The Flaming Lips at Brixton Academy
Tonight’s show from Oklahoma psychedelic rockers The Flaming Lips promises to be a lengthy one – a perfect experience for any die-hard fans out there. Split into two sets, the first sees the band play their hugely popular 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots in full, and the second is an assortment of hits from the Wayne Coyne-fronted group.
After a painfully long queueing system to get into Brixton Academy, those lucky enough to catch the beginning of the band’s set were treated to a full rendition of the Lips’s hit album – the very record that gave us the bittersweet track Do You Realize? and saw the band receive universal critical acclaim. When it’s finally time to play this famous ode to mortality, the entire academy sings along in unison, as the lyrics are played out on a piercingly bright screen behind a giant blow-up rainbow. Before playing it, singer Wayne Coyne asks the crowd to tell the person they came with that they love them, which likely made the audience cringe or beam depending on who they were with.
Throughout the gig, Coyne appears to have problems with his voice, and that’s not surprising when he has almost three hours of singing to contend with every night. The 64-year-old is still full of energy and candid conversation, however, regaling the crowd with plenty of anecdotes in between songs.
The laser display is intense and often mesmerising, and at one point, a huge disco ball is brought out onto the stage, proving incredibly effective. While The Flaming Lips are renowned for their extravagant shows, there are points where the brightness and flashing lights feel a tad overpowering.
The second set opens with an amped-up version of the 1993 single She Don’t Use Jelly, which injects a heavier sound to the song, giving it a welcome new lease of life.
After an intriguing story about Kacy Musgraves taking acid, Coyne and co launch into the country stars’ collaborative track, Flowers of Neptune 6, with Coyne now dressed as a flower with petals around his head. These details, the stage props and the costume changes, are all part of the Lips’s signature stage presence, and it’s likely part of the reason why the Academy is bursting at the seams tonight.
The night ends on the joyous 1999 single Race for the Prize, with Coyne holding up a large silver balloon spelling out “F*ck Yeah Brixton” – a fitting ending to a show that never faltered on energy.
Hannah Broughton
Photos: Miguel de Melo
For further information and future events, visit The Flaming Lips’s website here.
Watch the video for the single Race for the Prize here:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
RSS