The Flaming Lips live...or my kind of church.

I had the happy privilege of attending not one, but two Flaming Lips shows over this weekend.  Thursday I got off work a little early and Tad, our friend Erik and I drove down to Chicago and saw the Flaming Lips at the Aragon Ballroom with Erik's sister. 
Now those of you readers who know me well know that I am not a church going person. That is not to say that I'm not spiritual.  I am.  But anyway, a Flaming Lips show is something of a spiritual experience for me. Its like my version of church.  Wayne Coyne is an amazing front man, lead singer, stage presence, and sermonizer.  He gets up there in between songs full of love and light and balloons and confetti and talks about LOVING EACH OTHER and appreciating life and personal growth and doing things that mean something to the world and those around you.  If that's not a message that a roomful of joyful, sweating, dancing people needs to hear, I don't know what is.  Below is a link that someone posted on youtube of the show, the opening number... Race For the Prize...

And they ended with Do You Realize.. the song Tad and I had played at our wedding after we were officially husband and wife.

Do you realize
That you have the most beautiful face
do you realize we're floating in space
Do you realize that happiness makes you cry
Do you realize that everyone you know, someday, will die

But instead of saying all of your goodbye's
Let them know you realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good thing last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion of the world spinning round.

Saturday, Tad and I met friends at Summerfest and saw them yet again at the 10:00 show at the Harley Stage.  The crowd was more Milwaukee...  lots more connectedness, lots more drunkenness :)  And the show was more rocking, less ethereal.  I favored the Chicago show, while Tad favored Milwaukee.  But it was the best to have seen both.  My favorite number at the Milwaukee show was WHAT IS THE LIGHT.  It is a song that makes me proud to be who I am.

WHAT IS THE LIGHT
THAT YOU HAVE
SHINING ALL AROUND YOU?
IS IT CHEMICALLY DERIVED?

Cause if its natural, something glowing from inside, shining all around you, its potential has arrived.

Here is the link....

Flaming Lips at the Aragon in Chicago