The Flaming Lips show had been built up to nothing short of epic in the years since I'd failed to pay attention to them at Sarstock (at this very same venue) during which I'd discovered Yoshimi at the very least. Noticing the massive tanks of compressed gas on the stage earlier in the day I finally got to see them put to work as the confetti began to fly, and not just to the front of the stage but at least fifty meters out into the the air where it rained on and on and down and down for minutes onto the entire crowd who had squished in for the spectacle. Included was a two-person dancing rainbow, a couple magical mushrooms and all sorts of other eye candy in the way of streamers and lights. They stuck around for the opening and the naturally acoustic Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Pt 1) during which Wayne Coyne had to roll the karate chop back. "I find this really sets the tone for the show and that just isn't going to cut it. 'The name is Yoshimi. She's a black belt in karate.'" He did not stop there as he was the cheerleader the whole time, pumping up the crowd and reminding us that we get back what we put in. Unleashed were 'Fuck Yeah Riot Fest' balloons that bopped over the crowd but only the H survived.
After the mushrooms and rainbow went offstage they were replaced by a couple caterpillars mid metamorphosis to butterflies, and a shining sun - plus a couple of alien blow ups (It doesn't have to make sense.) Wayne reemerged in an anatomic "body"suit that was then covered in silver tin foil streamers before his famous party trick - the hamster ball. Inside this huge ball he crossed atop the crowd and nearly came to my position halfway back, a showman the entire time. Following this was an odd bit on a raised platform where he was coddling a fake child with video projections of running women and the strings of lights still all over the stage. It gave a moment to notice the six-piece band, including a standing and a seated drummer, who were playing through all the nonsense of the show.
Their signature song for damn good reason is Do You Realize? and it was live rendition rung out in all of its epic glory, with Wayne unnecessarily asking us to help him belt it out. This could easily have brought this bold spectacle to a close but the cover of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds felt like an bonus shot, as Wayne was back up on the raised platform and each time the chorus came around the ridiculous strobe lights would strobe and the confetti overtook the sky yet again. Woo - a whirlwind. "Incredible" was the word that was falling off everyone's lips.
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