King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard at Bowery Ballroom (June 19, 2015)

In just a year Aussie freak-rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have made the jump from playing small DIY venues to being able to sell out venues such as Bowery Ballroom. That’s exactly what they did on June 19, in support of their new album Quarters! (out via Castle Face), the first of two records that they will release this year.

Opening the show was eccentric New Orleans duo Quintron And Miss Pussycat. You knew something different was about to occur when they opened their set with a puppet show, a strange but definitely hilarious affair. Their set was a bit of experimental freak-rock that definitely had a swamp-like New Orleans flavor to it.

Already King Gizzard have quickly established a reputation for being one of the wildest rock shows you’ll find. Selling out a place like Bowery takes time, but King Gizzard seemed to launch towards this level of local popularity due to hard work and wild songs that keep you constantly moving in the crowd, just trying to keep up.

Any doubts about the show are immediately thrown out the door with the always incredible opening bit of the “I’m In Your Mind” melody along with the unfairly infectious “Cellophane” which was undeniably the peak highlight of the evening. They kept the pace going throughout the night, but took some time to share some new songs off of Quarters!, with some songs acting as slower, somewhat jazzier experiments.

But these songs allowed you to breathe a bit, before crazy moments such as when frontman Stu Mackenzie crowdsurfed into the heart of the crowd while holding onto a fans skateboard. These are the sort of memories you won’t shake anytime soon. And you won’t have to, as the whole show is available to download and keep forever thanks to our friends over at NYC Taper.

King Gizzard will return to New York for a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 16. Until then, find some photos from the show posted below.

Setlist:

1. I’m In Your Mind
2. I’m Not In Your Mind
3. Cellophane
4. I’m In Your Mind Fuzz
5. Gamma Knife
6. Hot Water
7. Hot Wax
8. Robot Stop
9. The River
10. Muckraker
11. Evil Devil
12. Danger Money
13. Am I In Heaven
14. Pill

Quintron And Miss Pussycat: