Reviewed on Thursday August 4(Photo by Ashley Mar)
Last Thursday wasn’t the first time King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard graced the stage of the Oxford Art Factory, but it was certainly the first time in a while. Their recent repertoire of shows has seen them play bigger and better venues to more emphatic acclaim. It was nice then to see them in a familiar space again – their first album tour in 2012 brought them here, but after playing to a huge crowd at Splendour in the Grass just weeks ago, the smaller space gave attendees an altogether different treatment.
Orb were just getting started as I arrived. Hot off the release of their debut album Birth, they brought some big riffs to the table. They’re a refreshing band to watch – giving a style that hasn’t really been nailed since the likes of Wolfmother a much needed contemporary spin. The bombastic wail often associated with the genre was absent, and instead the delay-dipped vocals were a signpost to the band members’ roots in garage punk, as opposed to big hair and prog.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard followed shortly after a quick DJ set. They sounded energetic and ferocious as ever, setting up to play Nonagon Infinity in its entirety back to back, but on the heel of second track ‘Big Fig Wasp’ they had to stop to fix some complications with the keyboard coming through the PA. It was odd to see a song on the same album as ‘Robot Stop’ actually stop (excuse the pun) but the band were back in action within minutes. “Shit happens”, they said.
After that minor hiccup we were treated to Nonagon Infinity in its entirety as promised, but with some clever deviations into older and newer material sprinkled throughout. They played two new songs, and only stopped playing two or three times throughout the 90 minute set. One new song featured some big riffs that seemed to take a little inspiration from their own support act Orb – hitting home the heart-warming notion that they might be taking cues from their friends.
What was most impressive, perhaps, about their set construction was the way in which they tied rhythms together between old and new songs. The way ‘The River’ seamlessly transitioned into ‘Wah Wah’ – two songs off different albums – was a stroke of genius.
After finishing with Nonagon closer ‘Road Train’ and old favourite ‘Hot Water’ there was no encore, but it didn’t matter – everyone was thoroughly satisfied.
