Who
The Flaming Lips
Where
Birmingham O2 Academy
When
25th April 2025
Price
£49.50
Who with
Blower, Nick
Position
Towards the back
Comments
It's hard to believe that I'd not seen The Flaming Lips since 2017, but the pandemic and a lack of local touring were behind this, rather than it being an intentional gap. I see that the guys played Manchester in 2019 and 2023, and it's infuriating that once they finally returned to my region it was to Birmingham Academy, rather than to the superior Birmingham Institute or the even better Wolverhampton Civic. I got my ticket immediately in June 2024 - ten months in advance - and Blower/Nick did the same, although Tom was also supposed to join but never did, sadly much the same as had happened for The Hives the year before. I believe that this was my 12th time watching The Flaming Lips - including twice as festivals - and also it was a long four months since my last music concert. I've kept the memory of Wayne and the gang alive by keeping my inflatable K from last time around, although I now have to reinflate it regularly to keep it alive. I didn't prepare much except for slowly listening through the six disc Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots deluxe reissue. It struck me how great the b-sides and rarities of the era were, including SpongeBob & Patrick Confront The Psychic Wall Of Energy and The Golden Path, plus a few memorable covers and I even discovered their demo of Duck Dodgers Theme, which was a spoof of the Thunderball theme tune which they ultimately got Tom Jones to sing! I had a busy work day but it was a Friday night and I even decided to wear my infamous Yoshimi top from 2003, which despite having faded slightly and still having the unfortunate boot marks in it, had in fact aged pretty well as its subsequent lack of wear had helped to preserve it in an acceptable condition.

Before heading out I cut my lip on my shaver and it refused to stop bleeding, giving me literal Flaming Lips as I caught the punctual train into Birmingham. I drafted some notes on my phone and despite the total lack of communication Blower joined the train at Wolves as planned. All was looking good. I'd confirmed that The Lips would be playing a double set including the whole Yoshimi album, and it was a great treat to not have an unnecessary support act. Although I was surprised to confirm that the equivalent Soft Bulletin show was way back in 2011, as I really thought it had been far more recent than that. It's unusual as gigs which I consider "recent" occurred before many life-defining events, including most of my most notable holidays, as back in 2011 I still didn't take as many photos as I eventually learned was prudent to take. It's a shame that I hadn't had the chance to attend a Clouds Taste Metallic anniversary show, although of course I had purchased the reissued album. I still rate it as easily my favourite Lips album, and I'd also put Zaireeka and The Soft Bulletin categorically above Yoshimi in my top long player stakes. I'd put Yoshimi on a similar level to At War With The Mystics, In A Priest Driven Ambulance and Transmissions From The Satellite Heart, and I find it slightly infuriating that it is deemed worthy of a special tour when their better efforts are not. And this was the 23rd anniversary too, not even making for a round number. I'd been surprised to read that Stephen had skipped their Australian tour and I had really hoped he'd be onstage, but his status in the band seemed a bit unclear, and it's unusual to think that Michael had already left the band quietly, and that after a solid 30 years that the core trio who'd made The Flaming Lips so wonderful were no longer a unit.

After reaching Brum, Blower and I went to McDonalds and I assume I enjoyed the apple McFlurry but strangely for me I didn't take a picture of it, on top of a lovely five chicken selects meal. We then headed to Cherry Reds and met Nick, enjoying the classic Weihenstephaner wheat beer along with a delicious Biscoff cake. We then headed to the venue, and I was disappointed to go to take a photo of the sign outside and see that it was projected on a screen rather than properly put up in illuminated letters. We had no hassle getting in, and the search guy didn't even bother asking me to show him my camera, which of course I'd pre-checked was allowed, although I'm wary that they don't always follow their own rules. Although I don't like the security searches and feel that they are unnecessary when similar theatre shows don't subject you to this, they were as friendly and welcoming as could be expected, although of course I always retain a level of frustration whenever I have to visit this shitty venue with its horrible overhanging balcony. Although the room was already fairly full we still easily secured a spot towards the back but in front of the balcony. It was further back than ideal but still fine, and when popping to the toilets I was pleasantly surprised to see Brooklyn Lager plus a Stonewall Brooklyn Beer were both on tap, making for an unusually high quality selection for a gig venue. I still resisted as I didn't want to have to leave for toilet breaks and had already enjoyed a perfect pint, and the plastic cup always makes it an easy decision to say no. Who needs alcohol or any extra stimulation to enjoy a Flaming Lips show anyway?

