Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
King Wizard and the Lizard Gizzard Danforth Music Hall (Toronto)

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • King Wizard and the Lizard Gizzard Danforth Music Hall (Toronto)
King Wizard and the Lizard Gizzard
Fri Apr 14, 2017
Lenny Stoute

Submitted by Lenny Stoute

"Please don't be smoking anything in the entrance. Please move away from the entrance." The security was addressing a large fogbank of high-grade resin hanging over the sidewalk directly in front of the venue as fans of the Aussie septet got their weed on. The vibe out front was all love and brotherly hugs as the fans of the neopsychedelic outfit adhere strongly to the hippie ethic and inside, it was thus also with the addition of genre touches like wizard hats and an excellent Lizard Gizzard mask.

Opener Orb stormed through the bottom half of their set to a two-thirds full room. When the left the stage it was full and by the time King Wizard and the Lizard Gizzard came on we were jammed up against the walls and the bars and if the woman in front of me stepped back just another millimeter I was gonna have to buy her dinner. Not bad for an act that gets zero airplay, whose albums are hard to find and whose music fits no genre. Someone noted that this was their third time in Toronto and each time, they play a larger venue, then turned to cheer for the roadies moving stuff around. That was how pumped the crowd was and the band did not disappoint.

The take-no- prisoners tone was set with the rapid fire drums and soaring line from the three guitar players which backbone opener'Gamma Knife'. 'Lord Of Lightning' 'Nuclear Fusion' and an atonal song from the new album kept the rush strong as they built up to the explosive 'Rattlesnake", and its chant along chorus.

Respect for the soundman who delivered a mix at a volume befitting two drummers and three guitarists without losing the high ends in the roar. Worked well for Stu Mackenzie's vocals too, which showed a ton of range between ominous growls and Robert Plantish flights into the upper registers.

By this time, every song was greeted with raucous vocal thunder which at certain times, got even louder. This happened I was told, whenever the band played an older song from the 9 album back catalogue, like the hugely popular "I'm In Your Mind Fuzz" and " Hot Wax."

Current album Flying Microtonal Banana is intended to reference the atonal scale common to Arab musics and it does so both in the recurring elements in the songs structure and embellishments like the moments of unusual guitar sound, seemingly pulled from Eastern/Arabic folk guitar. The other recurring elements is how often the vocals are emphasised by the guitar, which tracks the melodies, note-by-note. This is most effective on the slower jams (yes, they have those), not so much on the bangers like the title track but it's a sure bet that eastern music styles will become absorbed fairly smoothly by the omnivorous thing that is the King Wizard and the Lizard Gizzard sound.

When they throw down onstage, the folks they come from miles around to dig that crazy LizGizz sound. Can't wait to do it again.

Reviews
Album
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Month: Feb 2021
Speech A Different World MC & Leader of Arrested Development SPEECH Releases Anthemic…
Angel Baribeau Releases New Video Off Debut EP “Wish We Were Older” Angel Baribeau Releases New Video Off Debut EP
MISTER K Is Prepared 'In Event of Moon Disaster' Cosmic Lorette West, Balladeer MISTER K Is Prepared 'In Event of Moon…
Taming Sari Release Emotional & Raw New Ballad: “Gone and Run Away” Taming Sari Release Emotional & Raw New Ballad: “Gone and Run Away”
PEOPLE OF THE SUN Shine with EP, Last Day of Summer 8-Piece Hip Hop/R&B Big Band PEOPLE OF THE SUN Shine with EP, Last Day of…
N i G H T S Have You Covered N i G H T S Have You Covered This Month o' Love with a New Double-…
Katelyn Biehn Sits Mellow with New Single, “Daydreamin’” Pop Singer Katelyn Biehn Sits Mellow with New Single, “Daydreamin’”
Month: Mar 2021
Cigar Club Canadian Rockers Cigar Club Release Heavy Hitting Double Single…
CHRIS BIRKETT Award Winning Producer, Composer, Songwriter CHRIS BIRKETT…
Delyn Grey Indie Alt Rock Breakout Artist Delyn Grey Observes Life’s New…
Mattmac Mattmac Continues to Inspire with New Dream Chasing Hit, “Break Me Down”
Meneely Brant Rock Duo Meneely Brant Serve Up Groovy New Single, “Coming Days”
Apricity Alt-Rocker Apricity Releases Smashing New Single, “All My Lies”
ATR It’s “Now or Later” for Saint Paul, Minnesota's Hip Hop Artist ATR
Brandon Child Brandon Child Reflects on Lost Love in New Single, “Time”

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 31
  • Page 32
  • Page 33
  • Page 34
  • Current page 35
  • Page 36
  • Page 37
  • Page 38
  • Page 39
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers