IN CONCERT: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Forest Hills Stadium (w/ Die Spitz) August 20th + 21st, 2026 (Rock Shows)
Concert reviews written by Beau Croxton
photos of Night 1 by Tommy Krause
photos of Night 2 by Adela Loconte
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Tommy Krause - Night 1 - 8/20/26
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard fans in New York City are counting their lucky stars this year. Last week, the Aussie band returned for four consecutive shows that resulted in NYC’s own version of Gizzard festival. The group toured lightly in the US this year, only hitting NYC and their own (official festival) Field of Vision in Colorado, which yielded 3-hour “marathon” shows and an insane lineup including Angine De Poitrine and Blood Incantation among many fantastic groups.
Gizzard returned to Forest Hills Stadium directly after their festival and the release of their transformative, EDM-laced album, Alien Metal.
NIGHT 1: 8/20/26
OPEN WATER
On Thursday night, heavy rain and storms threatened cancellation. As it poured down intensely, fans were directed to “shelter in place” under the concrete stadium walls, where they would wait to hear if the show would still go on. The rain hit the heaviest during Die Spitz opening time slot, which unfortunately forced them to cancel their set, but the group ultimately returned strong to support on Night 2.
The downpour was relentless; fans were absolutely soaked to the bone, and many of us felt like we had jumped into a swimming pool with all of our clothes on. After a long, doubtful wait, the show was approved to continue around 7:30, and fans were ushered back into the show area. The cheers of camaraderie that cascaded through the walls of the stadium were purely infectious.
Lord Of Lightning
As the band came out to rapturous cheers around 8PM, band leader Stu Mackenzie declared “We are gonna play as much music as possible until they tell us to piss off”. The rainy conditions raised the ambitious spirit of the band to make the show as memorable and fired-up as possible.
King Gizzard opened with a triumphant metal rendition of “Extinction”, which got fans singing loud and proud in the pouring rain. It excitingly utilized “Flamethrower” quotes, teasing the next portion perfectly.
2023 album Petrodragonic Apocalypse got a massive moment with the appropriately storm-themed, raging metal of “Converge”, which supercharged fans to mosh in the rain. The crowd screamed even louder when the tune led directly into “Witchcraft”, where Stu Mackenzie and Joey Walker weaved spellbinding and technical guitar solos over an onslaught of medieval prog-metal.
The prog touch of Petro’s metal was expanded on excellently with the epic trilogy of “Inner Cell”, “Loyalty” and "Horology" from Polygondwanaland.
The band’s rock-rework of “Theia” teased vocal refrains from “Float Along Fill Your Lungs” and brilliantly incorporated the gleeful guitar leads from Laminated Denim’s “The Land Before Timeland”. As the band skyrocketed the hype with Nonagon Infinity's “Evil Death Roll”, the rain eased away and the band launched into a non-stop run of King Gizz classics.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Tommy Krause - Night 1
Staying on brand with the drama, the band led into an incredibly spirited rendition of “Lord of Lightning” which was greeted with some of the largest crowd response. That crowd response was quickly topped by the roars when the band kicked off their infamous “Mind Fuzz Suite”, and visuals from the I’m In Your Mind Fuzz album cover appeared on the screen. It was celebrated with giddy enthusiasm on the floor and the dance-y mosh pit.
As “Cellophane” trekked on, the band’s technicians managed to swap out their drop-tuned guitars with their standard-tuned ones. This move directly resulted in the surprise transition into Murder of The Universe's “Balrog”, which was tacked-on seamlessly and performed viciously. Ambrose Kenny Smith got major crowd participation on his excellent rendition of “Straws in the Wind”, and he even brought his mom out to say hello.
One of the biggest highlights came with the condition-appropriate “Open Water” from 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana. Around halfway, drummer Mickey Cavs elevated the tune into a thrash metal tempo that made the track absolutely explode. Rain started pouring down furiously (and poetically) over the stadium, as Cavs led the high-energy rendition into a series of incredible breakdowns and gnarly drum rolls.
The night closed beautifully with the classic “Float Along Fill Your Lungs”, which brought a serene feeling of finality. The band delivered tenfold, the show went on, everyone could breathe easy– and what a glorious set it was.
King Gizzard’s Night 1 rock show was easily the most sopping-wet concert experience of my life, but the emotional arc of the night truly made it such an incredible ride. The uncertainty turning around into one of the band’s most fired-up Forest Hills sets made the experience shoot to the stars. It was an endlessly rewarding set, thanks to King Gizzard bringing some serious thunder of their own to make up for soaking setbacks.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Tommy Krause - NIGHT 1
NIGHT 2: 8/21/26
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Adela Loconte - NIGHT 2
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and their devoted “weirdo swarm” fanbase returned to Forest Hills on Friday with nothing but gorgeous weather in sight. Vibes were incredibly high (and dry!) as New Yorkers and traveling fans clad in Gizzard merch took over the stadium with sheer excitement.
DIE SPITZ
Opening act Die Spitz has been riding an intense wave of popularity this past year, and deservedly so, because they absolutely rip.