I also glanced at the merch stand and wondered how the actual fuck t-shirts were now £35? 20 years earlier I'd considered £15 expensive and £20 extortionate, and it's hard to see how anyone could think otherwise. Also the general price of clothing at cheap shopping outlets is largely unchanged, so it does feel like pure profiteering, perhaps only justifiable by thinking that musicians no longer make much money from albums and that the live shows are the primary revenue stream? This also reminded me that Yoshimi actually came out in 2002, and that my incredibly cool t-shirt was dated 2003 because they continued touring into the next year, in fact hitting new heights of popularity thanks to that relentless gigging schedule. It was the right choice to stand on the right hand side as it was quieter and mostly avoided the streams of people entering the venue from the other side, and I really felt that the Academy had massively upped their game by improving the air con. Blower and I never removed our coats at any point as we were absolutely comfortable in the temperature, and that would never have happened before the pandemic, as unless it was my imagination I suspect they'd had to improve air flow to safely reopen? Wayne used to personally supervise the soundcheck but this time he didn't, but as there was no support I guess everything had been set up anyway and there was no need for Wayne to do it. Unfortunately they didn't play the classic Soundcheck, and we posted a selfie on Facebook before the show commenced. And although it was bloody hard to tell, Stephen was sadly not there, but the guy who stood in for him looked very similar. Interestingly this was the first Lips show since Taiwan on 30th March and signalled their return to Europe, and I'd really thought that Stephen had just sat out the long trip and would be back. Even writing this up a full three weeks after the show, I still have no clue if he has left the band or not.

Stephen leaving sadly may reduce The Flaming Lips to a touring act, but in my mind they haven't released anything that has really inspired me since At War With The Mystics in 2006, and even at their peak they were always best in a live environment. And as a live band, The Flaming Lips were still extraordinary, and as I'll explain later, in some ways they were better than ever. But I should take a step back and review their entrance now, as the guys came onstage to War Pigs, before sheepishly admitting that it was the wrong version and leaving the stage to enter to the Black Sabbath version! It was their little tribute to Birmingham, but the cover version was equally strong and in fact The Flaming Lips version of War Pigs from many years back had already kicked the shit out of the original in any case. As I will be reconfirming with my own ears in the summer, ELO are far and away Birmingham's greatest band, and Sabbath alongside Led Zeppelin are very overrated, despite obviously having a few good songs. I shot a video of this intro and there were blue then purple lights and the briefest hint of the lasers that were to come, but the show then started properly with Fight Test. My second video caught three pink robots inflating slowly behind Wayne and stage left/right as the glorious introduction led into it and the screen lit up, and the robots once fully inflated swayed left and right and we were assaulted with an onslaught of lasers. Wayne no longer wore his eye patch but was instead wearing an unusual harness as if he'd parachuted in for us, and every single lyric was projected word-by-word onto the screen behind him, putting pressure on the band to remain perfectly in time to the video. That's the kind of thing that could kill a show, but I remember that The Greatest Show Ever (TM) at V2000 had featured a similar trick, and the extra stimulation of a synced music video is a classic Flaming Lips trope.

