The Flaming Lips @ Marina Bay Sands

Okay i know i don't usually post about gigs. I always intend to but i get really lazy trying to put into words what a show was like. I guess i still intend to write about all the shows i've seen this year, maybe during the holidays. But what i have to say now is that last night i was part of probably the craziest, weirdest, most awesomely fun gig i've ever been to!

The Flaming Lips blew my mind last night. In the most amazing, trippy, crazy way possible. With confetti cannons, balloons, a giant hamster ball, giant hands shooting lasers, fucking awesome singalongs, Wayne Coyne riding a bear, ridiculously cool light show etc etc.

We had to wait til about 10 before they came on because the Raveonettes had a full set before them. They weren't bad, some catchy stuff considering it was my first time hearing them. Abit too loud though. Maybe it was because we were right in front of the stage, or maybe the acoustics of the closed up hall, but i thought the sound of the expo hall wasn't that good.

It didn't really matter when the Lips came on though. Right from the start they got the crowd whipped up, as the band members each came through a 'space hole' thingy in the centre of the light screen, down a ramp and onto the stage. I have to mention the light show, they have this giant, semi-circle light screen as a backdrop and the lights are ridiculously bright and the colours are totally mental. So much so that Wayne Coyne had to give the crowd a serious warning at the start about bad reactions to the strobe lights.

Next, the leadman Coyne made his grand entrance in a giant hamster space ball and he traversed the whole audience, propped up on our hands. Crowd went hysterical. And to kick it off the band launched straight into Worm Mountain from their latest album Embryonic. The confetti cannons exploded and balloons were everywhere, the energy in the hall was just incredible. The show continued with more Embryonic songs. Maybe the one regret about this concert was not having given more time to their latest album, such that i wasn't as familiar with their new songs which made up most of their set. But i don't think it affected my enjoyment at all.

Alot of the songs off Embryonic are much heavier, more complex stuff but the way the band carried them off was just insane. The band was amazing, the way they created and sustained this crazy energy throughout. Of course Wayne was the main man of the night. I've never seen a more charismatic frontman live before. Instantly likable with his kooky grin and just unbelievably crazy, he ran the show from start to end. But if Wayne was the heart of the show, maybe Steven Drozd is the brain. He ran the show music wise, playing everything from his spacey keyboards to this awesome 12 string double-body Gibson SG, to singing harmonies.

And all the crazy stuff they come up with. Let's see. I've already mentioned the space ball. Halfway into the first song Wayne strode atop a costumed bear and sang the rest of the song there. Midway through the set he got out two giant hands that shot green lasers out onto the disco ball above the stage, which was fucking cool. He sung a couple of songs from a distorted loudspeaker. He brought out a psychedelic gong for Pompeii Am Gotterdamerang which lit up whenever he struck it. The list goes on and on.

And the songs! Holy crap, i've never had that much fun singing along at a show. Like during I Can Be A Frog, where Wayne got the whole crowd harmonizing with silly animal noises. Or singing "vaa-aaa-aaa-seline!" on She Don't Use Jelly. In The Morning of the Magicians was, well, magical. Wayne introduced it as a song about love, and how we can give love to everything in our lives, from music to insects, or even people.

My two favourite moments would probably have to be Yoshimi and Do You Realize?? though. Yoshimi was great, exactly how i had anticipated it to be, the whole hall singing along with Wayne. Do You Realize?? took everything to another level as the Lips closed out their show with an insane bang. A little acapella singalong to start, then the keyboards with that sweet synth line, before the drums and guitars kicked it off as the whole place seemed to explode in a combination of joy and confetti. And then the whole crowd singing these words in unison:

Do you realize
That happiness makes you cry
Do you realize
That everyone you know someday will die
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes
Let them know you realize
That life goes fast
Its hard to make a good thing last
You realize the sun don't go down
Its just an illusion caused by the world
Spinning round

I think i can say that was the happiest and most emotional moment for me in at least a few months. I just wanted to give everyone around me a big hug (I didn't). When it was all over we stood around taking confetti photos and gig treasure hunting (Nilah got a drumstick and HP got a pick, i got.. alot of confetti), tired but happy.

Looking back, the Flaming Lips were my tenth live show i've seen this year, and i don't know if they were the best, but in terms of just pure, raw excitement and joy and just crazy-ass fun, i think it would top the list.

Here's a video of the start of the whole show, linked from ariddesert87 on youtube: