Friday, May 05, 2006

The happiest Band on Earth


This wednesday evening saw the concert hall at Tivoli being used in a very different manner than usual. Huge orange ballons was bouncing off of the heads and hands of the audience. Confetti, smoke, laserbeams all over the place - and of course the odd superhero. Yes... the American neo-psychedelic freaks of The Flaming Lips had entered the stage, flanked by approximately two dozens of wildly cheering and dancing aliens and ditto santas.

Frontman Wayne Coyne labelled the concert hall as the most beautiful room they had ever played in, but that could never stop him from turning it all into his very own magic, childish, ecstatic far-out version of a circus.

This mix was simultaneously the blessing and curse for this concert. The beginning was pure brilliance. The Lips kick-started the show in a celebrating and highly original inferno, which made the audience immediately jump up off their seats and towards the stage to join what must be described as the best children's birthday party you have ever been to.

Alas, the fun was soon cut short by staff members who a bit too eagerly ordered the crowd back to the seats. While this somewhat took the edge of the mood for a moment, the showmanship of Coyne, the musical wizardry of Steven Drodz and the overall weirdness of Michael Ivins were simply incapable of making this night anything other than a complete and utter succes.

Take 7 minutes off, floating away on the georgeous Sound of Failure from their new album "At war with the mystics".

Are you a big fan - or just generally curious - then dig this Australian special on the band (jump 5 minutes into the programme).

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