Photo Credit: Keith Griner
We just got back from a three night run of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard at The Caverns in Pelham, TN. It was an incredible time that we had the privilege to attend by way of being members of Festisia. We camped, we partied, we met awesome people and saw some of the best shows of our lives.
The first two nights (Thursday, Friday) were underground in the cave and the third night was above ground at the beautiful outdoor amphitheater they’ve built right outside the caverns. The indoor venue was absolutely unique and incredible! The sound was great and the vibes were immaculate. There is only one entrance so everyone has to enter/exit through the same area including the bands. It was very cool to see KGLW walking in and out through the crowd both nights as the fans went nuts. We were lucky enough to have them pass right by us on their way in and out on Friday night. I was left hanging on a high five, but so it goes. The band absolutely slayed The Caverns. Night 1 kicked off with one of my faves, the 18-minute psych-rock masterpiece, “The Dripping Tap”. They followed that up with the raucous “Robot Stop” and continued to melt our faces for the rest of their almost 2-hour show. Night 2 was filled with more crowd favorites like “Magenta Mountain” and “I’m in Your Mind Fuzz,” but one of the highlights of the night was the live debut of “Astroturf” from the Changes album that came out last fall.
Photo Credit: Independent-show-507 on KGLW Reddit
Saturday was a nice change of pace being at the outdoor amphitheater. It was a beautiful night in Tennessee under a full strawberry moon. After the first two nights, I thought we’d already witnessed the best sets of the weekend, but Saturday ended up blowing our minds. From the “Rattlesnake” opener, to a head-banging-inducing “Gaia,” the crowd and our group was fully immersed in the magic of the Gizzverse. They closed it out with the psychedelic epic “Head On/Pill”. The lyrics describe the weekend perfectly:
Just yesterday I sat across from my legs
They weren’t connected to me
And I couldn’t see cause my eyes were in me
Hold me up straight while I screw my
Head on
Head on
Go see this band, whenever and wherever you can!
-Eli