The Flaming Lips are touring in celebration of one of their many magnus opuses; 2002’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

THE TEST STARTS NOW

2002 is when Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots was released. The Flaming Lips tenth album, like much of their output, is from a different dimension. Some argue it is a conceptual album; that is up to your own perception. Whichever way, it is an aural treat. In the live arena, The Flaming Lips transform it into a complete spectacular which is a feast for the senses.

With a PA playlist made up solely of Mancunian bands, The Flaming Lips (and Wayne Coyne) hype the crowd. Puddles of pink lie on the stage; as Fight Test kicks in, the pink puddles inflate and four humungous marauding pink robots march forth. It is the kind of extravagance and flamboyancy you come to expects from the Oakland group. Over the course of the next two and a half hours, the O2 Apollo Manchester is transformed into the Flaming Lips auditorium of musical madness.

YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS

Familiarity with the source material is evident. People karate chop their way through Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robot Pt. 1 whilst Wayne Coyne cajoles the crowd into endless participation. In all honesty, the crowd need no encouragement as they raise the temperature in Manchester. Pt. 2 of the title track sees Coyne firing mini confetti streamers into the crowd with a look of complete glee on his face. He’s so happy he revels in falling around on the deflating pink robots as confetti shaped pink robots fall upon the crowd in swathes.

“If anyone is not sure what they’ve gotten into, this is The Flaming Lips!” says Coyne to the crowd for any not in the know.

The album continues with In the Morning of the Magicians, and then Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell. The latter contains an immensely funky bassline and is one of the highlights of the Yoshimi experience. With the stage now installed with a huge mirror ball, The Flaming Lips turn the Apollo into a stream of cosmic white light – like when they hit the warp speed in the old science fiction TV shows.

ALL WE HAVE IS NOW

It’s Summertime is a beautiful piece of music. More throbbing bass tests the foundations. Do You Realize?? is given a lengthy intro by Coyne…an extra ‘bit’ as the inflatable rainbow rises. The technicolour joy on show is magnificent. Coyne encourages people to tell each other that they love them…at his request, so it’s not weird!

All We Have Is Now is another song of love and living for the moment; many of the songs on ‘Yoshimi’ are melancholy; however there is not one single moment where you feel sad in the company of The Flaming Lips. The album closes with Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia); a song that won a Grammy for best instrumental performance. As the robots deflate and head back to their own planet the Lips depart for a short interval.

THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT

Continuing the Manchester theme, the band emerge from the wings to The Smiths There Is A Light That Never Goes Out and a mass singalong from the crowd. It’s another show of love and unity brought together by a certain melancholy. Then, the noticeable introduction of She Don’t Use Jelly chimes in. The confetti cannons fire, confetti filled balloons fly into the crowd and Wayne Coyne continues to act like the human embodiment of an energy drink. It’s all very addictive.

‘They’re just insane!’ says one punter in this writers vicinity. Coyne encourages the folks in the stalls to get some of the balloons up into the circle. It helps connect the band and both parts of the crowd. If things weren’t bizarre enough, our erstwhile MC now takes the form of a plant. A flower to be exact. A tale of light bugs, LSD and Kacey Musgraves ensues before the brilliant Flowers Of Neptune 6 moves things to another astral plane.

AT WAR WITH THE MYSTICS

Pompeii am Götterdämmerung tests the senses with an intense and unrelenting use of light and lasers. Second set closer, The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song also does this.

A great surprise in the middle of the second set is the inclusion of The Golden Path; the song that Wayne Coyne recorded with electronic dance act The Chemical Brothers. Twenty years ago, it was a real meeting of the psychedelic minds, and now, it still bristles with light. Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) is another surprise in the set. Taken from 1997’s Zaireeka; Coyne notes that when it was written in 1996, 2025 seemed a ways away. I guess it works a little like how Blade Runner is set in 2019. What actually came true from our thoughts and ideas?

Upon returning for a short encore, The Flaming Lips deliver a cover of Daniel Johnston’s True Love Will Find You In The End. It sets the scene for a glorious closer in the perennially great Race For The Prize. Balloons, confetti, confetti canons, dancing aliens…yep, all par for the course. Pure joy. Wayne Coyne lofts high the ‘Fuck Yeah Manchester’ balloon to as the crowd leave in raptures.

There is no one quite like The Flaming Lips. For over four decades, they have written and created so many different styles of music and worked with so many greats. They’ve always walked their own path and luckily that shows no signs of changing. The world needs The Flaming Lips and The Flaming Lips deserve the World.

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