GIG NUMBER FORTY-NINE
Who
This time round The Flaming Lips had invested in a larger video screen than usual but were still hanging around the side of the stage before the show. We were also treated to Slow Life by SFA from the DJ: Seeing Wayne doing a little dance to it was ever so slightly notable. Clinic were the second act and were dressed for the operating theatre. They seemed to have moved on only slightly since I'd seen them four years previously but they still made a listenable, it ultimately a bit samey, support. And now for the main act! As expected, The Flaming Lips came onstage to Carmina Burana again as we all punched the air in delight. The animals assembled... Probably not so many this time although the perpetual suns from Glastonbury were briefly let loose! A slightly re-jigged opening message was flashed up (in pink letters as before) as I did my best to enjoy it no matter what the rest of the crowd wanted to do.
Race For The Prize was then unleashed, sounding as mighty as ever. This time a real little moshpit started up and I was knackered before the tune was out, not to mention choking on confetti and dry ice and screaming the song - just like V2000!! Balloons were everywhere! The next tune was a shock so early on, as we enjoyed the cover of Seven Nation Army, featuring strobes and insanity normally reserved solely for Lightning Strikes The Postman! I continued going mental, although the rest of the crowd clearly were less willing to let themselves go: very foolish after spending so much money for a ticket!! Fight Test was typically fine, but perhaps the real highlight after a lengthy speech about Bush, Blair and Schwarzenegger and how we should try and make a difference rather than just booing them, was The Gash! For three long years I'd waited to hear this glorious tune again, and couldn't resist a shriek of excitement as it started and the girls jumping up and down on the screen appeared. Wayne donned his enormous novelty hands (pictured) and made us wave our arms from side to side. It was emotional and I went appropriately insane.
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt.1 followed, as Wayne urged us all to sing along and go crazy, which some of us tried to do. The Battle Royale video was sorely missed, but the tune was as awesome as ever, and the duet with the nun puppet at the end was even more drawn out and hilarious than before. Should-have-been-highlight Lightning Strikes The Postman was typically unleashed with strobes, smoke, loudspeakers and just general insanity. But it was a lot harder to enjoy when it was clear how few people knew the song. I tried to mosh but no-one else was willing, and a set highlight was wasted on Manchester. The opening of Postman featured a hilarious "public service announcement" where a guy went into a toilet, took off the top of his head and bits of his brain and then proceeded to snort them. The text warned us "don't snort your brain, enjoy The Flaming Lips instead"! So what an awesome first seven songs! Powerful enough to defeat any seven nation army!!
Next up could have been a little ditty under the working title of Happy Birthday, dedicated to an impressive five people. It took an incredibly long time to work out all their names, and maybe this segment wouldn't be too sorely missed?? For some crazy reason people then tried to mosh for In The Morning Of The Magicians. A nice song fair enough but you don't jump around to it after wasting better opportunities!! The Spark That Bled (with extra blood) made a welcome return to the set as we all punched the air in delight. Then the set finally hit top gear with the mighty She Don't Use Jelly (possibly introduced by Hugh Grant?). Even more balloons seemed to appear and the general shower of confetti continued. I lead the moshpit to new excess, and we saw Wayne blowing up a balloon until it was several times his size and it then exploded, revealing lots of little balloons inside! After an extra verse of Jelly, the main set climaxed with a stunning Do You Realize?? Details elude me but it's safe to say it was awesome!
The encore started with Waitin' For A Superman dedicated to Elliot Smith: I'd forgotten they'd yet to play it! The band failed to deliver the final knockout blow of A Spoonful Weighs A Ton and chose for some reason to play Breathe by Pink Floyd. There's nothing wrong with it but it's hardly a better song is it now? We then all looked very silly as we waved the band goodbye. But I was very tired and happy, despite not getting a big balloon like Jim, and carefully stored away the 27 bits of confetti that remained attached to my person when I got home. The ones I swallowed I'll probably give up on retrieving. Once again, The Flaming Lips put on a show that would blow any other act in the world away. SFA may remain the finer group but the Lips showed yet again that, when it comes to the show, no-one could compete!!
Mark: 10.0/10
The Flaming Lips
Support
Clinic
Steve Burns
Where
Manchester Apollo
When
28th October 2003
Price
£17.50
Who with
Jim and a few PopEx people
Position
Towards the front, in the moshpit
Comments
Here I broke my summer 2000 record of closest time between seeing The Flaming Lips and SFA by one day! A mere six days after the Super Furries did their stuff, my (then) second greatest band on Earth kept things going: a double-header almost making up for the 2003 festival disaster. My original plan of drinking a lot, arriving early and securing a place at the front fell through as I found out that other people were suddenly going with me too! So a few extra beverages later, we got into the venue far later than I'd planned and stood near the back. First support was Steve Burns (I thought it was a band...) who seemed OK, not that I was paying much attention. His use of the video screen was impressive. The drummer was wearing a camera on his head, there was a rather amusing opening video and just general eye candy throughout. But of course I then got impatient at the thought of not seeing The Flaming Lips Experience at close quarters so quickly skanked everyone for an optimal spot in the moshpit!!
Setlist
Carmina Burana
Race For The Prize
Seven Nation Army
Fight Test
The Gash
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt.1
Lightning Strikes The Postman
Happy Birthday
In The Morning Of The Magicians
The Spark That Bled
The Golden Path
She Don't Use Jelly
Do You Realize??
Waitin' For A Superman
Breathe
