Recorded at L’Olympia in Paris, France October 14, 2019, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s Live in Paris ’19 is one of three live albums they released for animal welfare charities during the massive wildfires sweeping Australia (many of which, by the way, are still burning). All proceeds from these albums go to these charities, and all three were released well before KGATLW‘s “official” live album – Chunky Shrapnel (review coming soon).
You can tell right away that the Parisian crowd is ready to go nuts from the opening notes. The show starts with the instrumental “Evil Star” before breaking into a sprint with “Venusian 2” and “Perihelion” from Infest the Rats’ Nest. “Perihelion” hits the hardest of the two. “Crumbling Castle” is the second longest track on the album (at nearly nine minutes), and the crowd never stops cheering for it the entire time. It tears into “The Fourth Colour” so fast it almost makes your head spin.
“Deserted Dunes Welcome Weary Feet” and “The Castle in the Air” are a great pairing to slow things down just a touch before the rocking “Muddy Water.” “People Vultures” is a crowd favorite (as is anything from Nonagon Infinity, really) and sounds like it’s almost at double the normal speed. The swing of “Mr. Beat” is always fun to hear live. Hearing the crowd sing along to Stu Mackenzie‘s opening flute on “Hot Water” is delightful.
They’re grooving ands swinging on “This Thing.” “Billabong Valley” is always a crowd favorite as Ambrose Kenny-Smith takes over on lead vocals to sing a tale of a gunman. “Nuclear Fusion” is a personal favorite because of the cool Middle Eastern microtonal groove of the whole thing. “Anoxia,” the always rocking “All Is Known,” and the always hip-moving “Boogieman Sam” follow, and the show wraps up with a dive back into thrash metal with another personal favorite – “Mars for the Rich” and then over twelve minutes of the wild, swirling, mind-melting “Am I in Heaven?” – which contains bits of “Altered Beast” and “Cyboogie” as well.
You might think that after this whirlwind of an album is finished – just like any show by these wacky fellas.
Keep your mind open.
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