King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will release a feature-length live music documentary dubbed ‘Chunky Shrapnel‘ this month. The effort, which will also birth an accompanying live album, will receive a streaming premiere on April 17th with tickets available here. An April 24th digital release is planned with physical copies to follow on May 29th.
The band’s Stu Mackenzie said of the film:
“John Stewart [director of ‘Chunky Shrapnel‘] followed us around for a few weeks through Europe. It was fun and funny and wild and weird. Sometimes an inconspicuous fly on the wall, sometimes an intrusive camera man one inch from my face. Always exciting though. ‘Chunky Shrapnel‘ was made for the cinema but as both concerts and films are currently outlawed, it feels poetic to release a concert-film digitally right now.”
Mackenzie also recorded the score for the film, which itself was filmed during the band’s 2019 European touring. An official press release said of the documentary:
‘A musical road movie dipped in turpentine, Chunky Shrapnel is a point of view / on stage experience from the perspective of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Once a song begins, just like the band, you’re stuck in the adrenaline-fueled quicksand that there is no escape from. The film’s contention is clear from the outset, it’s going to be a “journey” not a “lecture”, an incurved experience rather than a linear one.
The band, nor the film-makers, were interested in making a self congratulatory “behind the scenes expose” film. It was a direct decision to keep the inner workings of the band’s personality at arms length, it is the music they were interested in exploring.
The approach was taken that the film’s protagonist should be the “on stage” performances, that was the focus. With this, they abandoned multiple cameras and cross cutting during performances, turning the camera into a vehicle for the audience to experience the show through, rather than placing them in a crowd or side of stage.
At 96 minutes, Chunky Shrapnel more than earns its length. At times gently holding your hand and at other times smashing a bottle over your head and dumping your body in a heaving crowd. There is an inevitability to the film, a driving, ever accelerating spiral that climaxes in a 15 minute medley that spans four countries.’
The track listing for the accompanying live album includes:
01 – “Evil Star”
02 – “The River” (live in Luxembourg ’19)
03 – “Wah Wah” (live in Madrid ’19)
04 – “Road Train” (live in Manchester ’19)
05 – “Murder Of The Universe” (live in Utrecht ’19)
06 – “Quarantine”
07 – “Planet B” (live in London ’19)
08 – “Parking” (live in Brussels ’19)
09 – “Venusian 2” (live in Milan ’19)
10 – “Hell” (live in Milan ’19)
11 – “Let Me Mend The Past” (live in Madrid ’19)
12 – “Anamnesis”
13 – “Inner Cell” (live in Utrecht ’19)
14 – “Loyalty” (live in Utrecht ’19)
15 – “Horology” (live in Utrecht ’19)
16 – “A Brief History Of Planet Earth” (live in London, Berlin, Utrecht and Barcelona ’19)
The band have tbe below rescheduled North American tour booked:
10/03 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre (marathon set)
10/05 Seattle, WA – Moor Theatre
10/07 Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
10/09 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
10/12 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks (marathon set)
10/13 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks (marathon set)
10/16 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
10/18 Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees Festival
10/19 Washington, DC – The Anthem
10/22 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
10/23 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
10/25 Montreal, QC – L’Olympia
10/27 Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
10/28 Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple
10/29 Chicago, IL – Radius
10/30 St. Paul, MN – The Palace Theatre
