At a time when it seems impossible to perform a crowded concert safely, the Flaming Lips found a way to do this in their home state, Oklahoma. The band played two shows where the participants – and musicians – stayed inside “space bubbles” to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne had the idea. Even before the pandemic, Coyne used an inflatable bubble to dive into the crowd.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit him, he thought of another use for space bubbles, drawing a cartoon of himself – and his fans – protected by bubbles at a show.
“I think it was around St. Patrick’s Day, so I just [thought of] on the first day of quarantine, “Coyne told CBS News in October.” I just did it, it’s not funny, you know, just like a joke, but part of it wasn’t a joke, you know? “
During an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in May, The Flaming Lips decided to really test Coyne’s idea. The band played some songs with about 30 people in individual bubbles during their performance.
“When Stephen’s people wanted us to try this for their show, it gave me an idea that it could go beyond a joke,” Coyne told CBS News.
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After the success of that performance, the band commissioned space bubbles from China for a show in October at the Criterion theater in Oklahoma City. The first floor of the venue was filled with about 300 fans on plastic barriers.
“I’m in my space bubble and [the fans] were excited, “said Coyne of the band’s creative performance.” [the audience] it was just another show and the idea that you’re in space, being in a bubble is great, but being on the show is so good, and as soon as that happened, I think it hit us like we were doing a concert in those bubbles. ”
“Once you started going, you see people excited, happy and really having fun and talking loud and outrageous,” he continued.
Coyne, his wife Katy Coyne and photographer Nathan Poppe shared images and video of the show on social networks.
The plastic capsules keep the fans at a safe distance, and Coyne emphasized that each blister is cleaned with about 20 ounces of 70% isopropyl alcohol, hit with a leaf blower until the liquid evaporates and then rubbed with a person in full suit and painter’s mask. The cleaning process is extensive after each show.
The band was scheduled to do another series of bubble shows at Criterion in December, but the shows were postponed due to an increase in coronavirus cases in the state, BBC News reported. The shows were rescheduled for last Friday and Saturday night, when the venue was again filled with 100 inflatable bubbles, each with up to three people inside.
The bubbles retain enough oxygen for three people to breathe for “more than an hour and 10 minutes” before they need to be updated with a leaf blower, Coyne said, according to BBC News. Each bubble has a loudspeaker inside, so that the sound of the band is not muffled, as well as a fan, water and a towel to clean the condensation. If fans needed to leave their bubble, they had a “I have to pee / heat here” sign and a member of the local staff escorted them to the bathroom wearing masks.
Since clapping inside the bubbles felt stuffy, people applauded “punching the top of the bubble,” said Poppe.
The fans left the place by rolling their bubbles to the exit, putting on masks and unzipping their plastic globe to leave the place.
Oklahoma reported 374,853 COVID-19 cases and 3,293 deaths, according to the state health department. The state is currently providing vaccines to healthcare professionals, first responders and residents over 65.