The decision to drop every thing last Thursday and drive out to Fort Worth to catch the Flaming Lips and Beck concert was a no-brainer. I would only miss one class, and I could, theoretically, leave early Friday morning and make my Spanish class.
During my time writing for The UD, I have written quite a few CD reviews. The two CD reviews that were the most praiseworthy just happened to be my reviews of Beck's new album Sea Changes and The Flaming Lip's stellar Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. Getting tickets at the last minute to a show featuring both of these incredible acts on one bill, well, was like an early Christmas present from Santa.
Unfortunately I did not make Spanish class, but I did catch one hell of an amazing show Thursday night at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth.
I ended up getting to the show a little late. I went home to Grapevine to visit my parents before the show and lost my wallet in my room. When I finally reached the venue, the show had begun. What I saw as I walked into the smoky coliseum clued me into the fact that I was about to be witness to a wild ride of a performance.
The Flaming Lips were on stage playing to a capacity crowd. The stage was set up so the band was literally on the front edge. Imagine your high school's auditorium when the curtains are closed, and then imagine an entire band is set up in front of the curtain on the little amount of stage that is left. This is how the Flaming Lips were set up, and if that sounds like a tight squeeze, you would have been amazed to see about 30 girls dressed up as different animals surrounding the band.
Apparently before every show, the band picks out girls as they come in and ask them to put on an animal costume and dance during the set. Each girl was holding a big trigger flashlight and waving it around as they danced - a mesmerizing effect.
The band also was decked out in full costume, except for lead singer Wayne Coyne, who dressed in his trademark suede khaki suit. If you haven't seen Coyne live in concert, then it's something you need to put on the short list of to-dos. The man, undeniably a genius, looks something like the coolest professor you have ever had, but acts like a five-year-old on stage. Coyne spent the entire set throwing confetti onto the crowd and his fellow band members - which was a great thing to see, even if Hugsabunch Freeloader did it first.
Throughout the show, there was not one second Coyne didn't have a giant smile on his face, and that is something that is absolutely amazing to watch - someone who loves their music and loves to share it.
The music, which had such a Kid A quality on CD, was revealed as an entirely different entity live. The force of the Lips' happy set gave the music a different texture than had previously been heard.
By the time the Lips set was over, I was thinking to myself that Beck was going to have to put on one hell of a show to follow that. I am going to be honest here; he delivered, but not without the help of the Flaming Lips.
When Beck tapped The Flaming Lips as an opening band, he not only meant for them to open, but he also wanted them to be the backing band for his set. When Beck came on he played about four songs by himself with just a guitar. Most of those songs were from his new album Sea Changes, which if you haven't heard, is a major shift in style for Beck.
I was actually kind of worried when Beck first came out. When Medeski, Martin and Wood came to Lubbock, I was very excited to see them. They were incredible musicians who I couldn't wait to see. Unfortunately the opening band, Spoonfed Tribe, tore down the house before Medeski Martin and Wood got the chance to perform. After the raw power of Tribe's set, Medeski Martin and Wood seemed kind of boring. When Beck came on with his guitar and sad songs after the immensely powerful set of the Lips, it seemed as if he was going to be just as boring as Medeski, Martin and Wood.
There has been a lot of talk about Beck's new album being a break-up album. During the show, the marked difference between Beck's new songs and his old classics was so distinct, it only further pointed out how badly Beck had been hurt in his breakup. All you had to do was see Beck perform Tropicalia, pulling out all the stops and even doing the robot a few times, then see how fast his sound changed when he performed The Golden Age, from his new album. The contrast in tone was so stark, it was apparent the breakup had really affected the poor guy.
Honestly, Beck could put on a great show by himself with any back-up band behind him, but there was a sense The Flaming Lips were the real show, and Beck was just with them helping out.
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