What: Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse, Liz Phair.
When: May 25, 2003
Where: Plaza Of Nations
Status: looked full

I arrived late so I missed a few of the opening bands but came early enough to see alternative goddess Liz Phair. I call her a goddess ‘cause after hearing her amazing voice live, I can’t think of another word to suit her. Unfortunately, the set was less than thirty minutes and made me crave for more.

Modest Mouse soon came on after and played for an hour. This was my first time hearing Modest Mouse and I will admit that I enjoyed them a lot more than I originally thought I would. I am not going to rush out and buy a Modest Mouse album but it was a tiny step above tolerable. I can’t really describe their sound in terms of comparing them with other bands but they were alternative in every sense of the word.

I love Birthday parties! That is exactly what the Flaming Lips set was, a big ass Birthday party complete with furry dancing animals, confetti and large balloons which entertained the audience. I felt like a little kid again watching the giraffe, panda, tiger, lion, frog, owl, pink panther, elephant and every other cuddly animal that you can think of, dancing on stage as if they were in a Macy’s parade. I just wanted to run up and hug them all as I was showered with confetti throughout the songs. The rest of the band were wearing fuzzy animal costumes as well and lead singer Wayne wore a pearl colored suit covered in blood.

The Flaming Lips are one of the most underrated alternative bands which is a real shame. Staring out at the sea of bobbing heads singing along to most of the songs made me realize that I am not the only one who enjoys the cult success of The Lips.

I am a fan of the Flaming lips but haven’t really kept in touch with them after the early 90’s. The lips are one of those bands that put on an awesome show for your money, they play as good as they sound on CD, which is a rarity in this day and age. After the show, I turned into the biggest Flaming Lips fan. A band who can turn a medium fan into a big fan is an accomplishment since they’re not that many great live bands.

Another part of the show that I appreciated was the intimacy, it may have been a big venue but the way Wayne talked and participated with the audience, the band turned something really big into a small intimate show. In other words, a nice intimate birthday party. Perhaps the next time they come to town, everyone in the audience will have Flaming Lips birthday hats!