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The Flaming Lips Hold A Socially Distanced ‘Bubble’ Concert Where Everyone’s In Their Own Personal Space Bubble
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The Flaming Lips Hold A Socially Distanced ‘Bubble’ Concert Where Everyone’s In Their Own Personal Space Bubble

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Unfortunately, the global pandemic also meant an end to most of the usual social gatherings. At least the regular ones. Needless to say, businesses, event organizers, and regular people refused to give up and have been looking for different ways to keep providing their services and simply keep doing what they were doing before while ensuring social distancing. Bored Panda has already discussed the comeback of 17th century “Wine Windows,” a socially distant floating cinema in Paris, individual workout pods in a Californian gym, and a few more. But have you heard about socially distant “bubble” concerts?

Apparently, it’s sort of a thing now. American band The Flaming Lips have recently held a concert where they placed themselves and all the audience members inside individual plastic bubbles.

Turns out, the gig was in part a live show and in part a music video shoot

Image credits: waynecoyne5

Image credits: waynecoyne5

The event took place last week in Oklahoma City, which is the hometown of the band members. The gig was in part a live show and in part a music video shoot. Turns out, the idea for a concert like this was born out of a sketch doodled by one of the band members, Wayne Coyne.

The event took place last week in Oklahoma City, which is the hometown of the band members

 

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“I did a little drawing… where I drew a picture of The Flaming Lips doing a show in 2019. And I’m the only person in the space bubble, and everybody else is just normal,” Coyne told CNN. “Then (I did another drawing with) The Flaming Lips playing a show in 2020. The exact same scenario, but I’m in a bubble, and so is everybody else.”

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The idea for this concert was born out of a sketch doodled by one of the band members

Image credits: waynecoyne5

Though back then, none of them thought that this idea would ever come to life. “I don’t think anybody would have thought… in the middle of March that this is still going to be going, you know, eight months later. I think we all thought this is a month, this is maybe two months, but we’re going to get a handle on this,” the frontman added.

Image credits: waynecoyne5

Bubbles like these are nothing new for the band since they’ve been using “space bubbles” to crowd surf since 2004. All they had to do was to set the specs, order 100 of these bubbles, and find fans who wanted to participate. On the whole, the audience consisted of 100 members.

Apparently, a person can comfortably be in the bubble for a few hours. “You fill them up [with air] and people can be in them for quite a while. I don’t think people quite realize that. Since we have some here, we’ve played with them and messed with them for quite a while,” Wayne told Brooklyn Vegan. “It holds a lot of air. I mean, you can be in there for quite a while. I just don’t think people quite realize what it is as a mechanism. But we’ve just messed with them for so long, we kind of know that it can all work and how it can work and all that.”

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The band concludes that the gig was a success and are hoping for the opportunity to do something like this again in the future

Image credits: waynecoyne5

Apparently, this bubble concert was a test run for future concerts, as the band performed a dance remix of “Assassins of Youth” and “Brother Eye”—2 tracks from their latest LP, American Head. “I like the way this looks, because you can get as excited as you want, you can scream as much as you want, you just can’t infect the person next to you, no matter what you forget about, how excited you get,” the frontman of the band told CNN. “That barrier is still there, they’re protected, and you’re protected… that part of it is what we really felt like was the success.”

Here’s what people on the internet are saying about this type of concert

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chimesstreet avatar
Tabitha L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't understand why all the comments included are so negative. This is a cool idea. People are dining in bubbles at restaurants. Why not attend a concert? I'm sure if there was a fire, people would know to leave their bubbles, and with only 100 people, it would be easier to leave than with 1,000 people crammed in.

dexter0659i avatar
mermaidgirl960
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, it's a great idea! Sure, there might be some problems and the bubbles may not be perfect, but it's pretty smart. I would be worried about crowd surfing while singing, because if you trip in your bubble... XD

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copper-fractions avatar
Tiny Dynamine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All those naysayers are twats. If you know anything about the Flaming Lips, they've been doing this kind of thing for years. They like to experiment and do gigs that you'll never forget. The bubble thing began when the singer used to perform in one and walk over the crowd in it.

bp_10 avatar
WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If the comments are representing the general feeling about the pandemic in the US and how to deal with it, the US will be in for a really steep curve of people dying and people learning that there's no going back to the time that we had.

kentfishburn avatar
Kent Fishburn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ninja, please! You don't know any more than anyone else about what is coming.

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chimesstreet avatar
Tabitha L
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't understand why all the comments included are so negative. This is a cool idea. People are dining in bubbles at restaurants. Why not attend a concert? I'm sure if there was a fire, people would know to leave their bubbles, and with only 100 people, it would be easier to leave than with 1,000 people crammed in.

dexter0659i avatar
mermaidgirl960
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, it's a great idea! Sure, there might be some problems and the bubbles may not be perfect, but it's pretty smart. I would be worried about crowd surfing while singing, because if you trip in your bubble... XD

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copper-fractions avatar
Tiny Dynamine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All those naysayers are twats. If you know anything about the Flaming Lips, they've been doing this kind of thing for years. They like to experiment and do gigs that you'll never forget. The bubble thing began when the singer used to perform in one and walk over the crowd in it.

bp_10 avatar
WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If the comments are representing the general feeling about the pandemic in the US and how to deal with it, the US will be in for a really steep curve of people dying and people learning that there's no going back to the time that we had.

kentfishburn avatar
Kent Fishburn
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ninja, please! You don't know any more than anyone else about what is coming.

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