Not my normal beat, for sure, and slightly off the beaten track for Robot Panic. But I recently got the chance to take in this duo’s show and I was impressed. There are a lot of acts out there catering to the wee ones, and Princess Katie and Racer Steve are such a band. But I would say this particular duo has a lot to offer adults in the crowd too. At one point in the show, Princess Katie launched into a really lame rendition of “The Wheels on the Bus”. But then she stopped abruptly. “Hey parents, I bet you thought it would be like that today, Yeah, I don’t think so,” before kicking into another raucous original tune. This band is very energetic, and brash, but not so loud that it’s going to damage the hearing of the youngsters it’s meant for.

In addition to the lively and upbeat tunes, the show featured a few comedy elements that really got the kids engaged (and provided a laugh or two the those of us who’ve already graduated elementary school). A particular favorite was a large phone on stage and the kids were asked to scream “telephone” when it rang. One of the band members would answer it and perform a little comedy dialogue. It was a small thing, but very effective in maintaining variety in the show.

I’ve said a bit already, but I haven’t mentioned the best part of this show. Though it’s constructed for kids – young kids – this is a rock show and it’s not shy about saying it either. As I was sitting there, taking it in, I wondered why we didn’t have anything like this when I was a kid. It would certainly have inspired me to pursue music education at a younger age, and even encouraged me to stick with it. On top of which, you could see on the kids faces how much they were loving this show and totally getting into it. If you like rock and want to see it sustained by the next generation, Princess Katie and Racer Steve are like these great ambassadors of rock for the future of the genre, and they do it by instilling a love of rock into the youthful youth of today.
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It’s tough to put a Flaming Lips concert into words. It’s a celebration of music and joy and weirdness. It’s a party, a revival, and a psychedelic freak out.

The Roy Wilkins Auditorium is a unique venue for seeing a band. It has a hollow, gymnasium vibe, which makes sense given its history as a boxing venue. The last time I saw The Lips was outside, after a massive rain storm at the Minnesota State Fair. It was a setting that fit the band perfectly, and I couldn’t help but long for the cool summer breeze while sitting in the bland auditorium. But the band did their best to brighten up the setting. Singer Wayne Coyne serves as ringleader and master of ceremonies, directing the action from center stage. The other freaks flank him at all sides, providing the cacophony of sound, while a handful of “dancers” crowd either side of the stage, each of them dressed in furry orange outfits. The stage itself is littered with gadgets and contraptions, most of which were designed by Coyne himself. There are a pair of giant hands fitted with laser lights, four confetti cannons, dozens of streamer-shooters, bullhorns, cameras, Wayne’s “space bubble”, dozens of giant balloons, and numerous other toys.

Before we get to the music, I’d like to very briefly mention the opening act, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, also known as “The Worst Opening Band John’s Ever Seen.” Look, I usually give extra attention to the opening band, as I’ve discovered great music as I wait for the main attraction to begin. And hey, I love freaky music. I mean, I’m at a Flaming Lips show, after all. But there was nothing to like about Ariel Pink and his little freak show. I assume it was intended to be a freaky, funky, 80s new-wave-throwback, but it came off as a put on. From Ariel Pink’s homeless, male prostitute outfit (clogs and white sox with some sort of silky, plaid short-suit) to his prissy on stage demeanor, to his painfully out-of-tune voice, this guy was like Perez Hilton’s more obnoxious little brother. I hear he’s a pretty intriguing performance artist who’s captured the attention of people I respect, like Animal Collective. But last night in St. Paul, I just didn’t get it.

Back to the Flaming Lips…
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I had the chance to see Rush at Jones Beach Theater over the weekend and just thought I’d share some impressions. Rush is my favorite band and this is not the first time I was seeing them, but I thought the show was enough of a stand out to warrant a little writing.

I cannot quibble with the guys performance. For a band that formed in 1968, these guys still seem to be at the top of their game. I can’t imagine they have many decades left to tour, but I also can’t see them quitting anytime soon either. They rocked the place and the crowd loved it.

On a less positive note, and I’ve seen this mentioned on the boards, there seemed to be sound issues. Before the intermission, I noticed instruments drifting in and out, sonically. They would never go mute, but the levels seemed to be moving up and down a lot, which was very distracting. Also, it seemed like Geddy’s keyboard had even more trouble, I think it was during the song Marathon (but I can’t find a Youtube video to confirm so it could have been another one). Anyway, it got so quiet you almost couldn’t hear it and he seemed really pissed and missed a vocal cue by a few bars, almost as if he was trying to make his crew notice his displeasure. Neil and Alex just kept playing, and I assume, waiting for him to start singing again, which he eventually did.

Later, Alex completely missed one of his vocal cues in the song Subdivisions. You could tell he was embarrassed but totally laughed it off with the guitar techs.

After intermission, they seemed to have fixed whatever sound problems had plagued the first half of the show, and there were no more sound problems. It was still a little too noisy to my liking, but fairly good. Of note was how strong the sub bass signal was, almost like being in a dance club with a really good system. Every bass drum hit or bass guitar pluck hit you squarely in the gut.

There were two major highlights in the show for me. One was the performance of The Camera Eye in its entirety. Since they were playing the entire Moving Pictures album, I knew this would be in the set list and that was a major motivation for me to attend the show. If you are not familiar with this song, it’s very New York and London centric, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking around the city when it comes up on the old iPod and I get chills. Anyway, Saturday night, Geddy seemed to put extra emphasis on the words New York and Manhattan and the crowd ate it up. I just settled in for the ride, and was a bit beside myself that they were really playing it after all this time.

The second highlight was the inclusion of La Villa Strangiato in the encore. Again, for those unfamiliar with Rush tunes, it is a super complicated song which they couldn’t even record in the studio the first time without first breaking it into three different takes. It was such a momentous recording, it cause the band to change their whole direction with the following album and lead to the development of the band I like so much. It’s also one of those songs I never expected to hear live, so it was a real treat to see them bring it back.

Neil’s drum solo was great. I didn’t see the Snakes and Arrows tour, so I don’t know if this version is new for the Time Machine tour, or if it’s what he played last time, but it was very different from any of the solos I’ve heard him do before, like he’s evolved it again into a new direction. Same quality as ever, but with a new composition.

As to the crowd, everyone around me was very well behaved. Others have noted the young kid in the second row, and I noticed him too, air drumming in unison with all the adults around him. One can’t imagine he’s had the time in his short life to get so familiar with these old tunes, but clearly he has. I’d love to know his story, but imagine one or both of his parents must be huge fans. Like me, lol.

It was a great show. I didn’t even mention the filmic bits that tied the whole time machine theme together, or the walk-on performances of the rubber chicken man or the Beir Madchen who were ‘moving pitchers’ of beer, or the updated video graphics used throughout the show, because that’s all just icing on the cake. The band played great, reaching deep in their catalog at the same time playing their latest releases and everyone seemed to have a blast, and I was one of them.