Coronavirus has made us all a little more creative in terms of getting our entertainment needs met. And the longer quarantine goes on, the antsier we get to experience the things we love, like live music, as we did pre-COVID-19. Well, epic rock band The Flaming Lips found a very fun workaround for a safe concert set-up – and the band members did it by channeling their inner bubble boys.
The Oklahoma City musicians literally blew up in their hometown last week when they appeared at The Criterion for a concert…inside inflatable balls.
Frontman Wayne Coyne explained to CNN how the idea came about: “I did a little drawing… where I drew a picture of The Flaming Lips doing a show in 2019. And I’m the only person in the space bubble, and everybody else is just normal. Then (I did another drawing with) The Flaming Lips playing a show in 2020. The exact same scenario, but I’m in a bubble, and so is everybody else.”
Coyne said he never imagined COVID-19 would last this long and thus give him the opportunity to bring his concept to life. While “space bubbles” have been a favorite prop of Coyne’s before – he has been known to crowd-surf in them and even got married in one – the band has never used inflatables on this scale before. This time around, the band ordered enough orbs from China to accommodate a couple hundred fans.
“I like the way this looks, because you can get as excited as you want, you can scream as much as you want, you just can’t infect the person next to you, no matter what you forget about, how excited you get. That barrier is still there, they’re protected, and you’re protected,” he said.
This is one concert trend we can totally get behind. We have a feeling it won’t be long until inflatable bubbles are standard fare at The Flaming Lips merch table. Stay safe, have fun, and rock your bubble all at the same time!
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