Language Advisory: This is a live concert recording, and may not contain language suitable for all audiences.
Rockers The Flaming Lips have long had a reputation for extravagant live shows: Fake blood, torrential confetti downpours, animal costumes and comically oversized fists are all standard fare. The band's Sunday night set at this year's Sasquatch Music Festival was no exception, with frontman Wayne Coyne taking to the crowd in his over-sized bubble. Still, the band managed to make its big, flashy show feel like a more intimate affair.
While playing the landmark 1999 album The Soft Bulletin nearly in full, Coyne chatted genially with the audience, taking frequent breaks during "The Spiderbite Song" to relate the anecdotes behind the song's lyrics. Another set highlight, "Waitin' for a Superman" — stripped down to a delicate piano and voice arrangement — was introduced as a tribute to departed icon Elliott Smith. Although the band was forced to exclude a couple of songs due to time constraints, it delivered a personal version of what many consider its finest album.
Recorded live at The Gorge on Sunday, May 29, the band performed its 1999 album The Soft Bulletin live at the 2011 Sasquatch Music Festival outside Seattle, Wash.
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