The Flaming Lips
Alexandra Palace, London
01/07/2011

The Flaming Lips have always been known for the theatricality of their live performances and, from the outset of this show, it’s clear that this is going to be no exception. As band members emerge from a fluorescent dilated pupil to join Dorothy and the Tin Man on Stage, and the Telebubbies wait behind the scenes preparing for their live video broadcast, an inflatable ball is pumped up around frontman Wayne Coyne, enabling him to go for his trademark crawl over the crowd –  all in all nothing out of the ordinary, well at least not if you’re of the same weird and wonderful mindset as The Flaming Lips.

The festivities continue as the band kick off their run through of 1999 album ‘The Soft Bulletin’, with ‘Race for The Prize’ performed with such joy and enthusiasm that it ensures the carnival atmosphere erupting onstage falls nothing short of contagious. And so the party continues, amidst confetti, streamers and mesmerising visuals throughout ‘A Spoonful Weighs A Ton’, encouraging anyone and everyone to forget their woes and smile. But inevitably, when playing a record start to finish, less live-friendly songs will crop up, and far beyond the gimmicks to tonight’s set, this is where the Lips really excel. The emotion in slower songs such as ‘Waitin’ For A Superman’ is conveyed in such an overwhelmingly honest way that it comes close to breaking your heart. As ‘Feeling Yourself Disintegrate’, the last track of the album, concludes to a fitting backdrop of an apocalyptic melting rainbow, there is a feeling of helpless despair amongst a crowd who suddenly realise ‘The Soft Bulletin’ finishes on a note so far removed from its euphoric beginning.

Never has an encore been more appreciated. Hearts are lifted from stomachs and confetti rains from the sky as ‘Do You Realize??’ finishes a perfect set on the perfect high.

Christine Peart