What was once just a funny stage gimmick has just become perhaps the most practical solution to getting our live music fix during the pandemic – except for our Scenes Live Sessions of course!
Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne has used giant plastic bubbles as a part of their live performances for over a decade, long before social distancing guidelines were implemented all over the world. So amidst our Covid-19 climate, it only made sense for Coyne to share his affinity for getting inside of giant bubbles with his bandmates and fans.
The band has popped off online this year with viral bubble concerts on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. It has proven to be a successful promotion for their new album, American Head. Everyone has gotten such a kick out of this (and you have to admit, it is fun to watch!) that the band starting selling a Covid-19 themed bubble concert t-shirt on their website.
However, a live performance for television isn’t quite the same as a real live rock show in a gritty venue in your hometown. So naturally, that was the next step. Before the event Coyne had an interview with Brooklyn Vegan, where he expanded on the concept.
“I mean, it seems absurd, but we at first were just doing it as not a joke, but just as a kind of funny thing, and now it’s becoming kind of serious and real. We’re starting to get ready to do an actual show where yeah, there’s three people in each of these space bubbles, and we play… We think maybe playing two shows a night, and getting a big audience in there each time.”
Well, they’ve officially tested out this unique concert experience at The Criterion in Oklahoma City, and if Coyne’s instagram is any indication, it was a success! I think it’s safe to say we’ll see more of this in Flaming Lips’ future, and who knows, maybe other bands will adopt the practice as well.
