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The Flaming Lips Blew Minds With Vegas-Worthy Theatrics At The National

Ash Griffith | March 14, 2018

Topics: Chappo, Flaming Lips, show reviews, The National

Over the course of my life, I have been to a lot of concerts and shows up and down the east coast, and I think I can safely say that The Flaming Lips show at The National this past Saturday is the greatest thing I have ever had the privilege of witnessing and being a part of. Imagine if you will for a moment that Sesame Street and The Mighty Boosh got together and wondered what it would be like to have a jam band together, and maybe invite Miley Cyrus for a song if she isn’t busy one Sunday afternoon after brunch. If you do, you’ll have a small snippet of what it’s like to go to a Flaming Lips concert.

Usually it is an understood safe bet that the opening band is going to be okay at best, or really terrible. They are just there to get the crowd warmed up, provide a little bumper for someone running late or still finding parking, or maybe have a quick bathroom break. This wasn’t the case with opening band, Chappo.

Chappo could not have been a better fit to open up the show. They are what I imagine The Flaming Lips were like when they initially formed the band, and still young and green and figuring out who they were as a band, oiling the kinks out of everything. Lead Singer Alex Chappo matches and races toward Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne’s energy and intensity with the fervor of an eager padawan to a seasoned Jedi knight.

Much like sand at the beach, I am still picking confetti pieces out of my bag and my jacket three days later. As always, a Flaming Lips show can’t just be musically fantastic, but also has to be visually impressive. Not only did the show open with confetti raining from the ceiling of The National, we were then led to help Yoshimi battle the pink robots, as Coyne sang “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” from between the legs of a massive oversized inflatable pink robot.

If riding a unicorn around through the crowds of The National wasn’t enough, the band made sure to also pay homage to Ziggy Stardust himself, David Bowie, by covering “Space Oddity” as Coyne walked into the crowd in a bubble. The audience was brought into a loud intimacy as “How??” was played, from the new album, Oczy Mlody, before finally the show was concluded with the band playing “Do You Realize?” from underneath an inflatable rainbow.

To say that The Flaming Lips are putting on one of the best concerts you can see right now is a massive understatement. When you go to a Flaming Lips show you get amazing music, yes, but also the theatrics of a show worthy of happening in Vegas two or three nights a week. It is difficult to leave the bright, happy visuals and upbeat lyrics about love, life, and death without a smile plastered from ear to ear. You will be exhausted, because it is one massive party, but you will regret absolutely nothing.

The Flaming Lips’ “There Should be Unicorns” Tour continues in the United States through June, with their next stop on May 6th in Memphis, TN at the Beale Street Music Festival.

Photos By Branden Wilson

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Flaming Lips at The National

Joe Vanderhoff | March 6, 2018

Topics: Concert, Flaming Lips, The National

Flaming Lips

Tickets on sale Friday, January 26 at thenationalva.com, AXS.com, or purchase in person at The National Box Office, open M-F 10a-5p.

All Ages

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The Flaming Lips Hit The National This Saturday

Ash Griffith | March 6, 2018

Topics: Flaming Lips, The National

Its been seven years since psychedelic pop rock band The Flaming Lips graced Richmond with their presence. But this weekend, they will make their way back to the River City promoting their latest album, Oczy Mlody (and I’m here to tell you it is all kinds of glorious).

Originally formed back in 1983 in Norman, OK by Wayne Coyne on guitar, his brother Mark on lead vocals, Michael Ivins on bass, and Dave Kotska on drums, The Flaming Lips make their debut at Oklahoma City’s Blue Note Lounge and later that same year recorded their only release with Mark on lead vocals, The Flaming Lips. The band has since then gone on to critical and commercial acclaim around the world.

Arguably most well known for their 2002 release, Yoshimii Battles the Pink Robots and the single from the record, “Do You Realize”, which brought them fully into the mainstream. Not only did they earn a Grammy Award in 2003 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance (thanks to the track “Approaching Pavonis Mons by Baloon (Utopia Planitia)”), but Aaron Sorkin worked with the band to produce a successful Broadway musical based off of the album.

In January 2017, the fourteenth album from the band was released titled, Oczy Mlody. Oczy Mlody continues the band’s trademark psychedelic pop style, but finds a way to mellow out with more somber and slow ballad ventures such as “Sunrise (Eyes of the Young)”, and the single “How??”. The album also features pop star Miley Cyrus on “We a Family”.

Flaming Lips made a venture to Richmond previously in 2011, check out what we thought of that performance here, and as always you can expect a Flaming Lips show to deliver solid tunes, of course, but also a visual spectacle to be witnessed as well. There is no doubt that this show will be the drunk unicorns on a raging acid trip of mermaid bartenders in the sky that we have all missed and dreamt of since they last visited us.

The Flaming Lips will be performing at The National on Sat., March 10 at 8 pm. Tickets are $45 for general admission, which you can snag here. 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

 

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