JAZZ FESTIVAL OPENS

Flaming Lips get the party started

Stepping into the Bessborough gardens on Saturday night for the Flaming Lips concert was like stepping into a brightly coloured psychedelic fever dream — and every moment was performing brilliance.

The alternative rock band was the first main stage show for this year’s Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. While they almost certainly were not a jazz band, the music was superb and the spectacle they put on was second to none.

When lead singer Wayne Coyne he pulled out a giant series of silver balloons that spelled out “F--- Yeah Saskatoon,” he had the audience hooked for the imminent musical adventure.

The stage was set right immediately with the grandiose notes of Also Sprach Zarathustra (the famous theme of 2001: A Space Odyssey) timed up with an array of light and smoke effects and capped off with an outpouring of confetti. From there it was right into the signature Flaming Lips sound.

There’s not much to say about the music because it was just so good. Coyne’s vocals occasionally got a little drowned out by the rest of the band, but it didn’t slow down the audiovisual marvel that was the Flaming Lips.

The song lineup kept things interesting for the whole show — not that the band needed any help to keep it interesting. The first few tunes were upbeat and powerful, winding towards a cover of Space Oddity partway through the concert where Coyne got in a giant plastic ball and rolled to a platform in the middle of the audience.

But the ball was just a small taste of the show. Their last number, the popular Do You Realize??, was a low-key but surprisingly perfect way to let the audience off the ride.

“I think this is going to be very hard to top,” Coyne shouted near the end of the concert.

He’s right. The Flaming Lips concert was a mind-bending whirlwind, and a great way to kick off the Jazz Festival.