What a difference five years make. When The Flaming Lips last toured Australia in 2004, George W Bush had just been voted in for a second term as president of the United States. It prompted The Lips Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, a not-so thinly veiled dig at the war-mongering leader: – œIf you could blow up the world with the flick of a switch/Would you do it?’

Half a decade on, and The Lips’ acid-fried take on the protest song – all shuffling drums, vocoder and zany effects – was re-imaged as a rousing anthem for hope Wednesday night at Melbourne’s Festival Hall. – œWe don’t believe music can change the world, but it can change you – and you can change the world,’ declared the band’s frontman Wayne Coyne, before a quick shout out to Barack Obama. The song’s refrain, – œWhat would you do with all your power?’, suddenly had new meaning.

The Lips were bringing their exuberant stage show to Festival Hall for the first time – and the venue’s history wasn’t lost on the near-50-year-old singer. – œWe’re excited to play where The Beatles played in ‘64,’ Coyne exclaimed, as tinsel flickered down on him like snow. Unlike the evergreen Coyne, however, the venue has seen better days. Boomy sound, confused door staff and drink prices that’d make a boutique pub blush ($9 for a can of G&T), it certainly lived up to its – œFestering Hall’ reputation. It has high ceilings going for it at least, so when a sea of giant balloons descended on the crowd, it was more like a summertime beach party and less like being stuck in an IKEA ball pit. (2004 at the thankfully burned-down Palace this was not).

The Lips’ entrance was something to behold. A naked lady gyrating on a big screen before, literally, giving birth to the band: Steven Drozd, Michael Ivins and powerhouse young drummer Kliph Scurlock. When Coyne entered it was in a giant balloon that he used to moonwalk over the crowd. Race for the Prize from 1999’s opus The Soft Bulletin blared, confetti rained down, strobe lights flashed, people in animal suits went bananas – it was an opening burst of sensory overload that was always going to be difficult to maintain.

And so, after a rousing singalong of the Cat Stevens-penned Fight Test, the band lapsed into a mid-set lull. New song Convinced of the Hex received a lukewarm response, while more obscure cuts – Mountain Side from 1990’s In A Priest Driven Ambulance and rarity Enthusiasm For Life Defeats Existential Fear – had old fans plotzing, but new fans perplexed.

Coyne, to his credit, never let up. He corralled the crowd with his – œc’mon motherfuckers’ catch-cry, switched to a double-neck guitar for Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung and played trumpet for an ambient rendition of The Last Post, Lips style. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt.1 (an ode to The Boredoms Yoshimi P-We) and closer She Don’t Use Jelly (preceded by a Jon Stewart introduction) sent everyone ballistic again. – œNever underestimate the power of you guys smiling,’ Coyne declared, before the band left the stage, a sea of smoke and confetti in their wake.

They returned for signature cut and official Oklahoma rock song Do You Realize?, an anthem affirming life in the face of inevitable death. The house lights went up, Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World played and, for a moment at least, we were all part of something more profound than streamers and balloons.

A rock show can still be a transcendental experience – and we have The Flaming Lips to thank for that.

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