I shot a short video of the transition and Wayne saying "keep going, keep going", which he repeatedly said but it was a little infuriating as he said this during the moments when the band had stopped! I then remembered that Yoshimi was not the second song on the album so stopped filming, and next up was One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21. This is ok but an early reminder why Yoshimi is far from their best album, and I shot a small video snippet. The lights were nice and I enjoyed the lasers, turning around to see them ending up swirling onto the wall behind us. There were four screens side by side and the imagery was fairly low tech and largely to provide colour and lyrics, but it kept us engaged, albeit not as much as seeing a few classic old videos could have achieved. I recorded Yoshimi before the start to ensure I captured the intro. Wayne said that he loved us, and later explained how the love between band and fans was genuine and strong, and he questioned why we don't say it more freely to each other. There were multiple karate chop moments interspersed with the Yoshimi introduction but beforehand I'd felt enthused by Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 2 and was totally in the right frame of mind as the pink robots - which had been deflated - came back for Part 2 and again for the end of the album, jerking around this time as Wayne took advantage of the gap in vocals to throw a few balloons into the crowd, along with confetti and lasers smashing us into submission. 10 years ago I couldn't have imagined, but I was now feeling that Part 2 was actually better than Part 1, and my recorded video definitely sells that point too. Sadly however the middle section of the album dropped the momentum off a cliff, and I always find it hard to enjoy In The Morning Of The Magicians when I consider all the wonderful songs that could be filling its space instead.

Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell was slightly better, and the band did try with Are You A Hypnotist??, with Wayne even having a gong "cage" wheeled out before placing a crystal ball inside it so it provided lighting rather than sound to accompany the moment. It's Summertime then provided the nadir of the album, and admittedly the turgid mid-section of the album was killing the room, but Nick took it a step further by choosing this moment to go home, which was insane, and just prior to the very relevant speech linked to Do You Realize?? where Wayne talked about positivity and exchanging "I love yous" and about the lifting power of music. The room immediately lifted in vibes one hundred times, and in any case a break was just around the corner to regroup and prepare for the second half of the night. I might be wrong and don't have the inclination to check, but I don't believe I've ever left a show early for any reason except for it running stupidly late and my safe passage home being at risk. Even then I feel guilty about it, because I know no matter how bad I feel that the memories will last a lifetime and the quality of the music will ultimately overcome any stress or problem, so long as the musicians are decent enough to play the right songs. The closest I've come to leaving early perhaps is Bill Ryder-Jones following Gruff Rhys, but in circumstances like that when I've already seen what I came for, I feel happy in my choice, and if I'd been with anyone else I would have overcame my lack of enthusiasm and stuck it out anyway, much as I did when the mediocre Dodgy followed a storming slot by The Supernaturals two years earlier. OK they were a huge anti-climax, but I stuck at it and did my best to enjoy it, and in the end it was just about enjoyable enough to be worth the effort.

My video for Realize captured the inflatable rainbow arch and lovely colours and swirling patterns on screen, as well as a multitude of phone cameras also pointing to the stage. It was a lovely moment that lifted everyone from the low points of the show, although rewatching it and seeing the lack of lasers and confetti, I was a little surprised that the band hadn't made even more of this moment. Wayne was now the only longstanding member of the band sadly and spoke with childlike enthusiasm about how amazing it is that water bottle caps are attached to recycle together, demonstrating a cultural difference (presumably this doesn't happen in America yet?) and also a relentlessly positive attitude. Yoshimi then cruised to its conclusion with All We Have Is Now and Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia), and the band left their stage for a break. By this point it was clear that Nick was not coming back, and once again it was just Blower and I, with Blower only coming along for the social aspect then finding everyone else bailing. It's utterly infuriating to think I've been dealing with this shit for over 25 years, and in fact my love of The Flaming Lips arose from friends being twattishly boring so I left them and went off and enjoyed the most spectacular afternoon of my life at V2000 while they pissed about watching Travis or some shit like that. Thankfully I detached myself and just embraced attending shows by myself, but sometimes it is painful to think that I'm seeing incredible life-changing moments by myself and I so often can't even beg someone to join me. I couldn't even give away a spare ticket to see Super Furry Animals in 1999 for one of the greatest shows I've ever seen, and even my own brother had fucked me over by refusing to attend Jean-Michel Jarre for literally no reason after I'd paid for his very expensive ticket. It's shameful and disgraceful behaviour which has irreparably damaged my views of the human race and made me lose faith so much in people - not because of one incident like tonight, but because of persistent uselessness and thinking how fucking insane it is that I so often couldn't get someone to join me for what effectively is a winning lottery ticket and what would be a highlight experience of their lifetime.

