Flaming Lips in San Antonio

Last night Carri and I drove to San Antonio to catch the Flaming Lips at Lonestar Pavilion. We wanted to see the band tonight in Austin but they are playing La Zona Rosa and tickets were gone in a nanosecond. If you have never seen the Flaming Lips you are truly missing out as they are one of the best live bands around. They do not just sit up there staring at their shoes while they play their album note for note. No they have confetti guns, huge balloons, video boards with strange effects, dancing Santas, aliens, Wayne pouring fake blood on himself, etc. Last nights show was a little wide ranging for my taste and Wayne was very verbose. This is my sixth time to see the Lips but the first when they were headlining a non-festival setting. I like their shows to be a little tighter.

Overall it was a great time with only one major complaint: The Lips kind of rail against George Bush and his policies, and they are anti-war, even going so far as to play Taps in their set. Now I am completely for this stance, as my personal feelings for Bush and war are in line with theirs. However, I find it a bit hypocritical that this tour is sponsored by Camel cigarettes. It seems strange that you would lament those killed in a bogus war yet take money from those that kill over 440,000 Americans a year with cigarettes.