November 13, 2006
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Lips Aflame
Oh what joy! Much have we blogged to try and catch up to begin the auspicious retelling of a glorious time we can only refer to as, drum roll please, CONCERT WEEK. Can you feel our excitement?
Indeed. 3 concerts just happen to span but one seven day period, and what started us off but the illustrious Flamming Lips, and the beautifully ceilinged Hammerstein Ballroom.
With it’s many balconies.
As we were waiting, the crowd was quite surprised to see the band members themselves helping to set stuff up.
But more surprising was the free dispersal of laser pointers to the entire audience, who put them to good use right away.
And thus began the show, with stage left inundated by dancing Santas.
And stage right by girls wearing alien masks.
Then the lead singer came out, and with quite an entrance. They put him in a huge inflatable ball.
And I just rolled over the entire audience.
I can only imagine how dope it was to ride a sea of adoring people.
Then the music began.
And with the first crescendo, more surprise surged from all directions.
Confetti and balloons were everywhere.
The excitement was palpable.
And it just kept going for the first 20 minutes.
Its hard to explain how fucking cool it was. The music surging, the crowd cheering the lights flashing, bouncing balloons everywhere…
The flaming lips understand that as much as we want their music, we also want spectacle, something that makes us forget that ticketmaster raped us.
The fun didn’t stop there, the lead singer had a camera on his mike which would be projected on the huge screen from time to time.
Also, different songs would be introduced by old celebrity clips from talk shows and SNLs, like John Stuart on Remote Control.
The colors surged from hot reds.
To cool blues.
Then the countdown began.
And upon hitting zero, with a mirror held aloft, we all shot it with our lasers.
And what a moment we all witnessed.
Later, we shot one particular balloon, and that shimmered a magical moment as well.
And so the songs went on, and the confetti cannons kept shooting.
The performance was tight. They are the consummate musicians.
As well as the ballooners, some which would explode.
Into more confetti.
Then the bassist put on the big hands.
And the sun came out for the finale.
If you weren’t there, then I’m sorry. No photos or description will ever really impart to you what a fucking incredible show this was. We found ourselves honored to have made it.
