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Great rockers have traditionally been wary of
assuming a messianic pose. “Tommy,” “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from
Mars,” and to some extent “The Wall” were all cautionary tales about the
dangers of a rock star assuming the role of guru.
But after two decades and 10 brilliant albums,
singer-songwriter Wayne Coyne is embracing the positions of philosopher,
proselytizer, and spiritual cheerleader. And rather than using his influence
to corrupt, he is preaching a simple, open-ended, and very timely message in
keeping with the spirit of all great rock ’n’ roll: Life is short, so relish
the moment, and live it to the fullest.
This was the perfect sentiment to share with
an adoring sold-out crowd at Metro Tuesday night as Coyne and the Flaming
Lips bid farewell to 2002 and ushered in 2003 with the most memorable New
Year’s Eve concert anyone in attendance had ever seen.
It’s no surprise that Oklahoma City’s
psychedelic popsters chose Chicago to celebrate the end of one of their most
successful years, one which saw the release of the brilliant “Yoshimi
Battles the Pink Robots” and found the band stealing the show during
high-profile tours with Cake and Beck. The Lips’ first major
alternative-rock hit, “She Don’t Use Jelly,” first took off here in 1994,
and the Windy City is home to the largest, most devoted, and most faithful
congregation in the Church of Coyne.
The band rewarded the packed crowd of
twentysomething fans (a new generation that seems to have come to the Lips
in 2000 with “The Soft Bulletin”) by pulling out the stops on its
celebratory multi-media stage show. There was the giant video screen
flashing surreal images. There was colored smoke, flashing lights, lots of
oversized balloons, and revolving inflatable robots. There were two dozen
rodents, chipmunks, elephants, unicorns, and other costumed animals dancing
on stage wielding portable spotlights. There was Santa Claus, and there was
a stripper. And of course there was a ton of confetti. (It was literally six
inches deep on the floor by the end of the night.)
But these thrift-store theatrics—the
indie-rock version of a massive arena spectacle like Pink Floyd’s—were
simply a logical extension of the Lips’ life-affirming sounds, and the music
remained the core and focus of the show. As long-time bassist Michael Ivins
and new drummer Clifford (just Clifford) provided a huge, pounding bottom,
extraordinarily talented multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd added amazing
splashes of color to the group’s orchestrated “Pet Sounds”-style backing
tracks.
Meanwhile, Coyne wrapped his plaintive Neil
Young whine around the indelible melodies of Lips favorites such as “Waitin’
for a Superman,” “A Spoonful Weighs A Ton,” and the amazing new single “Do
You Realize?,” as well as party-time covers by Pink Floyd (“Lucifer Sam”)
and Radiohead (“Knives Out”), the U.K. art-rockers who are similarly devoted
to expanding the boundaries of the music for a new millennium.
In between all this, the Lips paused to sing
“Happy Birthday” to fans who were celebrating one, and of course they
offered their own extremely unconventional take on the midnight countdown
and “Auld Lang Syne.” But there was something else as well. Every time Coyne
raised his arms, the crowd shouted at the top of its lungs (even when he was
only goofing around, coming out on stage before the show to set up his
equipment). And this is where the messiah thing comes in.
Fans have taken to cheering Coyne simply for
being Coyne. He feeds on their energy, radiates back good will, and the
cycle builds in intensity throughout the night. The birthday routine has
been added to the show because fans keep saying a Lips gig is like the best
birthday party they’ve ever been to, and that’s exactly what the band
wants—with an element of slacker/rocker spiritual revival thrown in. Yet
there are no rules or restrictions and no judgments or guilt trips along the
road Coyne is mapping.
“These are dark and treacherous times, and
none of us know if we’ll even be here tomorrow,” the 41-year-old singer said
as New Yorkers cheered a New Year while cautiously peering over their
shoulders for hints of terror. “We all get so caught up in everything that
we forget to live right now. All we have for sure is this moment, but that’s
enough for me. And that’s why we’ve got to make it count!”
The band’s fans/followers roared in agreement.
And on New Year’s Eve in Chicago, the Flaming Lips once again made a special
moment count.
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