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The Flaming Lips take the quarantine bubble literally with unique live show

Live music has been one of 2020's greatest casualties, but The Flaming Lips may have solved the problem of how to safely perform to crowds.

Chris Button
Chris Button
1 min read
The Flaming Lips take the quarantine bubble literally with unique live show

Live music has been one of 2020's greatest casualties, but American rockers The Flaming Lips may have solved the problem of how to safely perform to crowds.

As pointed out by fellow tech culture nerds Laughing Squid, The Flaming Lips suited up for a live show last Wednesday in Oklahoma City, completely kitted out in giant bubbles alongside attendees.

Sort of like the big ol' bubbles you see people run down massive New Zealand hills in, tossed around like a garden salad.

It's not even the first time The Flaming Lips has rolled out their big balls in public, doing so back in June for their set on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Ahead of the show in an interview with Brooklyn Vegan, frontman Wayne Coyne discussed that the Oklahoma City venue they ended up performing at would normally host 4,000 people, but only 100 bubbles.

Coyne has famously adopted the 'space bubble' for years, using it to walk onto the crowd during performances, but it seems the full band and audience bubble setup is pretty new.

Not only does sticking a crowd of people in bubbles sound a million time more hygienic than being crammed up against a bunch of sweaty and smelly bodies for a couple of hours, but it also sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. Going to the bathroom could be awkward, though.

Thanks to The Flaming Lips, we have a new contender for the best bubble-based gig since SpongeBob SquarePants performed at the Bubble Bowl.

Get your (plastic) balls out for The Flaming Lips, folks.

Art & Culture

Chris Button

Chris is an award-nominated writer based in Adelaide who specialises in covering video games and technology. He loves Donkey Kong Country, sport, and cats. The Last Jedi is the best one, no questions


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