Guitarist Ava Schrobilgen ripped through guttural roars of “American Porn”, while Ellie Livingston led the Nirvana-esque “Down On It” and the doom-y banger “I hate when GIRLS Die”. Their drummer Chloe de St. Aubin swapped her drums for guitar with Ava to sing “Voir Dire” and “Groping Dogs Gushing Blood”.
“Throw Yourself To the Sword” brought chugging stoner metal that’s similar to King Gizzard’s sludge-y reptilian metal anthems, so it’s no wonder the mosh pit turned into a spiral of fans going joyfully ballistic.
Die Spitz live at Forest Hills Stadium by Adela Loconte - NIGHT 2
BORN AGAIN OVERNIGHT
King Gizzard came out around 7:30 to open with a relentless version of their microtonal anthem, “Rattlesnake”. Wild circle pits and crowd surfers got to work as Stu Mackenzie and Kenny-Smith traded “rattle!” chants with their vocally enthusiastic audience. In a trademark Gizz-move, they incorporated guitar melodies from “Billabong Valley” into their extended jam.
“Ice V” was a supremely funky set highlight which featured locked-in jamming and sassy vocals from Ambrose Kenny-Smith. The band’s fiery and technical “Altered Beast” suite was purely electric, and continued to ramp up a feverish energy both on and off stage.
Mackenzie addressed the fanbase by saying “Thanks for letting us do weird shit!”, before they launched into a beautifully odd and dazzling highlight— “Gliese 710”. The track utilizes dissonance with the Locrian mode to brew up a truly unique space-jazz vibe. It was the second time they’ve played the track ever, and it shined bright with its doomy 9/8 outro that ripped marvelously.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Adela Loconte - NIGHT 2
In an interesting turn of events, the band brought up drummer Max Weinberg (of Bruce Springsteen’s E-street band) to play on “Hot Water” as a guest drummer. It’s a connection that’s linked to drummer Mickey Cavs often having his friend (and Max's son) Jay Weinberg sit in for guest spots.
The band’s modular synth table,”Nathan”, made a major splash when it was summoned for a trio of potent electronic excursions. The band vibed out hard with a funky rework of “Kepler 22-B”, but it was the very first few notes and realization of “Shanghai” that swooned the audience the most. It was a standout moment highlighted by Ambrose Kenny-Smith’s busy falsetto verses Mackenzie’s vocoder-consumed hooks. Fans were similarly thrilled to hear “Cyboogie” roll in, and roared again when seeing the iconic Fishing For FIshies visualizers popping up behind the group.
It truly wouldn't be a Gizzard show without plenty of silly moments: an octopus-like balloon (dubbed “Octo-balloon” by fans) floated over the crowd for most of the show. It got lots of love from both the fans in the stadium and Gizzheads watching at home from the livestream. Before their closing stretch, the band did a brief and hilarious Limp Bizkit “Break Stuff” jam, and Stu led a silly chant of “NICK CRAIG! NICK CRAIG!” to cheer on his bandmate Nicholas “Cookie” Craig,
The band closed with a brutal batch of metal tunes, beginning with the ripping “Venusian 1”. The song’s gang-vocal chant was one of the biggest sing-along moments of the night, and it had the entire stadium singing like gladiators psyching themselves up for war. “Venusian 2” charged excellently with its Motorhead-esque stomp. The Silver Cord track “Gilgamesh” was given a heavy metal makeover, and featured throat singing from Mackenzie and furious raps from Kenny-Smith.
The ultimate closer “Gila Monster” had fans going rabid, with crowd-surfers sailing over the barricade at every opportunity. Ambrose Kenny Smith’s verse was extra unhinged, as he thrashed around the stage with his always commanding stage presence.
King Gizzard’s Night 2 rock show was pure magic— it was an incredibly strong, well-rounded and diverse set that brought plenty of classics and unique moments for fans to geek out about. The beautiful weather only heightened the ever-evolving set, and its high-octane ending was a fulfilling close to their NYC “Rock Shows” that had fans reeling all the way home.
Full Galleries for both nights below !
NIGHT 1 GALLERY
Thursday 8/20/26
By Tommy Krause
( @_tommykrause_ )
(Click to expand to fullscreen+ slideshow)
(Night 2 Gallery further down)
KING GIZZARD SETLIST NIGHT 1
(Phantom Island in full w/ Orchestra of St. Lukes)
Extinction (metal version)
Converge >
Witchcraft
Inner Cell>
Loyalty
Horology
Evil Death Roll
Theia
The Reticent Raconteur>
Lord of Lightning>
I’m in Your Mind>
I’m Not in Your Mind>
Cellophane>
The Balrog
Straws in the Wind
Open Water
Float Along Fill Your Lungs
KING GIZZARD SETLIST NIGHT 2
Rattlesnake
Static Electricity >
East West Link
Ataraxia
Ice V>
Altered Beast I>
Alter Me I>
Altered Beast II
Gliese 710
Hot Water (with Max Weinberg)
Kepler 22-B (synth table) >
Shanghai (synth table) >
Cyboogie (synth table)
Venusian 1
Venusian 2
Gilgamesh (metal version)
Gila Monster
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