Oklahoma City space cadets the Flaming Lips return to Northeast Florida for a live performance of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots at the Florida Theatre on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
Released in July of 2002 and taking its name as a tribute to Yoshimi P-We (Boredoms, OOIOO), the 22 tracks of the original release built off the success the band had achieved with their 1999 album The Soft Bulletin. While the band has denied that Yoshimi, with its nebulous theme of humans vs. machines, was ever a concept album, West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin had planned to turn the music into a Broadway production, a scheme that ultimately did not pan out.
Now in their fortieth year, The Flaming Lips gnawed out their place in the nascent ‘80s underground rock scene with a sound that blended psychedelic rock, paisley pop and increasingly-symphonic elements and electronic embellishments. Over the course of their career, their live shows developed into multimedia freakouts, including everything from audience participation, bizarre costumes and stage settings, and frontman Wayne Coyne hurling himself into the audience while encased in a clear bubble.
Best known for their 1993 alt-rock-era hit “She Don’t Use Jelly,” the band has released 16 full-length albums, various EPs and singles, and might be one of the only rock bands to have won a Grammy and also a Guinness World Record, the latter for the most concerts (eight) performed in a 24-hour period.
The Flaming Lips perform Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 at The Florida Theatre. Tickets are $49.50-$89.50 and are available here.