The merch booth!
A friend and I travelled to New York city to watch a show that was years in the making. Over three years ago, we originally had a plan to see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in NYC but we were stopped by other obligations and then the pandemic happened. Finally, we got tickets to the Forest Hills Stadium show on October 21st. I was stoked and even more excited when Black MIDI announced they would be the opener a few weeks ago.
The venue is converted from an old tennis arena. As a result, the viewing areas are divided into stone seating stands and a boxy, flat standing area for general admission. We were situated in the middle of the floor on top of old tennis courts and we vibed along with the two openers, Leah Senior and Black MIDI. These two artists warmed up the crowd. Leah had people grooving back and forth and Black MIDI started the mosh pit crowd. The sets were relatively short and tight. Leah's group only played a few short songs without much banter. Black MIDI played fast and hard with limited time to jam. Soon after lights and smoke effects were tested, KGatLW jumped out on stage. They started off the show with a thrashing rendition of The Dripping Tap. The crowd was cheering and jeering as the mosh pit grew to encompass most of the front half of the floor area. I had been talking with some folks nearby me right before the KGatLW set started, they had grabbed drinks and were curious if the crowd would be rowdy. I looked their way and said "... there will be a mosh pit, people will get rowdy"; and I was right. I had a great time and stayed out of most of the mess. The songs were played with care and technicality. The majority of tracks chosen from KGatLW's discography were from their heavier and longer tracks. It was rather apparent that they focused on more recent and popular tracks that they had been working on. I expected as much and they did their older songs with just as much perfection. 10/10 concert experience, I am a frugal man, but I spent a pile of pennies on a couple band T-shirts. Who knows when I will see this combination of artists again?
The next morning, I ate at a greasy spoon diner in Manhattan and roamed the city for a few hours before taking Amtrak's Northeast Regional back to Boston.
The setlist found after the show, crumpled by the mosh
Statue of Liberty from Battery Park in Manhattan, NYC, NY
Stage prior to show
Herbert the rabbit and me on the floor
