[Trash-talk] NGR: Flaming Lips/ Liz Phair
curtis
slv0000 at earthlink.net
Sat Jun 14 06:40:55 PDT 2003
I got a chance to go see this show when I was in Dallas last week. First
off, Wayne Coyne and the rest of the Lips are genius onstage. This
wasn't the best concert I've ever seen, but it was the most
entertaining, fun one. I went just to see Liz Phair and wasn't that
familiar with anything except a little bit of Yoshimi Battles the Pink
Robots but, after 6 1/2 hours of standing, sweating in the stagnant heat
and then walking four blocks in a downpour back to my car, it was the
Flaming Lips that had me smiling and feeling great about life. Liz who?
Before the show, Wayne would come out the back door periodically, in his
white linen stage suit, to wave at the people in line and talk to
whomever would come up to the barricade. During the opening act,
Starlight Mints, he came out the sides of the stage to shake a balloon
animal or toss out giant balloons for the crowd to bounce about
overhead. Between sets he'd patrol the stage with a huge leaf blower,
cooling the audience. Starlight Mints were a little reminiscent of
Talking Heads.
Liz Phair was good, but disappointing at the same time. I'd heard she
would be either solo, acoustic or stripped down. The latter certainly
applied. She came out in fishnet hose, knee-high boots, black panties,
purple t-shirt and a funky brown hat - puffy and droopy on top with a
long brim in front - think 60's Carnaby Street. Introducing herself as
"the musical interlude", she only played 6 or 7 short songs on Fender
Jaguar, with Starlight Mints guitarist playing bass for her and a roadie
(or maybe it was her famously young boyfriend) sitting on a chair
playing acoustic. There was a real thrown together at the last minute
feel to the set. A lot of people around me also came just to see her and
were left wanting a lot more from the experience.
When the Lips came out, all but Wayne were in animal costumes. The
guitarist as a pink elephant. The bassist was a zebra. There were 7 or 8
extras (radio station employees and maybe fans) on each side of the
stage dressed as giraffes, unicorns, bears, Santa Clause, etc. all
dancing and waving high powered flashlights and balloon swords. The
stage props were incredibly low-tech and produced a happy, innocent
atmosphere. Hundreds of giant balloons, confetti, fake blood, robot
blow-up dolls. Wayne swinging a hooded work light with a long tail of
Christmas tinsel overhead, in Roger Daltry microphone style, batting at
the balloons or skewering them with a nail taped to the headstock of his
bizarre little acoustic guitar. Hundreds of giant homemade valentines
were passed out into the crowd - colored, heart shaped paper with silly
slogans written in Marks-a-lot such as "smile at at stranger" or "hey,
hello hey". Mine said, "see you at the vitamin store". They used nothing
the whole night that you couldn't buy at a hardware store or party
supply shop. The only complex parts of the show were the music onstage
and the synched video presentation throughout the set showing clips from
early 60's Charles Bronson combat movies, 70's topless bikini girls
kung-fu dancing, Teletubbies, and Japanese all girl action films or
animations with plots resembling the Yoshimi songs.
It's too bad they're at the end of their tour. They play Bonnaroo today
and then a few dates in Norway, Montreaux, UK and Ireland. I've never
such a goofy, happy vibe at a show. The security guys were going up and
down the aisles, collecting armloads of empty bottles and trash and
disposing of them for fans. One of the biggest, meanest looking guys was
even cradling one of the small, heart shaped balloons to his chest,
swaying to the music. It was an evening full of strange sights.
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