King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard “Live in London ’19” 2022. Romanus Records. Limited edition ‘Subzero’ variant, double LP: Disc 1, Side A  holographic, Disc 2, C/D both with Rattlesnake splatter.

There are 48 different versions of Live in London ’19 on Discogs, and probably more floating around out there in the universe, and almost all of them “bootlegs.”  The band released this one as part of their “King Gizzard Bootlegger” series in December 2021 as “a free and open album that any label can reproduce.” Romanus’ version is gorgeous, as you can see. I have a mind-numbing mandatory online training to complete this afternoon for my employment at a public university so figured some Lizard Wizard would help. It is! I’ll be making notes as I space out and groove to their performance at Alexandra Palace on October 5th, 2019 in London. 

King Gizzard has a little something for everyone: there’s ass-shaking jams for the psychedelic boogie folks, spaced-out noodles for Deadheads, and massive headbangers for the heavy metal contingent. I have top picks on this live LP from all three! Gizzard channels Metallica (specifically “Master of Puppets”) on “Self-Immolate” with some very impressive speed metal guitar solos and there’s more than a few nods to Sabbath and Motörhead on “I’m Not In Your Mind.” Jam-banding Dead style is especially prevalent on “Float Along – Fill Your Lungs” (the concert closer), though there are whispers of Zeppelin on that track, too, and then the whole blues-boogie thing that the Dead were known for can be heard on “Boogieman Sam.” There’s even some harmonica (and tons of distortion and craziness that does not cross into Dead territory) on “I’m In Your Mind.” Plus the two drummers/kits thing. My favorite tracks, however, are the psychedelic boogie ass-shakers that the band is known for, particularly “Rattlesnake” and the epic ten-minute psychedelic freakout with exotic guitar “Crumbling Castle.”