20 AUGUST 21-27, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | fl utes creating an ethereal effect as Macken- zie and Walker’s guitars entered a volcanic exchange that charged the audience into a frenzy before the band took a short break backstage, this time with the symphony maintaining the atmosphere for the crowd. Throughout the show, each moment was fi lled with sound; drummer Michael Cava- nagh and bassist Lucas Harwood were like machines, maintaining beats and grooves that coursed through the venue. When Gizz returned, it was time for Smith to break out the harmonica again as the band began “This Thing,” a bluesy song off 2019’s Fish- ing for Fishies that drove a foundation for “Mars for the Rich,” an encapsulation of the members’ searing talent that constructed almost a Mobius strip of sound, swirling to a shattering peak. “Now it’s time for ‘Dragon,’” Mackenzie told the crowd. “Bit of a theme here.” “Dragon” is one of the band’s most popu- lar songs, a highlight from 2023’s Petro- Dragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation. It sounded like a rallying cry and the audi- ence acted accordingly, somewhat like the Uruk-hai to Saruman as he encourages the horde to attack Helm’s Deep. Horns were in the air, heads were banging, people were crowd-surfi ng. Before the band closed the set with “Iron Lung,” the members took a moment to speak to the crowd. When they asked how many people were coming to Field of Vision, the majority of hands shot into the air. “Well, everyone be sure to come out to do acid with my mom,” Smith said. “She’s almost as crazy as me.” (Yes, his mom is indeed leading an “acid yoga” class Saturday morning at the fest.) “And don’t forget drag night!” Mackenzie shouted. Of course, this band would throw a fes- tival that includes a celebration of drag and encourages doing psychedelics with a mem- ber’s mom at a yoga class. There truly isn’t another act like it. THREE DAYS IN THE GIZZVERSE BY JUSTIN CRIADO King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard is single- handedly saving rock and roll, and that’s exactly what modern music needs right now. That epiphany struck midway through the prolifi c Aussie band’s fi rst Field of Vision set on Friday, August 15, at Buena Vista’s Meadow Creek. And after experiencing three marathon runs through Sunday, August 17, I fi rmly believe it — and can offi cially be considered a convert. The unexpected onslaught of down-un- der desert doom, psyched-out Eastern acid rock, jam-jazz fusion interludes, powerful punkish singalongs, hip-hop hype pieces and even the synth-prog of the nightly Nathan sets made for serious sensory overload that’s going to take some time to fully process. But this is your mind on KGLW. I must confess, as a metalhead whose only touchstone before this weekend was Infest the Rats’ Nest, particularly the song “Self- Immolate” after a ski-bum buddy eagerly bragged about how thrashy it was when it came out in 2019, the idea of watching nine no-repeat hours of King Gizz initially felt intimidating, if not a little torturous. But re- sisting the journalistic urge to research every aspect of the Gizzverse, or even listen to any of the group’s 26 other albums beforehand, proved to be so much more impactful and satisfying in the end. Forgive me, Gizzard, for I have sinned. On Sunday, I repented for my willful ignorance by perusing the Mirage City area where all the weirdo artists and hippie magic-makers peddled their wares and picking up some bootleg booty, including a couple of live tapes, an unoffi cial festival poster and a “Big Fig Wasp” Charlotte Hornets-inspired tee. Only a week after playing a grandiose show in Colorado Springs, the superhuman six-piece outdid itself once again by complet- ing a hat trick of three-hour concerts for the fi rst time ever. “Just so you know, this shit’s insanely fun for us, too,” frontman Stu Mackenzie, the creative tour de force at the center of all this, said at one point. Field of Vision (the name is a reference to the King Gizz song, in case you didn’t put that together yet) proved to be full of several more fi rsts and surprises — so much so that even the most die-hard Gizz geeks left awestruck each night — as well as an unexpected tragedy no one there will soon forget. To start, on Friday, Jello Biafra jumped on stage for a cover of “Police Truck,” the 1980 Dead Kennedys single that received a second pop-culture wind after being included on the 1999 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack. By all accounts, it was the fi rst full cover the band had ever done, let alone duet with the original performer. Mackenzie and Walker showered the Boulder-born punk OG with praise, recalling how a green Gizz even tried to open up for an Australian DK date in the early days. Biafra christened the collab as the “greatest fucking moment of my life with my favorite fucking band of all time.” His endearing hyperbolic prose was on full display all weekend, as he hopped across the festival’s three stages, spinning records and sharing a spoken-word set dressed in a foam Pope mitre and “Donald Trump Hates Me” T-shirt to kick off Sunday. Similarly, drummer Jay Weinberg sat in Saturday for “Le Risque.” The current Suicidal Tendencies skin-beater, formerly of Slipknot (yes, that Slipknot), traveled to the edges of the Arkansas River to perform a Sunday side- stage set with Nashville harsh-noise maven Argus. The bleak blackened mayhem the two spewed dazed the crowd at fi rst, but eventually motivated the mass to move accordingly. At one point, an incognito Cavanagh — sporting a Motorhead Iron Fist short-sleeve, Casa Bonita snapback and dark shades — could be seen enjoying the sonic extremity of it all. Cavanagh and his music-mad mates are certainly no strangers to doing just that. The night before, on Saturday, King Gizz did some- thing it hadn’t done in over ten years by bust- ing out “Empty” after keeping it on the bench for 644 shows. It’s been so long, Mackenzie debuted a new twist on the 2014 track when he sprinkled in fl ute. Shortly after, he spotted a sign held by a fourteen-year-old fan named Callum and pulled him on stage, then handed him his signature Gibson Flying V guitar so the young axeman could fulfi ll his dream of playing “Superbug” with King Gizz. Rager “Rattlesnake” ended the second night with the help of King Stingray, a fel- low Australian outfi t also on the festival bill that pulls from indigenous infl uences and instruments like the didgeridoo. Highlights from the closing night, which saw King Gizz perform in drag according to the day’s overarching theme, included the only non-orchestral performance of “Aero- dynamic” thus far and the announcement of Field of Vision 2026 before “Motor Spirit.” The legion, an estimated 12,000 strong, re- sponded with a unifi ed roar. From the pulpit, Walker said there were attendees from over fi fty countries at this inaugural event. “Thanks for following us on all our crazy adventures,” Mackenzie, wearing a hot-pink wig and matching dress, expressed as the fest approached the end. In all, King Gizz blasted through seventy songs, give or take a jam here and there, over the weekend, with fan favorites that included “Gila Monster,” “Gilgamesh,” “Gaia” “Witchcraft” and “Digi- tal Black,” among pretty much every other song Gizz launched into. At least according to the crowd’s reaction. Literally as soon as the first note of “Gamma Knife” was struck on Friday night, the audience became a caustic cauldron of bubbles, beach balls, balloons and bodies. Peo- ple — whether they were dressed up as lizards, wizards, Tolkien elves, wart-nosed goblins or Furries, you name it — crowd-surfed dur- ing every song every night. The wizardry to conjure up such a visceral response and keep an audience on a string from start to fi nish, pausing and picking up where they left off each evening, is a rare gift. But King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard is a rare band. One capable of altering the future. ■ King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard created magic over three days in Buena Vista. The band announced at the festival that it will return in 2026. Music continued from page 18 CHELSEY DEQUAINE-JERABEK ROSS JONES
