Friday night at
Webster Hall was magical. I'm not sure I'd call it a concert. I'm not sure if I've smiled at--or slapped hands
with--more strangers at a rock show before. I'm not sure if I had more fun
watching Wayne spreading confetti on the crowd, or watching it all land in
Scott's freshly purchased $10 vodka tonic. What I am sure of is The Flaming Lips show was one of the most memorable I've ever attended.
The concert opened with
"Race For The Prize," and with spirits elated, we watched as 100 multi-colored
bouncing balls fell from the roof. The band pulled all the stops: paper-streaming
guns, a psychadelic camera image projected from Wayne's mic stand (of his
goofily handsome face and hand puppet), spotlights, fifteen dancers in robes and Santa
outfits on either end of stage, dancing like mad to each classic Lips cut.
The setlist featured
three new tracks (including my favorite, "Free Radicals"), but otherwise drew
heavily from the classic
Soft Bulletin and
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.
Digging even deeper in teh reportoire, "She Don't Use Jelly" tore down the house. This show was an absolute spectacle, and it
made Webster's sad sound system irrelevant. The band played well...but
honestly, the focus wasn't on the music. It was on the party.
I let Scott do
the heavy lifting and left my camera bag at home, so check out his pics, and see Brooklyn Vegan for some
incredible shots from Saturday night.
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