As someone who loves to romanticize music of the past, often to an overinflated and at times revisionist extent, it's hard to wrap my head around a modern artist doing something better than its predecessor.

However, in 2024, we are possibly living in the best time to be fans of new music. If you can get over the idea, or the urge to sound smart, of calling a modern artist derivative for taking influences from the past, then you are living at a time where artists are building on those concepts and taking them to places we would never have imagined.

If I told you in 1999 about an Australian rock band that merged elements of ‘60s Psych Rock, ‘70s Classic Rock, ‘80s Thrash Metal, Prog-Rock, Zappa-esc Fusion-Jazz Rock, and blended that all together to make a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-like style of jam rock, you may not be able to wrap you head around that.

“So do they sound like AC/DC?”
 “Sort of. But really they’re just from the same continent.”
 “Or do they sound like Kill Em’ All era Metallica?”
 “At times, yes.”
 “Like Captain Beefheart or King Crimson?”
 “Yes but sometimes no.”
 “Oh they’re kind of like Rush or Yes.”
 “Not really, but they definitely listen to them.”
 “They sound like Phish or Primus kind of.”
 “But much darker, and yet their music doesn’t take themselves too seriously and they have the same sense of humor about themselves.”

You could spend a lot of time trying to pigeonhole Melbourne's King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (KGLW). But what’s the point in trying to do that in 2024? Being raised in a post-download and now in a streaming era of music, artists tend not to just stick to one sound. If you do, it’s nearly impossible to break out from the crowd. Plus, what’s the point? You like more than one genre, why shouldn’t your favorite artist?

Post Malone just released an actually pretty great ‘90s country-influenced album. Remember that’s the guy who wrote “White Iverson.” Charlie XCX just released maybe the album of the year, and it’s a ‘00s era Indie-Sleaze-House album, not a simple pop record. So we are “beyond the Thunderdome,” to make an on-point reference when it comes to artists having simply one lane to pull from.

Plus, let’s be honest. What often happens to artists who continue to release the same sound, with just a few new ideas? The sound can become stale. It doesn’t challenge you enough to choose that new record over some of their early work.

“So what’s their best-known album or song?”
 “That’s the other thing… it’s really a preference when it comes to most King Gizzard fans. You have about 25 albums to choose from.”
 “25!? How long have these guys been around for?”
 “Only since 2010.”

Yes, KGLW are on the same trajectory as Dayton’s Guided By Voices to be one of the most prolific bands of the last 60 years. The six-piece have made Bob Dylan some-how look lazy compared to their output in a matter of 14 years. Often releasing multiple albums in a single year. Their creative output is arguably their greatest strength.

“So who are their fans?”
 “A wide range of people. You can see a punk wearing Doc Martens, cut-off sleeves, and covered in tattoos, and then next to them is a Jam-band Wookie, wearing a tie-dye, chacos, and a Phish bandana.”

If all of that sounds like your kind of crowd, get in line, literally.

As I approached MegaCorp Pavilion in Newport, KY, on Sunday evening, I saw something I don’t think the venue has seen in its time of being open. Lines that wrapped around the entire block. Not just one line. Multiple lines looped the block radius of the venue. If you’ve been to Bonnaroo or any other massive festival you may have seen the iconic snaking of fans high-fiving one and other as they entered the festival grounds. This was a very similar scene. However, this was to see two artists, for one evening. Although many may not know KGLW’s work, they have a massive contingency of dedicated fans that seem to only grow as they tour the world.

As a fairly dedicated jam-band fan myself, this wasn’t surprising, this is proof-positive of a band's live performing prowess. Having never seen KGLW live, I knew I was in for an incredible evening.

If I needed more proof however, the show sold out on Saturday, one day before the show. I’ve seen many shows now at Megacorp Pavilion and I thought the venue was close to selling out. I would like to formally retract past statements claiming crowds were sold out at this venue. Sunday night was in fact SOLD OUT. There were more people than I realized could fit into this venue. Megacorp Pavilion’s website states that the outdoor venue can fit up to 5,000 people. I would say they met that goal and possibly more. However, as the shows started, it didn’t feel overcrowded.

Thankfully due to the line of fans most likely, the show didn’t start till nearly 8pm. Although I was very excited to see KGLW for the first time, I was just as excited to see the opening act, Brooklyn, NY’s, Geese.

