6 Music - Music News

The Flaming Lips played the first of two shows at the charmingly shabby Troxy venue in London last night (10 Nov).

Wayne Coyne and the band kick started their performance ambitiously, launching the gig with Race For The Prize. Dancers dressed as bunny rabbits crowded the stage and huge balloons filled with confetti were unleashed into the audience.

This was the way of things to come as The Flaming Lips partied their way through a set comprised of songs from their new album, Embryonic and a handful of old classics.

The band's shows are famous for the costumes, light shows and euphoric atmosphere and speaking to 6 Music News before the show Wayne Coyne tried to describe the essence of their performance: "I’m not sure what it is but it is a feeling and it is a kind of reassurance, that energy and that love in the moment and we make it happen.

"I think that’s why I love the Flaming Lips audience so much because we don’t show up and think, ‘I wonder if it’s going to happen tonight, I wonder if we’ll just get lucky’. We know, for certain, that we make it happen."

With the crowd on a high, bouncing balloons all over the venue, Coyne took the opportunity to thank London for boosting The Flaming Lips' popularity and helping them get recognised 'around the world' in 1999.

"This isn’t Walt Disney saying, ‘life’s a cartoon and let’s just party and not worry about the bad things’. I want people to know that we’re not fools who are optimistic by accident."

Wayne Coyne

It wasn't all an uplifting spectacle however, as throughout the show the frontman reminded the audience of the darker side of life.

The band performed the song Evil in front of a film, which showed a monkey being tortured and the singer took numerous opportunities to attack George Bush and aggressive American foreign policy from the stage.
For the song TAPS, a song inspired by war funerals, Wayne Coyne played a bugle and convinced the audience to throw up peace signs in the air.

He told 6 Music The Flaming Lips weren't just about the party: "This isn’t Walt Disney saying, ‘life’s a cartoon and let’s just party and not worry about the bad things’.

"I want people to know that we’re not fools who are optimistic by accident. We sing about what we think are the things in our life that are powerful."

However, it was quickly back to dry ice machines, strobe lighting and a man dressed up as a gorilla and, for the song Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung, Coyne played a giant gong.

"It’s the best kind of magic because you can walk away knowing that it wasn’t fake and it doesn’t last forever and that you have to redo it all the time," he said.

The audience certainly agreed: "It was a spectacular show. They always put on a great show. I really like their new stuff," said one fan.

Meanwhile another added: "There was some crazy, crazy stuff but it was one of the best crazy gigs I have ever been to. They were very much on form."

Set list:

Race For The Prize
Silver Trembling Hands
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
Fight Test
Morning of the Magicians
Convinced of the Hex
Vein of Stars
Evil
See the Leaves
Yoshimi
Pompeii
The W.A.N.D
Do You Realize