Reviewed onTuesday November 29 (photo by Ashley Mar)
It began as a humble invitational by the Melbourne band recently deemed to have released the best hard rock/heavy metal album of 2016 by the ARIA voting panel. Now, the second annual Gizzfest has expanded into a massive school night party with a unique carnival vibe, thanks in no small part to our immediate surroundings, one of the country’s most famous amusement parks. Some take to the various rides, chowing down on fairy floss and hot dogs, while others head inside to catch early acts living up to their name – Gum, AKA Jay Watson, provides electro-tinged shuffles that pop and snap with a sugary rush, while Mild High Club, direct from the States, lock into a gentle, hazy groove and stick to it.
Business picks up when the guitars get a little louder and the jamming gets a little more extensive – The Murlocs deliver an impressive and tight half-hour, while first-time visitors White Fence make up for any lost time with one of the sharpest performances of the entire day, its centrepiece being a ten-minute-plus wig-out full of rattling axes and rolling drums.
Of course, it’s not all six-string action at Gizzfest 2016 – as a matter of fact, highlights come with acts implementing little more than backing tracks and grade-A chutzpah. Dinner, all the way from Denmark, serves up (pardon the pun) a charming set of thumping disco tunes with knowingly cheesy choreography and impeccable energy. Later on, funkadelic Raleigh-based MC Boulevards takes advantage of his penultimate timeslot and turns the crowd’s shuffling sneakers into fully fledged dancing shoes.
Between them, Western Australia’s Pond deliver a versatile, energised and vital exploration of their back catalogue, issuing a handful of new songs for good measure – including one that features Neil Finn’s mate and every Sydney boomer’s current enemy, Kirin J Callinan.
It all comes to a head, of course, with King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard embarking on a victory lap of sorts, both for their recent unexpected award nod and for the conclusion of the Nonagon Infinity era. Implementing key passages from its endless loop, the septet ensure that those who have spent the last seven hours under their curation have not done so in vain. With a blistering ‘Rattlesnake’ comes the end of Gizzfest 2016, but certainly not the end of Gizzfest. They – and we – are having way too much fun.