Anyway back to the show, thankfully Blower had shown trust and reliability in joining me and was being amply rewarded with a show he will remember for the rest of his life, perhaps enjoying it more than me as in my mind I was comparing it to better Flaming Lips gigs and thinking what they could have done better. The Flaming Lips re-emerged to the tune of Mr Blue Sky, this time showcasing the much more talented band to emerge from Birmingham. They launched into She Don't Use Jelly, as I shot a video on my camera and then my phone. Balloon roadies were chucking relentless balloons at us and although my phone couldn't quite capture the sound right, my booming footage did showcase the energy beautifully. There'd been a dark period where The Flaming Lips had removed Jelly from the show and it was lovely to have it back. By this point my one camera battery was running low, which afterwards I diagnosed as a problem with the battery and so I purchased a replacement. It had never crossed my mind to bring along a spare battery as I wasn't paranoid enough to think that a fully charged camera battery would not be sufficient for an indoor show. So I continued to enjoy the remarkable (and frankly superior) second half of the night, but now being very conscious that I would have to be very selective which videos I shot. The second half was mostly storming, with relative newbie Flowers Of Neptune 6 being a rare unknown song. But even here, Wayne wore a mad flower costume with petals around his head, and we probably needed a breather by this point anyway. The Spark That Bled really stood out despite the lack of blood, and it reminded me that this tune deserved a permanent place on my Flaming Lips best of compilations. In the onslaught of classics I barely even registered Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung, which before has been notable for its excellent use of lasers, but this time I can't even remember if they were utilised or not.

I shot another video for Waitin' For A Superman, seeing that Wayne was wearing a cheap alternative Superman suit and cape with a W, not that I even noticed this at the time. It was a quieter moment with "gentle" lasers and as always a lovely song. More exciting was Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now), which was written in 1996 with no concept that they would be a performing and vital live band in the actual year 2025. The song itself sounds futuristic and epic, and enjoying an unheard moment from Zaireeka was clearly a highlight. I'd actually played this early on New Years Day after watching the London fireworks on TV, and it was so good I can probably even overlook the misspelled title! The band continued in this unexpected furrow with The Golden Path, which apparently they hadn't played live since 2015! Wayne said that they almost never play it, and as a bonus one of the two inflatable suns from Glastonbury 2003 appeared behind Wayne to indulge in a very cute dance with him, before a massive monster and a massive alien appeared to each side of the stage to dance along also. It was a madcap moment and worth the price of admission alone, motivating me to show Blower the Glastonbury 2003 intro from YouTube on the train back. Even watching it without sound on a little phone screen and witnessing the drama of one of the two suns deflating, the vitality and humour of the moment shone through clearly. I posted The Golden Path on Facebook afterwards but I started the recording before the lights burst into life, then zoomed in on Wayne. Despite captioning the video clearly that it needs to be watched in full, I can't help thinking that no-one could be arsed to watch beyond the first few seconds, missing out on one of the most spectacular phone recordings they are ever likely to see.

I shot a second video on my phone of this capturing the large dancing alien/monster, and this spectacular moment was then followed by Love Yer Brain! It was a highlight which amazingly I didn't record at all (thanks to my dying camera battery), and Wayne got us all chanting "love" at the end. It's a simple song but very powerful and was quickly reinstated on my Flaming Lips best of afterwards as a highlight, although I did edit off the unnecessary "piano smashing" finale in place of a simpler fade-out. Wayne said that he was stoked and had lost his place in the show three times as things had been so mental, and tutored us that The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song was easy to sing along to, and at one point we sing "no no no" but that he was confident we'd be able to figure it out! I shot a couple of videos, and the large inflatable eyes from The W.A.N.D. on previous tours were utilised, along with some lips that Wayne held up to make a surreal and super cool face. It is strange that Wayne didn't take this opportunity to say anything about politics, but America's decline into full-on fascism is too shocking to process, and the petulant attitude of Trump supporters who enjoy "owning the Libs" by voting for him because they've been told not to demonstrates a level of stupidity that is tough to comprehend. The idiocy is almost impossible to process, and I sure as hell won't step foot in America unless a Democrat is in power, and even then I'd be wary to visit any of the backward places where Trump and his army of fuckwit supporters reside. We were now on the home straight, and I shot a bit of the intro of A Spoonful Weighs A Ton on my phone. As it was before the loud bit my phone could actually cope nicely with the sound, and by now Wayne was standing within an inflated bubble, although sadly he didn't venture into the audience in it for a stroll!

