Congratulations, Guinness Book of World Records, you almost killed the Flaming Lips.
Eight gigs, 24 hours, eight cities, 699 miles—those are nightmarish numbers for a band and crew to execute. Someone could have had a heart attack.
The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne holds their Guinness World Record certificate. Photo by Caitlyn Ridenour.
Last night, the Flaming Lips broke the record for most gigs played in a 24-hour period across multiple cities. Their journey started in Memphis on June 27, and didn’t end until they played for at least 15 minutes at New Orleans’ House of Blues on June 28. The Lips broke the record at around 6:10 p.m., after a raucous rendition of “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)”. They followed up the short award ceremony by playing a full set.
This record-setting day was something the Flaming Lips needed—a display that they’re trying new directions. Since moving on from their previous record label earlier this year, they’ve experimented with new sounds, lineups and production. While the band has been toying with the Dark Side of the Moon since 2009, they devoted almost an entire set to the Pink Floyd album at this year’s Hangout Fest. They initially released their latest album, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, on Record Store Day (April 21) as vinyl only—admittedly not a thing most record companies would do (digital and CD versions were subsequently released this Tuesday, June 26). Last night, Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins, Steven Drozd, Kliph Scurlockt and Derek Brown treated New Orleans to a couple of songs they don’t play very often—“Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” and “Drug Chart.” This world-record attempt attracted plenty of press and created buzz about the band, especially since they were breaking a record that rap god Jay-Z previously held.
The Flaming Lips at House of Blues. Photo by Caitlyn Ridenour.
However, the problem with the Guinness World Record run is that it focused on quantity, not quality. In order to play enough cities, the Lips ended up playing as little as three songs during their gigs. Partnering with musicians such as Jackson Browne, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, GIVERS and Gary Clark Jr. lengthened show times and softened the blow, but it still doesn’t change the fact that the headliner had to dip within 20 minutes of taking the stage.
On Thursday, the Hattiesburg American had this to say about the Lips’ stop in their town: “It was definitely the biggest musical event that has hit downtown Hattiesburg in years. The Flaming Lips played a three-song, 18-minute set, kicked off by Jackson Browne’s “These Days,” in a jam-packed Boom Boom Room that had another approximately 300 folks watching from Front Street outside.”
Please imagine that you live in a city where a show that holds 300 people qualifies as the biggest musical event in years. This exciting music event starts at 6:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning. You read that correctly—it starts at 6:30 a.m. in the morning. Despite being a contender for the Guinness World Record as Concert Held at the Most Ungodly Hour in the History of Music, the tickets sell out in 17 seconds. You get a ticket.
Now imagine that the headliner plays for 18 minutes, stops playing, and dashes out the door.
The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne shooting lasers at a disco ball with giant hands. Photo by Caitlyn Ridenour.
The short gigs were troubling for the Lips, and they acknowledged that difficulty during their award ceremony at House of Blues. Their dynamic live show emphasizes creating a fantasy-like audience experience. The confetti cannons, dancing girls dressed in Dorothy costumes, balloons, and giant bubble may seem like show tricks, but those tricks transform the audience’s world into a blissful place that the Flaming Lips share with them. The audience and Coyne play with the same balloons, bouncing them back and forth from the stage. The Lips invite a few fans willing to wear Dorothy outfits to dance on the side of the stage. Cannons shower rainbow-colored confetti on the band and the audience.
At House of Blues, the Flaming Lips delivered that kind of excitement to New Orleans on Thursday night. “Do You Realize” announced the Flaming Lips’ arrival onstage, paired with blinding lights. The only hint of the bands’ hectic past day was their wrinkled clothing. The confetti-to-square-footage ratio was delightfully high.
Since it’s the Flaming Lips, whatever they play, you know they’re going to play it well—but it was the energy that seemed different from their shows at large festivals. In the intimacy of House of Blues, the over-the-top special effects and props effectively turned the venue into a playhouse. Coyne crawled in his bubble, swirled his metallic jacket through the air, and shot lasers with enormous fake hands, which ended with the usual face-off between him and the disco ball (the lasers shoot from his palms and reflect off the disco ball). Perhaps that’s the secret to the Flaming Lips’ endurance—they never stop playing.