Yes, Geese, not to be confused with Connecticut's massively successful Jam Band Goose. Geese are much different than Goose, however they did begin around the same time in the Northeast, and by happenstance share very similar names.

Geese are not by any metric a “Jam Band.” The four-piece rock band fall more into the category of Post-Punk, and were conceived during the Post-Punk revival of the late 2010’s. Geese shares much more in common with artists like Parquet Courts, Black Country New Road, and Wednesday.

However, I find their music to be much more accessible than any of their contemporaries and on their 2023 release 3D Country, they buck the now overdone sound of today's Post-Punk. Drawing from influences like early ‘70s Rolling Stones, New York Indie-sleaze of the early ‘00s like the Strokes, the Rapture, and the British-wave of indie rock like Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead.

Lead singer Cameron Winter lets his unique and versatile vocal range take the lead on their new work. For me it perfectly balances the more popular elements of today’s Post-Punk, the deep crooning vocals of bands like Fontaines D.C. and Black Country, New Road, while mixing it with the melodic-overblown vocals of artists like Julian Casablancas, James Murphy, and the sleazy swagger of Mick Jagger.

3D Country really grabbed me with its clear influences of that country-era Stones and the instrumental chaos of LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver. Albums like Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, are all over this album, as much as the chaotic dance-punk of LCD Soundsystem. 3D Country was a real front-runner for my album of the year last year.

As Geese took the stage fans seemed just as excited to see the new and unique Brooklyn band. Songs like, “2122” are perfect for this crowd to get excited and that’s what Geese would open with.

Winter kicked off the song with a blistering deep bellow, “God of the sun, I’m taking you down on the inside!” What follows is an equally blistering crash of sounds from the rest of the band that sets expectations for fans to know that this band is going to blow you away from the top. The song merges together and at about 2 minutes in to create this collision of sounds that can be only described as a music car crash.

With Geese having only two proper albums, I knew they were fairly limited to what they could play to audiences. In a perfect short set, which featured the lead single from their 2023 record, “Cowboy Nudes,” they introduced themselves to audiences and made a lasting impression. With a larger catalog, it’s easily conceivable to see Geese headlining their own show at this stage in a short matter of time. They seemed to hone in on their strengths on stage, while showing audience members they can command a stage as well as any other headliner.

As the sun went down and audience members grew eager, out came King Gizzard. Led by one of the three guitarists, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Stu Mackenzie. Who in some strange distant way resembles a modern day Angus Young, with the same angsty energy, although not dressed like a school boy in his ‘30s.

The crowd was amped up, as fans on the floor GA prepared to begin moshing for the next two and half hours, audience members on the lawn roared.

Mackenzie then kicked the band off into “All Is Known,” a song that mixes the more worldly musical influences as a sort of misdirect and then blasts off into this overblown reverb vocal rocker. With this being live, the song presented like this sort of Doom/Desert rock blend, which would be the same for the next song “O.N.E.” A song that uses very similar elements. Mackenzie along with Guitarist and Vocalist Joey Walker have found this way to turn their overdrive on their guitars into this sort of Sitar sound, that gives elements of ‘60s Psych-Garage Rock.

After running through those first few tunes fans were hyped up to enter into the more Metal elements of KGLW. If you come for one thing and one thing only with KGLW, it's the riffs. Walker and Mackenzie’s clear love for ‘80s Thrash Metal is laid before listeners on any of their more raucous tunes. However, when it comes to tracks off their more Thrash-sounding music they find a way to make it their own.

There are still the screaming guitar solos, thunderous drums, and hammering basslines, but they find this way to make it very Australian, for lack of a better term. I mean you can put on Mad Max: Fury Road and play all of their 2023 record PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet, that’s a mouthful, and have the album simply soundtrack the movie. Like Darkside of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz. However, the aesthetic fits more than the concepts.

I’ve never been to Australia but there is clearly this intrigue in this desert-like apocalyptic feel that the Outback must draw out of its artists from there. This is perfectly conveyed on “Motor Spirit,” a 10-minute Thrash journey through the wasteland, and fans loved every second of it.

Sticking with this section of more Thrash, the band played for nearly 30 minutes of headbanging bliss. “Motor Speed,” effortlessly merged with “Gaia,” into “Converge,” and “Witchcraft.” Often doing this almost hazy-droning Dave Mustane impression in his vocals, Mackenzie’s energy was mesmerizing.
 
