Once upon a time, the Flaming Lips brought a mystical show to the small town in northeastern Kansas and Jack White’s the Dead Weather opened along with Minus the Bear, White Rabbits, the Ettes and Stardeath & the White Dwarfs. Yes, this is the line-up that both dreams and fairytales are made of, but like all good stories, there was the threat of a villain. The villain attempting to thwart our plot was the severe tornado watch blanketing the county, but fairy godmothers must have heard prayers, and sunny skies beat down on concertgoers: the rain held off until after the show.
Yet, this did not make all perfect. Unfortunately, there was a subplot with its own villain. The set times were unclear and due to this, those of us following the venue’s listed 5 p.m. showtime, missed the first two bands–The Ettes and Stardeath & the White Dwarfs–who opened the show at 4:15 p.m. Doors had only opened at 4 p.m., so fans really had to scramble to make that. I, unfortunately, was still at work, so I’ll have to catch these bands at a later date to give them a worthy review.
Instead, my first opener was White Rabbits. White Rabbits, despite their Columbia, Missouri, ties were welcomed warmly in Jayhawk country. The six-piece band’s bombastic drum heavy set and easy-to-sing along with vocals held attention easily. They were dynamic enough to draw people away from lengthy merch lines to see who was pounding on the keyboards. Popular tune, “Percussion Gun” got people moving and despite three huge acts following them, this song was what remained stuck in my mind well after the show was over.
I know for a fact that many had turned up for buzz indie band Minus the Bear. Seattle’s rockers are gearing up for their fourth studio release, Omni, but as excited as I was for the ambient rockers, their set was almost too mellow for an amphitheatre platform and it didn’t help that they had to deal with complete sunlight during their set so no fog or lights could help give them atmosphere. This isn’t to say they were bad. Their songs were tight and they played diverse selections from their catalog. However, the environment for that type of music is better set in a late night club.
It’s weird to think the next act was just an opener. The Dead Weather played like they were they headliner and with the added attraction of Jack White, some in the crowd might have thought that they were. The southern rock they played was fun and even featured a Pentagram cover. The Kills‘ Allison Mosshart fully embraced her role as southern rock queen and held the crowd in the palm of her hand as the chain smoker gripped a cigarette in one hand and the mic in the other, while walking the length of the stage and striking dramatic poses. She wore a leopard-print jacket: fitting attire for a woman who looked like a cat on the prowl. She’s far more entertaining in this setting than she ever was in her previous bands. Dare I say the same of Jack White or is that blasphemy? I never had the privilege of catching him with the White Stripes 
(I bought tickets to a Lincoln, Nebraska show, but then they announced their “hiatus”), but I did see him with the Raconteurs. With the Dead Weather, Jack White, or Jackie White as he introduced himself, seemed to be having a sort of fun that was absent in his other projects. He remained behind his drum set for a majority of the Dead Weather songs, letting Mosshart lead, but when he sang or came out front to play guitar (heck in some songs, he did all three: sing, guitar and drum), it was clear he was the star. Yet, as the star of the show, he was still humble. Though a super group of this stature needs no introductions, he introduced his band mates: “Dean Fertita: so Italian you could order a pizza off him…Jack Lawrence: you might have seen him before as he’s no stranger to Kansas City. Call him up and take him out sometime…This little dark-haired queen is Allison Mosshart…and I’m Jackie White.” Even their roadies got into the strange character of the band: they all wore matching suits and blue ties. It’s weird to think anyone could top a set with as strong of personality as that, but the headliners, the Flaming Lips, were ready to embrace the challenge.
This was my first experience seeing the Flaming Lips and from the Youtube videos that I watched in preparation, the band brought out both old and new tricks. Leading up to their set, front man Wayne Coyne had appeared on the side stage for all the openers, both to check the other bands out, but to also greet the crowd and accept their warm applause.
Strobing lights and trippy yellow woman appeared on the screen for the lips grand entrance during “Worm Mountain.” This projected woman then “birthed” each of the band members before Coyne got his special birthing treatment and appeared and his infamous plastic ball. He rolled over fans before rolling back on stage. Confetti and balloons continuously poured on the audience causing further eruptions of cheers and applause. The band seems to live and thrive off of applause. Coyne constantly raised his hands towards the sky to encourage more applause and the band was flanked on either side by orange cheerleaders/dancers (as well as the later addition of a caterpillar and a catfish).
For some one who had never experienced this band before, I had a hard time deciding what to make of them. The theatrics were a bit through the roof: bubble over the guitar? Inflatables? Waaaay too much confetti? But then again, they’re supposed to be at a Flaming Lips performance. So when drummer Kliph Scurlock (who happens to live 30 minutes away from the venue in Lawrence) led the crowd in acting like monkeys and croaking like frogs during “I Can Be a Frog,” you really just had to chuckle and go with it, whereas any other band trying to pull that off would have had you going, “What the Fuck?” The only point where the Lips did push me to the edge of my comfort zone, was during one of the pieces where Coyne placed giant hands on his knelt in a prayer position and opened the hands up with green lasers stretching out of the palms like stigmata, while the crowd responded like he was their personal god. But again, it’s the Lips and you just go with the flow. And for some, I guess this is the closest they get to a religious experience. 
Stardeath & the White Dwarfs (and even more confetti) joined the Lips for an encore of “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” off their Dark Side of the Moon compilation. The anthem “Do You Realize” rounded it in a literally explosive finale (did I mention more confetti?) before the show ended. The crowd begged for more, but the Lips settled on just returning for bows, leaving people with just enough time for people to make it to their cars before it rained.
This was the first outdoor show of Kansas City’s season at Sandstone and what a way to kick things off. Here’s hoping the rest of the summer lives up to this.
The Flaming Lips Set List:
Worm Mountain
Silver Trembling Hands
Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
In The Morning of the Magicians
She Don’t Use Jelly
I Can Be A Frog
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robits, Pt. 1
See the Leaves
Powerless
Pompeii Am Gotterdamerung
Taps
The W.A.N.D.
Convinced of the Hex
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Brain Damage
Eclipse (with Stardeath & White Dwarfs)
Do You Realize?
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