The Flaming Lips vs. Weezer vs. TMBG
"Let them know you realize that life goes fast.
It's hard to make the good things last."
"If you're wondering if I want you to,
I want you to."
"All of the dicks in this dick town
Can't keep Johnny down."
So Jesse heard about a Weezer/Flaming Lips show, and it sounded pretty cool, but, you know, in a hypothetical way. We weren't going to go, because it was a Thursday, the day before we were going to see They Might Be Giants (and, since I'd been listening to nothing but Join Us, I was super excited for it), and, most importantly, it was in New Jersey. Then they announced that Weezer and the Flaming Lips would be trading off songs, and we thought about maybe getting lawn seats. Somehow, that grew into Jesse buying indoor, eighth-row seats. I don't know how that happened. Here's how the two shows stacked up.
Venue
Flaming Lips/Weezer: The PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. I've never been there before. That's probably because I find getting around New Jersey incredibly confusing, so I try to avoid it at all costs. (Plus, the big Radiohead disaster of 2001 happened there, and that scar hasn't totally healed yet.) The place is not like the places I usually frequent for concerts. It has its own exit off the Garden State Parkway. There were people tailgating outside. That struck me as odd, until we went inside and I saw that one beer cost $13. The actual amphitheater is pretty nice, but the whole experience made me pretty glad that I don't go to see amphitheater shows too often.
TMBG: The Williamsburg Waterfront. It's incredibly convenient to my apartment, which is nice, and has a cool view of the River. Getting food or beer there is pretty annoying, since it's in a separate part of the venue fenced off from the actual show, but we just avoided that all together. I've got no problems with the way they do the Waterfront shows.
Advantage: TMBG
Seats/Position in Crowd/Up-Itness
Flaming Lips/Weezer: Just a few days before the show, Jesse saw there were still lots of seats available inside the amphitheater (as opposed to the lawn). He scooped up eighth-row seats--in the "confetti range," he said. On the day of the show, the amphitheater was actually full, so I don't know if people got their lawn seats upgraded. But regardless, we were Up In It.
TMBG: I don't know how early the nerds queued up for the show, but the line stretched basically back to our apartment by the time doors opened. We were able to continually move up as people bailed on the show, but we were still a ways back by the time TMBG started.
Advantage: Flaming Lips/Weezer
OPQ (Old-Person Quotient)
Flaming Lips/Weezer: The travel component really lowered the OPQ. We had seats, which was pretty nice, and there wasn't any waiting between sets because of the way they structured the show, but we still needed to travel more than an hour each way.
TMBG: On a normal night, the OPQ would've been great. The venue is feet from my apartment, it ended early, and comedians replaced the opening band. But there was the small matter of a torrential downpour that happened during the show that totally killed the OPQ. Even though it eventually stopped, I got soaked and dripped constantly throughout the rest of the show.
Advantage: Tie
Opening Act
Flaming Lips/Weezer: The opening act was Yeasayer. I think I know one song of theirs. But, due to the travel time, we totally missed them. Oh well. Next time, Yeasayer.
TMBG: The show was a little different in that it was half-rock show, half-comedy festival. So we saw Eugene Mirman, Jim Gaffigan, Kristen Schaal, Neil De Grasse Tyson (head of the Haydn Planetarium, not technically a comedian but still very funny answering science questions), Todd Barry, and Patton Oswalt. Jonathan Coulton was the musical opening act, and then TMBG. Of all the people we saw, I give Kristen Schaal the MVP award. It started pouring during Jim Gaffigan's set, and it really derailed him. He couldn't really continue his jokes about how much he hates to exercise, since we all looked so miserable. He was half looking out to see if they were going to cancel his show. Eventually, he just left. Then Kristen Schaal came out, and she was screaming and jumping around like a crazy person. Her attitude was, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to distract you from the horrors around you." (It reminded me of, like, when a baby falls, and a parent just starts going "It's okay! It's okay! Look at me! It's okay!") Her set ended with a Flashdance reenactment where they just held a bucket out into the rain and dumped the water on her. That's dedication.
Advantage: TMBG
Setlist
Flaming Lips/Weezer: Jesse posted the setlist, as per usual. I wish the Flaming Lips played more songs that I know better. I've only listened to Embryonic a couple of times. But Weezer was the opposite, where they played mostly hits and old songs and barely anything from Hurley, so I guess it evened out. At the start of the show, it seemed liked the Flaming Lips held more sway over the crowd (perhaps through use of crazy toys), but Weezer got it back when Rivers started singing from the crowd. They switched off every two or three songs, which was pretty fun. It was like they were trading encores.
TMBG: They only had a short set, so I was pleased that it included so many songs from Join Us. But I would've liked "Celebration" instead of "Never Knew Love" and "Canajoharie" instead of "You Probably Get That a Lot." I guess it just felt more like an appetizer to a bigger, meatier show later in the tour.
Advantage: Flaming Lips/Weezer
High Point
Flaming Lips/Weezer: I have to say it was all the toys that the Flaming Lips brought. My favorite were the confetti-filled balloons that would pop with a burst of confetti, but there were also confetti cannons and confetti handguns, plus big hands that shot lasers out of them. The best overall might be the inflatable hamster balls that Wayne Coyne and Rivers Cuomo used to walk out over the audience at the start of the show.
TMBG: Big songs like "Ana Ng" and "Don't Let's Start" made it worth the wait and rain, but I must say I was most impressed with the way Flansburgh does "Cloisonne" live. That is pretty awesome.
Advantage: Flaming Lips/Weezer
Low Point
Flaming Lips/Weezer: I believe I mentioned the traveling to New Jersey.
TMBG: I believe I mentioned the monsoon that happened in the middle of the show.
Advantage: Flaming Lips/Weezer
Looks like Weezer and the Flaming Lips win this round, but it took them teaming up and one near-hurricane to beat TMBG. I'm sure TMBG will be around again soon to get the title back. At least I hope they will.
Jesse posted some of these, but we took some pictures of the insanity of the Flaming Lips/Weezer show. More at the click.
