Wow! It killed me that I had to go to my day job before having a chance to sit and write this, so I'm going just jump right in, hang on to your butts. Last night's show was easily a top 10 concert for me. I won't pretend I've been Flaming Lips stan my whole life. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots came out just before I started undergrad, and while I found that I know many Flaming Lips songs, I was never hip enough to claim "I was into them before they were cool." They may still not make my list of favorite songs, but OMGWTFBBQ was last nights show one of my favorites I've attended. It was a night of finely tuned high dosage JOY.
I knew this was going to be a unique show going in. There was no opener. 10 minutes before the 7:30 start time, lead singer Wayne Coyne was visibly stalking the wings, and then on the mic greeting everyone and counting down the minutes until showtime, seemingly eager to get the show on the road. Then the moment came, the show began and it was just... joyful. Giant pink robots inflated and danced. Confetti rained over the crowd from cannons and canes. Balloons that were easily 4 or 5 feet across bounced and floated over a delighted crowd and rained yet more confetti when they inevitably burst. The energetic resonance between the crowd and the band was undeniable. The band seemed truly thrilled to be playing and the crowd was singing along and cheering as if it was a regular Saturday night show, and not a random Tuesday in a non-holiday week. The first set was the entirety of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which was followed by 10 more of their best.
Another satisfied fan.
The Flaming Lips put on a show of sensory overload I've not seen since I last saw Muse play. Their LED backdrop was features nearly psychedelic neon visuals with the lyrics to every song superimposed. There were lasers. There were the aforementioned giant pink robots and pink robot confetti. There were dancing eyeballs and giant rainbows and costume changes. It was a masterclass in show design and showmanship. Even when songs carried heavy message or slowed down, it never got depressing or maudlin. It was pure, family friendly fun. The crowd was amazing. It was challenging to select the images of the crowd to highlight because everyone is just grinning. It was as if, for just a couple hours, we were transported to a from the real world to an alternate dimension and free from all the things going on that demand attention and action or make us angry or sad or stressed. 10 out of 10. Perfection.
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