Flaming Lips Perform ‘Bubble Show’
This past weekend on Friday, January 22nd and Saturday, January 23rd, 2021, The Flaming Lips held the first of its kind pair of “space bubble show” concerts at The Criterion, a music event venue in Oklahoma City, OK with 100 bubbles per show, following as many of the COVID-19 safety and security protocols as possible. These shows were originally scheduled for December 2020 but after a massive spike in coronavirus cases in the metro area of the City, the shows had to be postponed. The floor of The Criterion was divided into a 10 by 10 grid space where 100 of the bubbles could easily fit with space for management to move around between them. The setting-up was documented by Nathan Poppe, the cameraman of the night:
I’m running three cameras at the world’s first space bubble concert with the #FlamingLips in downtown Oklahoma City. The show is starting in about half an hour. pic.twitter.com/ManULyjpCU
— Nathan Poppe (@NathanPoppe) January 23, 2021
This is not the first time this Oklahoma-originated rock band has held a space bubble show, though it was the first such concert – the first time they attempted this was at The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in June 2020 when they performed “Race for the Prize” from what seemed like a warehouse. Every band member on stage including Wayne was encapsulated in Zorb-ball like inflated contraptions. The number of space bubble balls was not found to be released but it seemed like about 30-50 of them were used at the talk show performance. In the past, the band have employed the use of these orbs as part of their shows, except that it’s only the band members who are in them with Wayne bouncing and rolling over crowds like at Coachella.
The band came up with the idea to use the inflated balls to protect concert-goers from one another and the coronavirus based on Wayne’s use of the Zorb ball at concerts. For the concert, the management team placed a high-frequency supplemental speaker, a water bottle, a battery-operated fan, a towel to wipe down condensation inside the plastic ball, and a sign that said “I gotta go pee” on one side and “Hot in here” on the other inside the ball. The double-sided sign would get ushers to identify people needing their services. In addition to the internal speakers to amplify the sound, attendees could also enhance their experience by punching the top of their bubbles to signify clapping. Coyne also released a video to his official Instagram account that would explain the entry, layout, usage of items in the ball, and exit procedures:
The concert idea was first test-run in October 2020 before the original concert dates and it was confirmed that up to 3 people would be able to enter each orb with oxygen capacity for 1 hour, 10 minutes, just short of the band’s 75-minute set. In case of a lack of oxygen, the “Hot in here” sign could be employed to get the management to refill the ball with fresh air from a blower. The band performed Do You Realize, She Don’t Use Jelly, and Race For The Prize amongst other tracks from their “American Head” album (Sept 2020), and a cover of True Love Will Find You In The End by the late musician Daniel Johnson on his would-be 60th birthday.
Credit: @AdamSeeAdamDo/IG