June 9th, 2010
Flaming Lips in Tampa
The Bay residents, and out-of-town guests, will be getting a very special treat this fall, and it’s one that’s been anticipated, and then disappointed, and now anticipated again. It’s been a twisty road to get the Flaming Lips back to play Jannus Landing again, but when 2010 is over, people will agree that it was all worth the wait.
Band member Steven Drozd was hospitalized this past April, which lead to the cancellation and postponement of several important shows for the band, but the rescheduling here has been successful, and arrangements made so that the tickets bought already will be honored on October 13 . And although it might be an interesting act in terms of sheer performance art effect to keep postponing indefinitely, that’s not like the band. They love to have fun and do crazy things for the sake of absurd effect, but they never like to let their fans down.
They will be drawing fans from all over, too, since their shows are legendary, and it’s been a long time since they’d toured together. The locals will be waiting at the gates, their floors covered by couch surfers, and even the best Tampa spa resorts will have a few old Flaming Lips fans waiting to see the show in style.
Frontman Wayne Coyne has always captivated audiences with his intelligence, sharp wit, and deeply self-effacing sense of backwards humor. One suspects that this mind is a major force behind a lot of the gimmickry that’s characterized the Oklahoma band during their career. It started in 1983, and has lasted much longer than anyone thought it could, combining pop culture with psychedelic sensibility to make music that is more like a dada performance than a concert. Inspired by bands like The Tubes, and Frank Zappa, they play differently and interestingly, and are responsible for a number of innovations in contemporary music in live performance. This will be one for the record books.
Related posts: