The Flaming Lips wrapped up our weekend in Union Park on Sunday evening with the legendary Oklahoma City rockers closing the festival down with a much anticipated set. Crowds began camping out and securing their spots in front of the Aluminum Stage as early as 2pm just to be near thew front for the spectacle, and hardcore fans in costumes were spotted throughout the park all day long (my favorite duo was the guy in the gorilla suit with his girlfriend dressed as a banana). As a fan, The Flaming Lips are a long time favorite of mine thanks to my discovery of The Soft Bulletin many years ago, so under normal circumstances I probably would have been one of those folks camping out at the stage myself, but thanks to our photo pass I was able to show up about an hour before the set and secure a primo location and a coveted spot in the photo pit.
The downfall of heading to the Lips stage early was that we were forced to watch Grizzly Bear from afar as we jostled for position at the front of the orange and yellow stage backed by an enormous video screen. Thankfully the crowd was quiet and the sound was louder than it was earlier in the day, which allowed us to hear their set fairly clearly from the opposite end of the field. We were fortunate enough to meet up with some new blogger pals from Culture Bully as we made our way over and ended up taking in the entire set with them (On a side note, they are good people and if you aren’t reading their site you probably should be). In true Flaming Lips fashion, the band made a grand entrance to the stage as their set was slated to begin, with everyone but Wayne emerging from a door in the video screen and seemingly walking out of the giant white vagina that was displayed. As the rest of the band took their places on the stage, Wayne finally appeared as the signature bubble appeared from below the stage with him inside. Confetti erupted, balloons were launched, synthesizers howled, and the circus had officially began to the delight of thousands of screaming fans.
As Wayne returned to the stage and emerged from the bubble, the set, which was part of the “Write the Night” series in which fans were able to vote for the setlist, kicked off with The Soft Bulletin‘s classic opener “Race For The Pize.” From there the set was an eclectic mix of new songs, old favorites, and a few rarities that the band almost never performs. Despite the “Write the Night” theme, Wayne and co put their own spin on the set by reading the results of the vote from a scroll of songs and denoting their place in the order. For “Silver Trembling Hands,” a new track from the upcoming album Embryonic, Wayne mounted a roadie dressed in a gorilla costume, something that would have been unexpected for any band other than the Lips. They also played another new song from that record, “Convinced of the Hex.” Hits were out in abundance, as would be expected in a request heavy performance, with the band jamming through classics like “Fight Test,” “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,” and breaking out a stripped down and slowed down rendition of “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.” The best moments of the set, however, were the rare gems that many fans have never seen performed live like “Bad Days” from he Batman soundtrack, the oaring “Mountainside” from 1990′s In A Priest Driven Ambulance, and, perhaps most notable, “Enthusiasm for Life Defeats Existential Fear” from the documentary film The Fearless Freaks (or that one, Wayne promised “this will be the only time we ever play this song.”).
For all of the idiosyncrasies of the set, the end was both predictable and fitting, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. With time running out on their set, Wayne was down to three songs on his list and only time for two of them. Knowing that they would close with the most requested track, he asked the crowd “Do you want to hear “W.A.N.D.” or do you want to hear “Jelly”?” The choice was overwhelming and they launched immediately into the classic Jon Stewart introduction that kicks off every live performance of “She Don’t Use Jelly” and the crown erupted into a frenzy. The final and most requested song of the night was “Do You Realize,” and I can’t imagine a better way to put the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival to bed for good. With lyrics like “it’s hard to make the good things last,” I left Union Park already counting down the days until next years event, with confetti in my hair and a big smile on my face.
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Part 1 (Live on Sound Opinions)
