Coyne was referring to the absolute eye-gasm visuals of lasers, gigantic stage props, mind-bending lights and, of course, confetti. Tons and tons of confetti. This has become a staple of Flaming Lips shows and, wow, does it make things more exciting.
Fair Park Music Hall wasn’t an obvious choice for this spectacle but it turned out to be the perfect spot for the show. The comfortable seats and overall theater atmosphere fed into the feeling that this was a performance as opposed to a gig.
This tour is the 20-year anniversary of the release of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Andrew Sherman
This tour celebrates the 20-year anniversary of the release of Grammy-winning album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. The album is a diverse masterpiece of genres and subject matter, and it explored more keyboard and electronic sounds than the band’s previous releases. Some have called it a conceptual album, but Coyne has pushed back on that assertion. Perhaps this explains why the album was played in its entirety, but not in order, or maybe Coyne just wanted to shake things up and keep them interesting.
The second set consisted of favorites from the Lips’ other albums including “Flowers of Neptune” from the band’s latest release, American Head, as well as a number of songs from The Soft Bulletin. The only cover of the night was the band’s unique take on Madonna’s “Borderline.”
“Keep it up! Come on! Come on! Come on!” Coyne shouted on Thursday, “The screaming’s gonna give me more energy!” The fans were delighted to follow Coyne’s lead. If the audience really was the key to Coyne’s high-energy performance then they deserve a giant fist bump for providing the fuel that kept the band going. (Most people knew exactly what was going on when it came to the crazy and intense visuals.)
Coyne’s presence was powerful and enthusiastic. He told the crowd about the time the band was trying to get its first gigs outside of Oklahoma City in 1984; Dallas was one of the few cities that would welcome the band because of the avant-garde nature of their shows. (Wayne asked if anyone remembered the Theater Gallery, which was met by screams from the older crowd.) It was obvious Dallas holds a special place for the Lips, and it felt as though that gave them something “extra” on this already extra show. Between the intense visuals and the lush, psychedelic sounds, The Flaming Lips are still one of the best live bands out there.
