There’s not a much better festival closer than The Flaming Lips is there? Confetti, Giant balloons fired out of a balloon gun, lasers, an oval screen, trippy visuals, Wayne Coyne, his blowup ball, a smoke machine in a megaphone -other bands must look at them and feel very inadequate on the live front. To top it off, the finishing song was a highlight, ‘Do You Realise?’ – which to me, marries the positivity and negativity of life together more poignantly in a lyric than many songwriters much more feted than Coyne can.
There were songs from forthcoming album Embryonic which sounded much more washed-out than more recent poppier stuff. Definitely a “freak-out vibe” as was suggested earlier in the year.
Here’s Mr Coyne in his bubble:
Here’s the confetti and balloon madness in two parts during ‘Race For The Prize’:
Here are the impressive lazers towards the end:
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
So it was pretty much the same show as EP 05? Don’t feel so bad for missing is so, had to leave early on Sunday sadly.
was such a disappointment compared to 2005. promising beginnings but after he murdered yoshimi it petered out until an endless version of do you realise. nice balloons though i fairness.
Yeah gotta echo the above, very disappointed to find it a 90% re-hash of EP ’05 and other recent tours. New lazers and lights aren’t enough if you keep playing the same set with the same meandering versions of Yoshimi, the same huge gaps between songs…
Did they play new songs in 2005?
Not sure, there were 2 new songs on Sunday from Embryonic anyways. Main differences from the 2005 set I can recall would be the covers of Bohemian Rhapsody and War Pigs, along with a couple of other old Lips songs like She Don’t Use Jelly. Shorter set this time around I think
Hi Niall,
just wondering if you have any other photos from the night.I was one of the dancers i was wearing a bright pink wig and my phone was out of battery so no good photos,would really appreciate it as i’m startin to think i imagined it!!!!!
Thanks a million
Jen