King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard were down a member last night for their first of two concerts in Athens, Greece after drummer Michael “Cavs” Cavanagh tested positive for COVID-19. The Australian rock band went on with the show as they will do again tonight using a drum machine.
The group treated an enthusiastic crowd at Gagarin 205 to a 12-song performance heavy on jams and slick transitions. King Gizz, aided by a drum machine, kicked off the show with the tour’s first “Sense.” The track from 2015’s Paper Mâché Dream Balloon gave way to “Let Me Mend The Past.” The band then connected “Sleepwalker” with “Mystery Jack” and “The Garden Goblin.”
The latter along with “Presumptuous” was a double dose of the band’s recently released studio album, Omnium Gatherum, which was also represented on Tuesday by “Persistence” a few songs later. A rare break in the music followed “Presumptuous.” Multi-instrumentalist Joey Walker addressed the crowd and revealed they would’ve had an audience member play drums with them “if it wasn’t for COVID.”
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard devoted the next 20 minutes to a wild “The River”/”Wah Wah” pairing. A singalong “Work This Time” came next along with the aforementioned “Persistence.” The band then sped up the drum machine for a raucous “Sea Of Trees,” a song featured on their debut 2012 LP, 12 Bar Bruise. “Sea Of Trees” bled into the evening’s “Hot Water” finale with Stu Mackenzie on flute.
Listen to an audience recording of Tuesday’s concert captured by @josh_10er and see an Instagram post from the band announcing Cavs’ absence below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CeJSe_TuLdw/
Setlist
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard at Gagarin 205
- Sense
- Let Me Mend the Past
- Sleepwalker
- Mystery Jack
- The Garden Goblin
- Presumptuous
- The River Wah Wah
- Work This Time
- Persistence
- Sea of Trees
- Hot Water
