IN CONCERT: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Forest Hills Stadium & Under the K Bridge - August 22nd + 23rd, 2026 (Rave Shows)
Concert review written by Beau Croxton
all photography by Tommy Krause
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Tommy Krause (Night 3 - Rave Show)
NiGHT 3: 8/22/26
Forest Hills stadium
King Gizzard’s fans returned to Forest Hills for an entirely different experience with Saturday’s Rave Show. The “rave” title is only a portion of what’s afoot at these shows, as the band displays a wide variety ranging from chilled-out psychedelia to euphoric trance, to their own brand of evil, distorted electronic. The band engages in extensive electronic jams crafted with their massive modular synth rig, dubbed “Nathan”.
There was clearly a different energy abound, as seen from all the playful and often alien-themed outfits. One fan arrived fully covered in silver body paint, dressed as the band’s robot character Han Tyumi from 2017’s Murder of The Universe. Special shoutout goes to this legendary group (pictured below) that came dressed as the cultist surgery squad from Gizzard’s recent “Level 5” music video.
by Tommy Krause (Night 3 - Rave Show)
ALIEN METAL
After Dam-FunK’s vibey opening set, King Gizzard started with a mellow electronic jam that eventually revealed itself as Paper Mache Dream Balloon's “Sense”. Mackenzie greeted the crowd with his voice enveloped in vocoder, “Hey! Whatsup New York City! My favorite city!”
The chorus of this classic was recited enthusiastically by fans under the setting sun, and it served as a supremely sweet appetizer. It slowly evolved into a vibey rendition of another old-school Gizz cut, “Slow Jam 1”.
When the band got rowdy, the energy was given right back to them tenfold by the stadium audience. Case and point was “Perihelion”, which was a massive set highlight that got brutally heavy. This brooding cut escalated brilliantly with Joey Walker’s shredding guitar; this rave-rock mashup sent the floor into hysterics with dance-y moshing.
“Muddy Water” blended into “The Bitter Boogie”, where Ambrose Kenny-Smith got a chance to flaunt his bluesy vocals and strut the stage.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Tommy Krause (Night 3 - Rave Show)
The crescendo of the evening arrived with a potent patch of new material from Alien Metal. As the cathartic drop for lead single “Level 5” ramped up, the crowd roared with anticipation. Once the massive drop hit with manic breakbeats from Mickey Cavs, the stadium absolutely erupted. The euphoria of “Rapid Alpha Decay” was one of the more psychedelic moments of the night, which provided a fresh breath before the biggest bang.
The undoubted highlight was the title track “Alien Metal”, which went immensely hard. Similar to Friday’s “Venusian 1” chant, the “Water/Fire!” chants of this tune revved up the stadium like gladiators in a colosseum. Walker’s metal guitar and Cavs’ thunderous drums took this cut through the stratosphere. The cherry on top was Jason Galea’s projected visuals displaying a dancing alien, and all the fiery passion displayed by crowdsurfers and moshers alike.
The 8/22 rave show was a surreal experience, and vastly different to the King Gizzard rock shows at Forest Hills since 2022. The band has come a very long way since debuting their synth table years ago
The incorporation of live drums, electric bass, flute and metal guitars throughout the electronic set kept things consistently thrilling. The diversity of genre and the build of dynamics throughout the show is also extremely impressive. Of course, this prolific band would successfully manage to outdo themselves for an even more bonkers rave set the following day at Under The K-bridge.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Forest Hills Stadium by Tommy Krause (Night 3 - Rave Show)
Under The K-Bridge by Tommy Krause
NIGHT 4: 8/24/26
Under the K-bridge
For Night 4 of Gizzard’s NYC run, their second rave show got a brand new setting at Under The K-Bridge that was quite the scene. The “Weirdo Swarm” grew joyously weirder; it attracted a wider net of fans with insane outfits, glow sticks, and an attitude hell-bent on pure fun. The crowd was treated to a surprise modular-synth solo set by Gizzard bandleader Stu Mackenzie and a groovy set from VRIL.
Stu Mackenzie and VRIL live at Under The K-Bridge by Tommy Krause
SMOKE & MIRRORS
When King Gizzard came onstage, Joey Walker said “I’m seeing many faces here who have been to many shows, so thanks, and we appreciate it!” before he joked that they would be “playing the new Fred Again album in full”.
