After a number of trial runs, The Flaming Lips have officially performed the “World’s First Space Bubble Concert”. The show took place on Friday, January 22nd at The Criterion in the group’s hometown of Oklahoma City.
The audience was safely split up into 100 different giant, inflatable hamster balls, while each band member had their own individual translucent sphere up on stage. As to be expected from a Flaming Lips show, there were colorful balloons galore, and even some specially made silver ones that cathartically spelled out “FUCK YOU COVID-19”.
As for the setlist, it consisted of 13 fan favorites, including “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1”, “She Don’t Use Jelly”, “Race for the Prize”, and “Do You Realize??”. The gig also featured the live debut of “Flowers of Neptune 6”, off the group’s most recent album American Head, and a cover of the Daniel Johnston classic “True Love Will Find You in the End”.
Find the full setlist below, followed by photos and video footage. The band will return to The Criterion tonight, January 23rd, for a second bubble concert.
Prior to these two special hometown shows, The Flaming Lips had staged multiple trial events. They themselves performed inside of bubbles during late-night performances on Fallon and Colbert, the latter of which also featured an audience. They also recently played a private show for family and friends, which they turned into a live video for “Assassins of Youth”.
In an interview with Consequence of Sound last month, frontman Wayne Coyne said he came up with the idea for a bubble concert the first day he went into lockdown. “I made a little cartoon. I drew myself. It was The Flaming Lips in 2019, and I’m the only one in a space bubble, and I’m on stage,” he recalled. “Then I drew The Flaming Lips in 2020. I’m in a space bubble, but so is everyone else. Of course, I would think of that, because isn’t this absurd?” Read the full chat here.
Setlist:
Race for the Prize
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
Flowers of Neptune 6 (Live Debut)
True Love Will Find You in the End (Daniel Johnston Cover)
She Don’t Use Jelly
Will You Return/ When You Come Down
The Gash
All We Have is Now
Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
There Should Be Unicorns
Are You a Hypnotist?
Waitin’ for a Superman
Do You Realize??
