I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen The Flaming Lips live twice now, both times at rather intimate venues for a band of their stature. The first time I saw them was three years ago at Cornell University. On Tuesday night I was able to catch their first night of a two night residency Terminal 5.
They brought Tame Impala & The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger out with them on tour. The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger featured a frontman that looked familiar, and while I originally thought he looked like Judah Friedlander, it turns out the band was lead by Sean Lennon, the only child of John Lennon & Yoko Ono. They put on a good set.
Tame Impala were next and they continue to find new ways to amaze me every time I see them. The band now features new bassist Cam Avery since Nick Allbrook left the band. Kevin Parker rocked out barefoot — as usual — and took us on a journey into his world of psychedelic bliss. The band can keep you floating in your own little private rabbit hole and just as quickly turn a switch and turn on the fuzz rock at any moment. It’s always a pleasure to catch a Tame Impala set. Always.
The Flaming Lips came up next and sported one of the most impressive live setups that you will ever see.. period. Wayne Coyne is propped up 20 feet in the air on a giant futuristic looking podium, the whole stage is lit up by giant strings of light, with a giant lightboard backing them up which had the ability to change colors at the blink of the eye, or spell out LOVE when needed. Multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd sported a silver painted face, while the rest of the band was practically chilling to the right of Wayne, with Derek Brown sitting down and bassist Michael Ivins sitting on a chair.
Led by Coyne, the band put on an absolutely cool light show full of confetti explosions, fog, and plenty of crazy lights. The set, although a rather disappointingly brief 11-songs, featured classic Lips tracks such as “Race For The Prize”, “A Spoonful Weighs A Ton” and “Do You Realize??” which made me forgive them pretty much instantly. They didn’t cheat us though, they gave us their all and encouraged us to go crazy when needed, and to embrace the sadness of songs such as “Race For The Prize” when needed. Coyne said it may have been the craziest show they’ve played yet in New York, and although you tend to figure that artists say that at every show, you couldn’t help believe it in the moment. Just like Wayne, we were all caught it in, and it was too good not to just be involved and let it take you away.
Seeing The Flaming Lips is unlike any other live show you will see. Truly. It’s something I hope you all get to experience someday.
Enjoy photos from all three bands sets below.
The Flaming Lips:
Tame Impala:
The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger:
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