Credit: Photo by Sandy Carson

The Flaming Lips

Belmont, March 14

There would be no giant bubble, no band emergence through a lit-up vagina. No confetti, no giant animals, no dancers dressed like spacemen. The pomp and the theatrics came Friday when the Flaming Lips stormed Auditorium Shores; Thursday�s showcase at the Belmont served as the concert equivalent of an album�s B-side. Chief wrangler Wayne Coyne stood front and center, but the three other Lips took seats, with multi-instrumentalist Derek Brown even going so far as to set up a minikeyboard on the floor. They played �Fight Test,� �Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,� and �Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell,� teasing their closer throughout. �We�re going to try to play as many songs as possible during the time South by Southwest allots to us,� Coyne said shortly after taking the stage about 15 minutes late. �For those wondering when we�ll play �Do You Realize??,� when time gets tight, we�ll pull it out.� That came right after Yoshimi�s �It�s Summertime.� Laid-back and low-energy, at 1am, it felt kind of nice. After 30 years, the Flaming Lips know when to lay off the gas.

This article appears in March 22 • 2013.

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