The Flaming Lips are notorious for their shows, with a reputation for a psychedelic circus of performance. They didn't disappoint with this new tour, promoting their latest album "At War With the Mystics", a funky yet assertive new interpretation of the epic rip roaring melodies we have come to know and love over the last twenty odd years. Opening the show in a suitably weird fashion were support band Deerhoof, a trio of bass, drums and lead guitar, playing a perplexing mix of deconstructed heavy metal ambiance, (including toddler like dance moves from the squeaky lead singer).

Although "The Lips" could be seen before the opening number, setting up equipment and so on, it didn't prevent the entrance to the stage being theatrical, yet down right trippy. With one side of the stage engulfed by dancers in Father Christmas suits, armed with torches, and Wayne Coyne rolled on to the stage and then the crowd in a giant inflatable aero ball, accompanied by sexy alien women, naturally. They started as they meant to go on, with twice as many giant balloons than usual. Due to the bands respect for Chandeliers at the previous nights venue, they had some left over. This little anecdote was taken from one of the many rambling monologues from the lovable hippy front man that interjected throughout the night. Covering topics ranging from the joyous disintegration of the Bush establishment to optimistic advise for troubled teens. However, the sensory overload was more than enough compensation for sometimes tedious and cheesy speeches. Laser shows, puppetry sing-alongs, giant glitter balls creating illusions of spinning stars, and continuous streams of glittery party string being blasted at the audience left me feeling absolutely spoilt. The audience interaction was astounding, resulting in a mass Queen Karaoke during the encore, a booming cover of Bohemian Rhapsody, including sing-along words on the massive video screen back-dropping the stage. This screen was used to display many of the bands videos, so even short people like me had something to look at if the Lips disappeared behind the crowd. Another example of how thoughtful and caring the band are towards their faithful fans.

Ultimately, it is hard to say a bad word about the show, as you get so much bang for your buck, literally. My only complaint is that it was so jaw droppingly uplifting and crazy that my face still aches from smiling all night.