Flaming Lips fans packed the beautiful Fox Theater in Oakland on October 1st to see Wayne Coyne and his boys destroy their senses with a literal visual assault. It took me a full 24 hours to recover fully from the amount of pure energy that The Flaming Lips brought to the stage. It was quite possibly the greatest stage show I have ever seen. But with the Lips aside they couldn't of picked better opening acts.
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti lit up the stage with a unique blend of psychedelic noise and an enormous amount of thick fog. Their musical talents were really transcending that of a normal opening act. I would not be surprised to see Ariel Pink in the headlining spot come next year. Their sound is comparable to that of a band playing in Andy Warhol's backyard. It was definitely quite the spectacle! If they are playing in your area you should get up off of the couch, turn off the internet and go out to see them. You will not be surprised.
Thee Oh Sees opened for them and they brought the talent. I wish I would have been able to catch their entire performance however I could only get their last couple songs. Let me tell you that is a collection of really, really talented musicians. They were raw and fun. You could tell that they were so excited to be playing on the same stage that The Flaming Lips would be taking in a mere 90 minuets.
From the beginning with Wayne Coyne setting up his equipment all the way to the last note of Do You Realize?? The Flaming Lips were complete all the way through. A giant inflatable ball, an almost infinite amount of streamers and confetti, dozens of huge balloons falling from nowhere, people dressed like DJ Lance Rock (Yo Gabba Gabba), this was hardly just a concert this was a party!
The show was littered with multiple songs from different albums, opening with The Fear. Older songs like She Don't Use Jelly. The crowd was singing along with just about every song, they really got into I Can Be A Frog. This show was just one of the funnest shows this writer has ever been too. I will definitely be looking forward to another Flaming Lips show and you should too.
Comments
Jolly good show! And a good review too kind Sir!
So amazing I sh!t on the floor!
Great article Brandon Siddall. I hiss with excitement when I read your reviews...
Heard the show while playing kick the can outside. Amazing stuff!
Sounds like you had a great time - I also loved the show but had a few minor quibbles - here at douglasharr.wordpress.com
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