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FLAMING LIPS CURE ALL
THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS, THEN HEAD BACK HOME TO OKLAHOMA
June 11, 2003 Austin, Texas - Playing before a capacity crowd at Stubb's
outdoor amphitheatre neatly tucked away in downtown Austin, Wayne,
Michael and Steven of the Oklahoma rock band 'the Flaming Lips' taunted
the weather, told people not to worry about death, and proceeded to rock
out while video of giant topless women exercising were projected
onto the video screen behind them.
| Despite Liz Phair's best
attempts to swindle the crowd into her buttery world of sarcasm and
hair blown 80's hair, the Flaming Lips were able to re-concentrate
the crowd's attentions to matters that mattered.
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Fight Test
I thought I was smart -
I thought I was right
I thought it better not to fight -
I thought there was a
Virtue in always being cool -
so when it came time to
Fight
I thought I'll just step aside and that time would
Prove you wrong and that you would be the fool |
They took the stage with little fanfare, chased onstage by a gaggle of
folks dressed in furry animal costumes. With the big symphonic
intro of Race For the Prize, goose bumps almost traveled down the
crowd's spines as the rolled into
Fight Test as the fight scene from Cool Hand Luke played out on an
edited loop at the back of the stage. Confetti streamed down
on those lucky enough to get in front of the stage - or perhaps brave
enough to stand the human crush and the heat. Giant balloons floated throughout
the open air amphitheatre, bouncing from person to person, as lightning flashed
from Wayne's chest, striking the postman.
The Lips' tricked out 'She Don't Use Jelly' video rolled just before
Wayne encouraged the crowd to join in and serenade the guitarist Michael
on his 34nd birthday. The crowd was full throttle, full of young,
optimistic, well intentioned gentle people. Wayne fostered the
camaraderie, at one point sappily going on about how serious he
was that this was the 'greatest crowd' ever - and he meant it.
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Do You
Realize?
Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round |
By the time they got around to playing their hit anthem from their
latest album, Do You Realize?, the crowd of young twenty somethings
were eating out of Wayne's hand. Having earlier mocked the
heavens above for threatening thunderstorms and rain (that would not
arrive until 5:00 am), it was now that Wayne took the opportunity to
encourage everyone to live in the moment and forget about their
problems for a couple hours. I then realized I had no more
beer.
The concert ended with a rowdy ovation, a
thankful crowd, and to the overpowering rhythms of Pink Floyd's Breathe
from Dark Side of the Moon. It was a great cover, albeit short
encore because of Austin's draconian anti-noise laws that put curfews of
10:30 on outdoor shows in the self professed 'Live Music Capitol of the
World'.
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Breathe - Pink
Floyd
Breathe, breathe in the air
don't be afraid to care
leave but don't leave me
look around, choose your own ground
for long you live and high you fly
and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
and all your touch and all you see
is all your life will ever be
Run rabbit run
dig that hole, forget the sun
and when at last the work is down
don't sit down, it's time to dig another one
for long you live and high you fly
but only if you ride the tide
and balanced on the biggest wave
you race towards an early grave |
Chris and I hovered around the grounds of Stubbs for a while,
watching the crowd filter out, turning some subtle glances into not
so subtle leers with the non blink of an eye. Eventually we
left, out into the restless streets of Austin at 11:00 in the middle
of the week. The streets were full, lines stretched from the
door at Emo's, where Chris identified one of his old friends who had
attended AA meetings. I brought us into Cucaracha for a
Lonestar and a water, and we recovered our thoughts in the back
patio, sensing what a crazy ride this is. |
Other links:
Chris
Chappell's View of the Show
Fake John Aielli Found
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