Live Gigs: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Tropical Fuck Storm @ Freo Arts Centre

Oh my, Fuckin’ shit! it’s a live show!

It’s Gaz (left) of TFS with beer wearing Jaws t-shirt and Stu (right) of King Gizz in bare feet, I think, guessing this must have been taken in Mel-town? “We’re going to need a bigger boat!”

It’s announced that was to take place on 1st of April so I was wonder when they would tell us it was an April fool joke? But it did happen last night! Two of my favorite acts together on the same stage for one very special night! This is my very first live gig for well over a bloody year, you know why? It might be the same for a lot of peeps there? My last gig which I did blog about, looking back was on 29th of Feb. 2020, linked here not that we knew what the hell was coming very soon? Here in Australia, sport seems un-hurt by you know what? We had AFL footy, ruby and even soccer last year and all starting again last week or something? Australian tennis open taken place last month or something toooo? But live music in this motherfuckin’ country is screaming out for help but it seems the musos and venues have to do it all themselves, if they can put it off the fans like myself have to go! All have to work around the rules which if you’re in some kind-of sport don’t court at all or it’s very easy to get some kind-of lean way, if you are! That’s my bitching and moaning about how unfair that is over and done with but I could go on and on about that, you know? Since this show was announced I was hoping for zero out-break’s because a gig would be so easy shut-down because the very sad news breaking day before yesterday Bluesfest in Byron Bay was cancelled, no joke!

That’s the couple of brand new King Gizz albums above earlier this year and very late last year, if you still haven’t check them out? I think, mainly the setlist was made-up by those tracks because it was the Micro tour or that’s not really small or tiny show but Microtonal tour. It’s most likely the biggest show they’ve done in W.A., so far. They did a few songs from 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana album too because that was the first Micro record. In Perth or W.A. we at still point have zero community transmission of you know what? Yeah we are very, very lucky so other than signing in at the gate, they had no rules once inside. So by the time King Gizz came on stage everyone when completing ape shit eg: mosting, crowd surfing and even someone at one point got passed the security guards on stage with band for a moment running pass them and stage driving in the crowd tooo! It was sweaty and messy, just like a gig should be or just like old times! I got their early, half a hour before gates open because I was so excited, I wanted to pogo outside to no music but waited normally and quietly, didn’t look totally mad jumping up and down on the spot! So I got great spot right on the fence, more right side of stage if you wanna know? I was on the balcony last time seeing King Gizz in 2019, kind-of up the back so this time right down the front! To say I enjoy it would massive understatement, you know? The full setlist in the right order was this, I think?

• KGLW (Shorter version)
• Doom City
• O.N.E.
• Oddlife
• Ontology
• Automation
• Minimum Brain Size
• Supreme Ascendancy
• Anoxia
• East West Link
• Static Electricity
• Open Water
• Ataraxia
• Straws in the Wind
• Nuclear Fusion
• Honey
• K.G.L.W.

They never play encores and Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) played over the PA when the light when up and it was all over! Thank you coming over and playing a bloody show, I know you’re not going to see this blog post by me but anyway!

That’s TFS couple of albums, if you still haven’t check them out yet? Highly recommend! They played mainly songs from their debut. I think, played couple of totally brand new songs or songs I’ve never heard them played before so guessing they’re from the coming soon, as yet untitled next or third album. One sung by Gaz and one by Fiona which was kind-of the middle or maybe towards the end their set, not really giving them names or anything? Edit: songs were The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Stooges cover Ann. Both are noisy as hell, Fi’s one starts out with a big bass riff, she’s the bass player and is pretty mellow to start with but was feedback by the end and Gaz one is just noise from start to finish, trying to listen to the words but have totally forget the lyrics by now. If that’s the sign of what’s coming later this year? I can’t wait, finish it, quick smart please! Closed with Paradise the opening song on the second album, throwing his guitar at his amp at the end and doing his now classic knee drop to his pedals, well he does that more that a few times but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it. The earlier set-list was all first album opening with Chameleon Paint followed by Antimatter Animals then it was You Let My Tyres Down, then song “about holiday in Rio” Rubber Bullies and the song about “holiday in Greece” Two Afternoons. I guess, that debut album does have some wicked great songs on it and that list I’ve just says is all in the wrong order! Erica was also wearing The Drones t-shirt which was pretty funny tooo! Once a long time ago I remember, Gareth doing one of his solo show in the courtyard at the Freo Art Centre which is the smaller part of the venue but was also part of ABC radio Lucky Oceans’ show interviewing him in-between the songs. One point he was asked about first starting out in music as a roadie, BTW he grew-up in W.A. too and he when on to say it all the locals played in here and it was always the bigger international oversea artists played out there, pointing to the what’s known as the South Lawn, asked “how come the Aussies never play out there?” Or something like that? Well, cut-too 2021 and I guess, it’s thanks to your mates who are a little more successful but you’ve now or your band finally played out here on the South Lawn at the Freo Art Centre, last night and it was epic amazing! Edit: TFS setlist was:

• Chameleon Paint
• Antimatter Animals
• You Let My Tyres Down
• The Greatest Story Ever Told
• Two Afternoons
• Rubber Bullies
• Ann (The Stooges cover)
• Baby Squared (The Drones cover)
• Paradise

Before all that! The local support was Queerlectro indie pop band called Alter Boy who very cool wicked, three of it’s main members are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and all songs are performed in Auslan, that’s Australian Sign Language. Googling them afterward because they were very good, even great but not just said that because they were very entertaining live. I think, they’re: Molly Aaron is the singer which I mean doing the vocals also while half-naked or shirtless showing FTM chest surgery scars with what seem to be tattoo love hearts covering nipples and the words Cry Baby. Both Jack Meakins and Laura Bullock are singers too but only using sign language, Jack then translate Molly in-between the songs while talked to the crowd using sign language, saying one part that Moly can’t hear us clapping because is totally deaf. Three piece muso line-up were intro as the hearing members who were Andrew Wright on Keys, Synths & Production, Josh Terlick on Bass and Josh Hellis on Drums. So to finish this post, here’s their video clip for Bad Dream Break In:

Those are the Melb-town dates back in Feb. but couple of months later was the Freo show which as on April’s Fool Day 2021, you know it wasn’t a joke tooo!

Cheers! 🙂

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