The set then finished triumphantly with Race For The Prize, with The Flaming Lips casually smashing past the 11pm curfew despite starting at 8.15pm! I'd been led to believe that the break between sets would be long but it really wasn't, and considering that the last time I'd seen The Flaming Lips they'd performed just 11 tunes and this time they'd played a stonking 22 numbers, this really was the unique selling point of the evening. Wayne had massively cut down on the banter and for once The Flaming Lips were playing a fairly fast-paced show without the bells and whistles of extended intros/outros as they used to do. And although some of the chat is inspiring and some of the reprises are very memorable, hearing a much tighter performance was definitely a treat. Wayne said that they'd play until they were dragged off but it was clear that nothing could follow Race For The Prize, as I shot a phone video of the intro, capturing confetti, epic drums and Wayne still standing within his bubble. Toward the end I shot my final camera video, and thankfully despite it dying during the recording, it was kind enough to save the 30 seconds or so of footage anyway. Although by this point the confetti had stopped, so unusually my phone had done a better job capturing the moment. Wayne revealed a Fuck Yeah Birmingham sign but we were far back and I didn't think it necessary to obtain another letter to take home with me. Judging by the number of photos I got he must have held it aloft for a solid minute before chucking it into the crowd, and on the way out we noted how much confetti was on the floor, even right at the back. Perhaps I should have saved some, but I have some Flaming Lips confetti already and really don't know what to do with it.

On the way out I got praise for my Yoshimi t-shirt by another guy sporting the same top and we compared condition, deciding that they were in a similar state. Although the guy of course didn't see the boot marks on mine! We had a typically slow exit from the Academy, and I do wonder how they'd cope if there was a fire, and why they don't just fling all the doors open so we can escape in a more timely manner? Despite the train being delayed in our favour we still just missed it, and instead got a service to Wolverhampton where I said goodbye to Blower and spent 15 minutes writing up the notes that make up this review. Given that I then didn't find any subsequent chance to write down anything, this was some time well spent, and a post-gig pint just wasn't practical or sensible. Although I'm concerned by Stephen's absence and hope that there is a happy resolution to this, The Flaming Lips clearly still have a lot to offer as a live band, so long as Wayne wishes to do it he clearly can. The run of the last seven songs was astonishing and unexpected, and set a benchmark that The Flaming Lips probably haven't reached in my eyes for a very long time. I spent some time recording a Best of compilation afterwards, deciding to split it up into 21 tracks from 1986 through to before The Soft Bulletin, then another 21 for 1999 through to At War With The Mystics. I didn't feel that any post-2006 tracks were worthy of inclusion and didn't want to shoehorn them in there, but I realised that my knowledge was severely lacking, and that the most appropriate solution would be to carefully listen to everything that The Lips have recorded since 2006, assessing which 21 tracks are best. This process has done wonders for my enthusiasm for Euros Childs and the post-reformation Suede material, and I hope it will do the same in making me appreciate the weird stuff The Flaming Lips have been doing on Embryonic, The Terror and beyond. At the time of writing I'm still preparing this, but hopefully when I come back for more I'll be better primed to enjoy every era of The Flaming Lips, and can appreciate any newer tunes we get to enjoy.
Setlist
Fight Test
One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 2
In The Morning Of The Magicians
Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell
Are You A Hypnotist??
It's Summertime
Do You Realize??
All We Have Is Now
Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)
She Don't Use Jelly
Flowers Of Neptune 6
The Spark That Bled
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
Waitin' For A Superman
Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)
The Golden Path
Love Yer Brain
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
A Spoonful Weighs A Ton
Race For The Prize

Mark: 9.0/10