The band launched an extensive intro until dropping into 2023’s “Set”. As the crowd recited the “Slay the mighty Set” refrain, the band expanded it into an epic 30 minute rendition. Its final form found Walker wailing on guitar, Ambrose Kenny-Smith playing furious congas, Lucas playing electric bass and Cavs drumming through vicious boogie-beats.
During Alien Metal’s“Kill For The Steel”, the band flailed around giddily stage. Mackenzie wore a fan’s pair of green alien glasses, and he tossed them back to the fans during the pumping “Sapience”.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard live at Under The K-Bridge by Tommy Krause
The band had a treat saved for this show: Alien Metal’s “Uqt” saw its live debut, and it went off like mad. Joey Walker grabbed his Flying V guitar to infuse heavy metal, which was met by the relentless drums of Mickey Cavs. Their slick electro-rendition of “Magma” is always incredible; it’s got such an irresistible groove. At K-Bridge Park, its evil tone and throat-sung vocals were balanced beautifully with fun vocoder and flute.
As the swing-y beat of “Magma” seamlessly morphed into “Smoke and Mirrors", Ambrose Kenny-Smith donned himself in a haunting and iconic clown mask. Kenny-Smith paced around the stage like The Joker while smoking cigarettes and dancing menacingly. He weaved in his verses from “Presumptuous” over the beat, before rapping his verses from “Smoke and Mirrors” and the unreleased “Torture Chamber”. Ambrose declared “Thank you! Welcome to the carnival!” as he puffed away and continued to hype up the crowd.
“The Grim Reaper” was when all hell broke loose. Kenny-Smith was on fire as he commanded the stage with vicious rapping that quoted House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and Beastie Boys “Intergalactic”. The beat was crushing, as alien and alligator pool-floats glided over the countless moshing fans and crowdsurfers. Ambrose absolutely dominated the venue with his presence as he leaped out onto the speakers.
The ultimate surprise arrived with King Gizzard’s first-ever electronic rendition of "Head On/Pill”. As I looked around in the front, I saw a few concert goers getting teary-eyed– which only makes sense, as this special cut is rare and widely beloved. Its outro portion was taken into heavenly trance with cosmic vocoder segments. The tune was gorgeous when translated to electronic euphoria, and it made for such an incredible moment to close this epic 4 night run.
Forest Hills will likely always be my favorite place to see King Gizzard in NYC, but Under The K-Bridge was a wild setting to see King Gizzard’s “Rave Show”. It was a total scene to behold when Gizzard fans took over the venue, and it doesn't hurt that it nails the “Cybergoth kids raving under a bridge" vibe that’s flowing through the band’s recent electronic opus, Alien Metal.
This set was joyously unhinged, between the wild audience, the band dancing with high spirits, and the hyped-up renditions. But it was all about the finale; Ambrose’s Joker-rap takeover and the purely blissed-out “Head/On Pill” was what made it an essential Gizz show. Simply put– this was one of the most purely fun King Gizzard shows I’ve attended, and I’m 18 shows deep at this point.
NYC Gizz fans will be eagerly awaiting their return, but for now, they can cherish the memories of KGLW’s unforgettable 4-night residency in the city.
Check out the full galleries for both nights below !
NIGHT 3 GALLERY
Forest Hills Stadium
Saturday 8/22/26
By Tommy Krause
( @_tommykrause_ )
for Occult Magazine
(Click to expand to fullscreen+ slideshow.)
(Night 4 Gallery further down)
NIGHT 4 GALLERY
Under The K Bridge
SuNDAY 8/23/26
By Tommy Krause
( @_tommykrause_ )
for Occult Magazine
(Click to expand to fullscreen+ slideshow)
(Click images for fullscreen / slideshow)
KING GIZZARD SETLIST NIGHT 3
Saturday 8/22/26
Forest Hills Stadium
Sense >
Slow Jam I
Perihelion>
Muddy Water
The Bitter Boogie
Level 5 >
Rapid Alpha Decay >
Alien Metal
KING GIZZARD SETLIST NIGHT 4
Sunday 8/23/26
Under The K Bridge
Set >
Kill For The Steel >
Sapience >
Uqt
Magma
Smoke & Mirrors
The Grim Reaper
Head On/Pill
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