Flaming Lips @ ThebartonTheatre, Adelaide (16/11/11)

Fri 18th Nov, 2011 in Gig Reviews

A cohort of Adelaide’s finest music fans were treated to the spectacle that is the Flaming Lips on November 16 at the Thebarton Theatre. Those arriving early were able to witness the confetti machines being positioned, the strobe lights being tested, and the massive balloons contained in nets in the cloisters.

Warming the crowd was Western Australia’s Pond, the core being made up of members from scene favourites Tame Impala. Some squealing nods back to 70s progressive rock and psychedelia, the band delivered equal measure of power and pomp to the gathering crowd. All was well until one band member dissed Adelaide, inviting equally offensive retorts from the crowd. A few more Dungen-inspired riffs and then the man himself Wayne Coyne was spotted side stage nodding along and checking out the audience. This created ripples of excitement throughout the Thebby, as Pond ended and the floor promptly filled in anticipation for the headline act.

Gradually the tableau was set; dancers clad in sailor-girl costumes, a silver tin-man type thing and a lion hovered either side of the stage, and the space bubble was positioned centre stage. Wayne popped out a couple of times, donned a fur snood with confetti-gun in hand, and releasing streamers into the eager crowd. He then delivered an “important message” warning of the dangers of strobe lights, and asked the crowd to love one another. Once the lights dimmed and the screen lit up, In Excelsior Vaginalistic pounded the walls of the iconic Adelaide venue, and a fluoro girl dancing naked hypnotised the crowd whilst gyrating into a laid back position. Ala Harvest, her legs now akimbo, the band members emerged one by one down a bridge via the glowing spot between her legs, with Michael, Kliph and Steven waving to the crowd; an LSD-induced version of the early Beatles. The bridge was then moved back to allow Wayne’s famed space bubble to inflate, and he rolled into the crowd, crushing heads, arms, beers and cameras in its wake. Steven was somehow playing two guitars; one strapped over the top of the other. Balloons began to cascade from the cloisters and confetti showered the crowd, which by now had become electric. After a few rotations, Coyne rolled back onto stage and revealed himself to the audience, popping and kicking balloons like a five-year-old with ADHD at a birthday party.

Dozens of multi-coloured balloons floated above the heads of the band and the punters, with the larger ones filled with confetti are released, much to the delight of Coyne. The music morphed into Sweet Leaf, a Black Sabbath cover, as balloons found their way into the seated areas of the audience, prompting a mass migration to the floor to join the fun. After Worm Mountain, the Lips launched into the classic She Don’t Use Jelly, complete with trippy visuals and air-punching. The band seemed to be genuinely enjoying their time on stage, with smiles aplenty and appreciative “thank yous” and “love you guys” being shared. This simmered down to a keys-only singalong of Jelly, where Coyne pointed out that there are “sometimes just too many f***ing balloons!” The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song was greeted with mass applause and some beautiful harmonies from the crowd, while the side stage dancers popped the occasional balloon for good measure.

Coyne thoughtfully let people know when was a good time to grab a beer that wouldn’t get confetti in it, as the refrains of Is David Bowie Dying? were performed by Steven on his iPhone, which came “all the way from America!” Crowd favourite Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt.1 sent all into hysteria, as Coyne connected the mic camera for close ups of his mouth. Smoke plumes filled the stage, a massive toadstool and alien inflated either side, and the crowd almost out-sung the band. By this, time you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face, as you looked around to find hundreds of people beaming in awe. A single crash cymbal was brought forward for Coyne to bash in time to the pulsing See The Leaves, while a neon girl mirrored his moves, naked, on the big screen.

Harking back to the ‘Fight Test’ days, a pair of immense hands appeared upon Coyne’s as lasers were bounced off the enormous mirror ball, shining into the audience. Creating the feeling as though you’re in a computer game, Coyne made the transition into Drug Chart, complemented by on-screen lyrics. After the bang-smash of the previous tunes, the ensuing love-in that is What Is The Light? (“An Untested Hypothesis Suggesting That the Chemical [In Our Brains] by Which We Are Able to Experience the Sensation of Being in Love Is the Same Chemical That Caused the “Big Bang” That Was the Birth of the Accelerating Universe”) from seminal album ‘The Soft Bulletin’ was a welcome change of pace, along with The Observer.

After a blackened stage, Coyne engaged in play with a noisy toy-like instrument, then walked off in readiness for the obvious encores. Adelaide was treated to some recently-dormant Pink Floyd covers; Brain Damage, and Eclipse, pulled off in spectacular fashion. All the while, the biggest hit of the band’s recent history hadn’t been performed yet. So following a quick bolt off stage to rev up even more foot stomping and hollering, bunny costumed men on screen and Steven’s falsetto counted in the beautiful Do You Realize?? Cue more confetti, more smoke, more balloons, and a wonderful a capella finish involving the crowd, and the Flaming Lips proved their ticket price to the masses.