Flaming Lips fights coronavirus creatively with the long-awaited Space Bubble concerts

Flaming Lips are not the type of band that allows a global pandemic to disrupt a big show.

On Friday and Saturday, the psychedelic rock band performed Space Bubble Concerts in their hometown, Oklahoma City.

The band’s lead singer, Wayne Coyne, has been known to get into a plastic ball and walk through the crowd for years, but the circumstances of the pandemic inspired him to create a show that expanded his idea.

All participants were given their own plastic bubble to climb; each was designed to accommodate up to three people.

Each of the band members was also stationed on their own; the idea was to keep the participants and band members safe, as well as making the show even more memorable.

In addition to the bubbles, the shows featured confetti, several strobe lights and a visual display that appeared on a screen above the stage during the show.

Saturday’s show also featured the opening of a balloon display with the words: ‘F *** you COVID19.’

The previous night’s event also featured an arrangement reading: ‘F *** yeah Oklahoma City.’

After the second show ended, the 60-year-old singer posted a video on his Instagram account showing his son Bloom watching the madness unfold.

Flaming Lips had previously played smaller shows using bubbles, and in June, they presented their idea to the masses during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where they performed their 1999 track, Race For The Prize.

In October, the band was featured in an edition of the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series, where they also played on plastic balls, although in a much smaller performance space.

In December, Coyne talked to UPROXX about how the band has been taking advantage of the new types of performances they are doing and noted that if the pandemic did not end soon, more bubble shows would happen.

The singer said: ‘There are many details to be discovered, and what if it ends in a few weeks? But if it continues, we continue. ‘

The composer also spoke about how he and his bandmates came to embrace the changes brought about by the pandemic and noted that he was beginning to appreciate the simplicity that came into his life.

‘Most of us have found joy now in never having to decide. It’s a small adjustment to get used to having nothing to do – just cook at home, watch TV. You don’t realize how valuable this type of routine is, ‘he said.