Photos by Nikhil Kumaran
Most of the time, I love bands that I can’t figure out. Whether it’s something about their style or how they perform, I’m typically thrilled if a band leaves me with more questions than answers. It could be because doing this night after night takes away some of the magic of seeing live music, but at the end of the day, I’m just thrilled to feel the feeling you can only get from seeing a concert. There’s just something exhilarating about trying to figure a band out and being able to only walk away with the feeling of seeing a dang good concert. That’s what I wanted from the show on Tuesday night, but after sleeping on it, I’m not sure that’s what I got from the headliner.
Before we get into the headliner of the Tuesday night show at the massive Armory in downtown Minneapolis, let’s talk about the opener. I was introduced to New York-based Geese when I caught them at the much more intimate 7th Street Entry last October. I instantly fell head over heels for this band’s seemingly schizophrenic influences that ranged from punk to jazz, with everything in between. I was stoked to see if their larger-than-life sound could fill such a big room and wasn’t surprised when it did just that. The craziest thing about seeing this band play in such a large room after seeing them play in one of the smallest rooms in town was the fact that nothing seemed to have changed. The organic chemistry of the musicians on stage and this band’s overall power did not struggle to captivate the thousands of people in The Armory, which made me so happy.
Much like the first time I saw them, it was Cameron Winter’s vocals that really had me stuck. They are crisp and clear but have this slight edge to them. Like the instrumentation of Geese, Cameron’s vocals seamlessly flow between genres and styles while keeping a very cohesive feeling to them while also emitting a strong sense of emotion without being emotional. You can call Geese a jam band if you want, I get it. Their songs seem to linger in the air, much like those of a jam band, but just putting them in that box would be so unfair. From what I can tell, this is Geese’s first significant tour playing in this size of venue, but it surely won’t be their last. I genuinely believe it’s just a matter of time until this band catches like wildfire and headlining tours like this.
Like Geese, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard refuses to be pegged into just one genre or style. This band is notorious for giving a whole new vibe with every album they release (and they have released a crap ton of albums but more on that later). Their live shows follow that pattern. You don’t know if you’ll get a metal band, a jazz band, a pop band, or something entirely different when you go see them live– or at least that’s what people say. Out of all of the chances I’ve had to see this band live, I feel like I don’t get that surprise or diversity. Don’t get me wrong, this band is solid, and the musicianship within the group is truly spectacular, but beyond that, King Gizzard is just a psychedelic jam band to me.
There’s nothing wrong with a psychedelic jam band. Honestly, I kind of like it because it helps me get out of my own head and just let the music wash over me. Sure, I could go without the fourteen-minute songs that, after the first two minutes, I feel like I got the basis of and am ready to move on, but, really, the way their sound drenched the hangar-styled structure on Tuesday night was gorgeous. Add the psychedelic-inspired visuals happening on the screen that hung behind the band and the almost overpowering smell of jazz cigarettes, and you were left with a truly immersive experience on Tuesday night.
I may not understand the hype around this band or how people find them to be things like “the most innovative band of our time” or “the best band of our generation,” but I do understand that this group grinds. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s first album came out in 2012. Since then, they have released 26 full-length albums. You can go ahead and do the math on that, but, long story short, this band grinds. They pump out albums like it’s nothing and continue to tour on top of that. I may not be head over heels for their sound, but I am absolutely head over heels in love with that work ethic. Unfortunately, that work ethic is not what was put in the spotlight on Tuesday night.
I don’t want to bash this band, I really don’t, and I hope that you don’t mistake my words to be saying that I hate this group. I appreciate what they’re doing, and, as mentioned, I will not question the musicianship behind this band. That being said, I just don’t understand the hype. To me, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is just another band that somehow caught on with a recycled sound that maybe this generation is just too young to remember (i.e., Grateful Dead and Phish). To those uber-excited fans who packed out the Armory on Tuesday night, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is a movement. No matter how much I see this band, I just don’t think they’ll hit me the way they hit other people.
My dad always says, “They’re great at what they do; it’s just that I don’t love what they’re doing.”
