Har Mar Superstar concert preview
…in New Times Los Angeles. [pdf]
July 25, 2002
July 18, 2002
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It’s easy to lean back on some clichés when describing the stage persona of Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne: there’s a combination of Midwestern decency and Southern hospitality that one might expect from a native of Oklahoma. Here’s a man who, without being hokey, can thank his audience for allowing him the chance to sing for a living. His perhaps overly earnest, but utterly charming, desire for his fans to have a good time makes him the perfect host, and his band a wonder to experience in concert, as evinced last night at Hollywood’s Knitting Factory.
Over their career, the Lips’ sound has moved from twisted, frenzied distorto-rock to a pop style more palatable but arguably no less skewed, creating somewhat of a dilemma for them. After the intricate layering of Zaireeka and The Soft Bulletin, how would three guys recreate such an orchestrated sound live? They settled on playing along to backing tracks, but amping up the entertainment value of their art.
So on a cool summer night, lucky Angelenos packed the Knitting Factory as the Lips split the difference between stripped-down and full-on spectacle. By ‘02, most would say that we should be so post-everything that the idea of (what was) a rock band integrating prerecorded rhythm, guitar and keyboard parts into their show shouldn’t draw much comment. There is, on the other hand, the risk of an underwhelming karaoke debacle — the “why didn’t we stay home and listen to the record” factor.