 The man did not stop, neither did the flawless guitar precision of Walker, the unrelenting rhythm of drummer Cavs Cavanaugh, and bassist Lucas Hardwood, or the never-ending energy from Multi-instrumentalists Cook Craig and Ambrose Kenny-Smith, who may have been my favorite part of the night. Kenny-Smith is the true multi-instrumentalist in the group. Jumping between the saxophone, to the keys, to percussion, not to mention, the man plays a mean harp (harmonica).

“Motor Speed,” led into a string of tunes that truly made the show feel like you were watching a proper ‘80s Metal Band. Not a Hair-Metal band, it should be said. Like you were watching Metallica at their peak Cliff Burton years circa Ride the Lighting, or Slayer during their Reign In Blood era, but with those hints of Motorhead intensity.

Between, “Gaia,” “Converge,” “Witchcraft,” and then “Mars for the Rich,” I was enthralled by the pure talent on that stage. To play complex Metal is one thing, however to embody that sound and the stage presence, is another level I was not expecting. There’s a reason Metallica was one of the biggest bands in the world for so long, it’s a mix of writing compelling music, staying true to that sound, and then giving a monumental presence that is unmatched.

It almost feels inevitable, with the Jam-like following they’ve cultivated, their sound, and their talent that bigger stages are meant for them. However, I’m not entirely sure that’s what this band cares about or wants. There’s still this slacker-relatability to the band, like they would sound like this on a big stage or in their garage.

Next came some more straightforward rock songs, like “Plastic Boogie,” or “This Thing,” still riff-heavy tunes that have a bit of that ‘70s classic rock groove.

Now, it was time to slow things down with “Slow Jam 1.” There was a period of time with KGLW that critics and fans tried to compare this act to that Hipster-slacker Psych Rock explosion of the early 2010’s. Probably due to where they are from, Tame Impala was often the comparison I heard, or Unknown Mortal Orchestra, but that’s not an accurate depiction of this band really. Of course, this tune has many of the similar building blocks of one of those bands, but this song is really more in that Jam Band vein. That can be said for the next song, “Sense,” and maybe one of their more popular songs on streaming services for a period of time. But these songs simply serve as an aside from your regularly scheduled rock.

Then came my favorite part of the show, the new tracks. Not something I usually look forward to, especially with a band that has their catalog size. However, their latest 2024 release, Flight b741, seems like it was done as a challenge to the band. Could they make a ‘70s Classic Rock album sound fresh and authentic in 2024? The answer is simply yes. Put this record on and mix it in with some of the more iconic tunes of ‘70s Classic Rock, like Grand Funk Railroad, Edgar Winter, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy, Boston, I could go on… the point being that this is by far the most accessible record the band has produced. Taking away some of the fuzz, leaning on Kenny-Smith’s harmonica, big choruses paired harmonies. The album also leans on Kenny-Smith and Walker taking the reins on vocals more. This makes sense as their vocals fit better than Mackenzie’s more gravelly voice.

I realize it sounds like I’m describing them making an Eagles album, but it couldn’t be further from that.

From, “Field of Vision,” to “Rats in The Sky,” to “Flight b741,” it sounded like KGLW has the capability to create more “commercially” acceptable rock but that’s sort of the point of this band. In many ways, they could make any rock album. Their musical vocabulary and library of references goes so deep they could really do whatever they want. However, they at no point sound like they’re name checking one single artist. Instead they are referencing all of your favorite artists of the last 50 years.

The band continued on through their final songs like, “Gamma Knife,” another favorite of mine, “Work This Time,” one of their more popular tunes, finishing with “Iron Lung.”

As I left the venue, I felt physically exhausted but mentally amped up. I think that’s a similar response from many fans and the band themselves. I mean for nearly three hours KGLW played at 100 percent full throttle, as they took us through their desolate desert wasteland of sounds, to emerge from the show ready to see what they will do next. How could they top that? Which is at its core the Jam Band draw. However, even if the band may have seemed like they could be tired, you could almost see on all their faces that they were coming up with new ideas at every turn. Their chemistry, respect for one and others' strengths, and continued curiosity are what keep them going and fans, including me, coming back for more at every show.