The Flaming Lips
I saw an advertisement for the SoCo Music Experience
today and it made me think back to one of the better shows I’ve seen in
the last few years. Southern Comfort sponsors free concerts around the
country and every year they sponsor a concert in Centennial Park in
downtown Atlanta. Two years ago The Flaming Lips and Big Star were the
headliners of the SoCo Music Experience when they played in Atlanta.
I found out about the free concert just hours before it
started and rounded up a few friends to join me. We had good parking
karma and found a space blocks from the park. We headed down to the
event and claimed a spot center stage and about 50 feet back from the
stage. The weather was perfect and the crowd was in a good mood.
First up was Big Star which is fronted by Alex Chilton
who previously sang with The Box Tops. Remember the song The Letter? I
was glad to see that he was still performing relevant material even
though I couldn’t help think that he looked exactly like Jeff Probst of
Survivor. I kept waiting for him to say the tribe has spoken.
The sun was setting and all of the sudden the crowd parted and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips entered dressed in a suit and walking inside a 7 foot beach ball. The crowd moved him around through the audience and finally pushed him up to the stage.
The rest of the evening they sang their hits Do YOu
Realise, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1", "The Yeah Yeah Song"
while showering the audience with beach balls and confetti. They gave
their fans what most bands had forgotten…they let the fans have fun.
They technically are not the best band, Wayne’s vocals are a little
shaky at times and notes may be missed, but what they lack in expertise
they make up for in pure enjoyment. Hand puppets acted out lyrics, an
array of characters in furry suits pranced around the stage, at one
point there were about 20 Santa Clauses on the stage.
The crowd was having the time of their life, laughing,
singing along and hitting about 100 beach balls up in the air. It was as
if they had spayed the whole crowd with laughing gas. The evening ended
with the crowd singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of their
lungs. The video behind the stage displayed the words and we followed
the bouncing ball as confetti shot at us from all directions.
They had made us part of the show and brought fun and playfulness back to concert going. I hope other bands take notice of what they are doing and stop the seriousness and bring entertainment and showmanship back to the live concert.