King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and the San Diego Symphony brought Phantom Island to life at The Rady Shell
Prolific Aussie psych rock outfit King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard made their triumphant return to The Rady Shell on August 11th, joined by the San Diego Symphony conducted by Sarah Hicks to bring the music of Phantom Island (their 27th and latest album) to the SoCal Gizzverse. While not specifically billed as one of their trademark marathon sets, Gizz fans were treated to more than two hours of music from their heroes with the first set covering the new album and the second set including hits from some of the more recent additions to their discography.
Stu, Ambrose, Cook, Joey, Lucas, and Mickey took to the stage as the sun set on an unseasonably cool August night and proceeded to bring the heat, keeping their fans on their feet and dancing from the first licks of “Phantom Island” all the way through the final notes of “Iron Lung”. The bandmates lined the stage from one end of the Shell to the other with the San Diego Symphony arrayed behind them with conductor and musical director Sarah Hicks in the center of the maelstrom.
After playing through the entire new album with the symphony, the classical musicians left the stage for an intermission fully comprised of a rousing rendition of “Motor Spirit” that had all the Gizz Bros raising their voices for the guttural chorus “MOOOOOTTOOORR! SPIRRRRRRRRRRIIIITTTT!” Afterwards the symphony rejoined the band for a further set of fan favorites, including “Crumbling Castle”, “Dragon”, and “Iron Lung”.
