine fashion.

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www.kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com

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King Gizzard &The Lizard Wizard Setlist:

Marathon Set: Head On/Pill, Field of Vision > Antarctica > Wah Wah > Road Train, Flight b741, Raw Feel, Nuclear Fusion, Straws In The Wind, Intrasport > Set > Extinction > Interior People, Shanghai > Grow Wings and Fly...[1], Le Risque, Mars For the Rich, Converge > Witchcraft, Gila Monster, Dragon, Treaty (Yothu Yindi)[2]

Notes:

[1] Debut; possibly incomplete
[2] with King Stingray and Stuart Kellaway

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Full Set in Austin, TX