Paperjam

The Flaming Lips, Birmingham, 24th April

Gigs // Jim // 26th April 2006

Imagine being at a football match where your team are beating Chelsea eight-nil after half an hour. Your keeper scored the last goal after getting bored and going on a mazy run through their entire side, pausing only to backheel the ball through Petr Cech’s legs. The crowd are going mad and belting out songs about girls making Vaseline sandwiches and learning karate in order to beat up killer robots – this is what being at a Flaming Lips gig is like. But with more balloons.

After what can only be described as a shite week or so, mainly due to illness, lack of sleep and the fact that I went to see Scary Movie 4 the other day. I am in a bad mood and need considerable cheering up. Fed and watered, I arrive at a bustling Birmingham Academy along with a friend who (due to the fact that he has promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade) can only be named as “Tom”. Banners announce that the whole thing is being recorded for Radio 1 (Lamacq, specifically), I grimace and head for the bar.

The Go! Team are doing their mega enthusiaitic, all-drumming, seventies TV show thing in a big fashion on the stage and seem to get the crowd going bit by bit. The tracks that I recall are:
Junior Kickstart
Huddle Formation
Hold Yr Terror Close
Bottle Rocket
Ladyflash (which includes the hyper energetic front woman, Ninja, going multi national with the dance moves to fine effect)
They finish on a complete high and the audience are loving it. Although it is great I am apprehensive, the last time I saw a support band with this much energy it was the Prodigy at Knebworth supporting Oasis who might as well not have bothered after Keith Flint had got out of his plastic ball and strolled off.

Then something strange happens, as Tom is getting a large number of whiskies together, The Flaming Lips arrive on stage and sort of do their own soundtrack. Lip Spokesman Wayne Coyne explains that the whole thing is being recorded (but the swearing and controversial bits will be cut out) and it would be great if we could all go mad like we were on crack at the start. An intro tape kicks in, it is the Super Furry Animals, doing a version of Psyclone all about the Flaming Lips being “in your town”. Quality.

The Flaming Lips: Mood enhancing, best intro tape ever

The Band take to the stage along with a bunch of Santas (representing Christianity some people boo) and a group of aliens (representing scientology, most people boo). Despite the quadruple Jack Daniels that had been sunk at this stage I’ve pieced together what happened next as best as I could:

Racing for the Prize: Huge mad intro where the crowd go mental (at Wayne’s polite request) while confetti goes everywhere and giant green balloons are hurled off the balcony.
Free Radicals: Booming Prince-does-stop-start-heavy-metal-guitar-solos vibe + political overtones + double necked guitar antics = Fucking brilliant song.

Wayne is enthused: “Great Fuckin job everyone”, but then concerned and supportive: “You’re gonna get tired, but I’m gonna fuckin’ work with you on this”

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots: The entire crowd sing along. Then there is a Wayne/Audience encore with scary hissing nun/alien puppet spoiling the fun here and there (honestly).
Vein of Stars: Time to chill out and ponder your existence. Yeeeaaahhhhhh.
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song: Wayne gives everyone a quick practice and explanation before the main event, like the music teacher that you wish you’d had. People are grinning like drug casuaties.
The WAND: Much clapping breaks out . Wayne sings the whole thing through a loudhailer, like Tim Booth, except that this is good. The crowd yells the “we’ve got the power now MOTHERFUCKERS” bit with quite some vitriol - but fantastic timing.
In The Morning Of The Magicians: I see a solitary lighter being held aloft amongst the camera-phones. There is swaying.

At this point there is an instrumental using a cool farmyard keyboard thing (sent in by a fan it seems) with cow and duck noises at the appropriate juncture.

She Don’t Use Jelly: My word it is getting sweaty in here. A TV host projected 20 feet high mis-announces the song - which is chanted word for word by the whole place. Moving Wayne to commence another extended singalong.
Do You Realise??: With prior warning that they will certainly be back for an encore, The Flaming Lips launch into probably the most uplifting song ever written about the existential nature of life and the absolute certainty of your death.

At this point Tom decides to leg it for the train, fearful that a late night to bed will no doubt affect his future chances of a career in brain surgery. This is unfortunate for two reasons; Firstly he misses a great encore, and secondly it turns out that he has no idea how to get to the station. Oh dear.

No time to worry though as then the band return to treat us of their greatest songs the sublime epic Feeling Yourself Disintegrate, a religious moment.
They finish with War Pigs, the Black Sabbath cover version goes down well with the brummie contingent as I regretfully head for the exit and have a look round town for Tom.

In conclusion I would have to say that the whole thing relieved me of my dark mood and kept me feeling happy for at least the next 24 hours. Wayne Coyne is my new hero, he seemed genuinely chuffed at the reception that the band got and was effusive in his praise of the audience. His outlook on life and the world around you is one to admire, although on the downside the bloke next to me was gutted that "his head just wasn’t bleeding at all this time..."

The Flaming Links...

Steve Lamacq Page at Radio 1

Gig recording and photos are available (at the moment but who knows for how long?)

Flaming Lips Web Site

Probably the best band web site ever, loads to get at

The Go! Team

Its flashy, noisy and fun. A bit like them

Wayne Coyne: This much I know

Wayne quotes courtesy of The Observer, not a fan of Richard Ashcroft