Concert Review: The Flaming Lips (Red Hat Amphitheater)

BY CHRIS HOCKER

The Flaming Lips brought their summer tour with Modest Mouse to Raleigh's Red Hat Amphitheater on Saturday night. It was an unseasonably cool night and the crowd was ready for some rock 'n' roll weirdness and Wayne Coyne and crew were more than happy to oblige.

The band kicked off the evening with the instrumental "Sleeping On The Roof" before turning on the giant inflatable robots and launching into "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1."

"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2" brought confetti. And then...

They played "Turn It On!" God, I love this song and figured I'd never get to hear it live as they haven't played it but a handful of times since touring Transmissions From The Satellite Heart. They lit up the stars that were on both sides of the stage for this song. But they weren't done digging through the deep cuts...

I first became a fan of The Flaming Lips in 1990. I heard "Shine On Sweet Jesus" from In A Priest Driven Ambulance playing in a record store, asked who it was, and bought the cassette. But it was "Five Stop Mother Superior Rain" that stood out for me on Priest Driven Ambulance. And when the band launched into this on Saturday night, I nearly lost it.

After "FSMSR," the band performed The Chemical Brothers' "The Golden Path." This was overshadowed by the giant aliens and a giant pink sun (I think it was a sun) that hugged Wayne several times during the performance. The stage looked like the most awesome episode of Yo Gabba Gabba! ever.

Next up was "Waitin' For A Superman." Before they kicked into the song, Wayne spoke about how a lot of The Flaming Lips' songs are tinged with sadness. He sang the song while wearing a Wonder Woman costume.

After this was concert staple "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song." During this song, Wayne was surrounded by giant inflatable eyeballs while he held a pair of lips.

Then it was time for "She Don't Use Jelly," which got the largest reaction from the crowd. The stagehands launched giant balloons into the crowd, which people tossed around for the rest of the show.

They closed the set with "Do You Realize??," which Wayne performed under a giant inflatable rainbow. I swear, The Flaming Lips must travel with a ton of air compressors.

After a brief time backstage, The Flaming Lips came back for a two-song encore. Modest Mouse lead singer Isaac Brock joined the band for a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs." Both Isaac and an American-flag-clad Wayne traded lines in this tribute to Ozzy. It was phenomenal.

The show closed with "Race For The Prize." Wayne started the song in his hamster ball and ended it by throwing his Fuck Yeah Raleigh balloons into the crowd.

I have seen The Flaming Lips numerous times, but this was the best. The band sounded great, the visuals were stunning, and Wayne was amazing. If you have a chance to catch The Flaming Lips on tour this summer with Modest Mouse, DO IT!

[message]

CHRIS HOCKER, Editor

Strange Carolinas started as a hobby for Chris Hocker who often dragged his family to offbeat detours on family vacations. Hocker decided to start photographing and writing about these roadside attractions and in June 2014, launched Strange Carolinas with a story on Myrtle Beach's KISS Coffeehouse. In addition to chronicling over 400 attractions across the Carolinas, Strange Carolinas has also become an impressive music blog.