There (really) Should be Unicorns

I’d heard of The Flaming Lips for years, but for some reason I never got around to listening to them. There’s just so much music out there these days. Hell, I didn’t even realize “Do You Realize??” was The Lips. I saw they were playing Riot Fest a few years back, and had to see them of course! I instantly fell in love. I have a weakness for all that is over the top, and The Flaming Lips are definitely that. I knew I had to see them again if I ever had the opportunity. I had to wait a few years, but I finally got a chance to see them again. Oh my, by no means did they disappoint. The wait was well worth it. It was such a phenomenal show. In fact, I’d even venture to say it was one of the best staged shows I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen The Rolling Stones and Bryan Ferry, so that’s saying something. From start to finish, it was an amazing show. Opening acts can definitely be hit or miss. 

Opening for The Flaming Lips must be a daunting task. I try to have few expectations of the opening band. I prefer it that way. I love that feeling when I am blown away by an opening act, like when I saw Friendly Fires open for Lykke Li. Last night was one of those nights. The band is Cherry Glazerr, and they came out swinging. I would best describe them as a mix of rock and indie. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are one of the bands I can think of to compare them to. The singer, Clementine Creevy, somewhat reminded me of Karen O. Her vocals were unique and a bit quirky. Her energy was amazing and remained high the entire set. In that sense, she reminded me of Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells. That is high praise from me. The rest of the band was great too. It was powerful and aggressive. To me, some of the guitar riffs reminded me of Nirvana. Others may disagree on that, though. I was so blown away, I immediately downloaded their latest album Apocalipstick. I also looked up more information on them. Creevy is only 19, and started the band when she was 14. Do I ever feel like an underachiever! I highly recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance. They found a new fan in me! 

While waiting for The Flaming Lips to start, the energy in the crowd was building. At one point the lead singer Wayne Coyne peaked at the crowd, and everyone screamed at the site of his iconic hair. From the second they came on, The Lips killed it. They opened with “Race for the Prize” and it bleed into “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” The theater was filled with giant balloons and confetti. The show was filled with dancers in inflatable costumes, inflatable rainbows, unicorns and other various props and crazy lights! Like I said, it’s over the top and one of the best stage shows I’ve ever seen. About midway through the show they courageously covered David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” Wayne got in his infamous hamster ball for that song and went into the crowd. He did Bowie proud! Once again, that’s high praise from me. I’ve included the link for the setlist here. The show was a spectacle from start to finish. I normally don’t post too many photos when I write my little entries. However, since that is half the appeal of The Lips I wanted to include quite a few to help readers get an accurate idea of what one of their shows is like. The Flaming Lips did not one, but two encores. They closed out the night with their big hit, “Do You Realize??” The audience ate it up, and kept screaming for more. I hope The Flaming Lips do realize just how much we fans adore them. Throughout the show, Wayne kept saying he wanted this to be like the most fucked up party, and I think they just might have achieved that. In the words of Wayne Coyne, “FUCK YEAH! “