by the Way Magazine

On the Santa Barbara stop of Modest Mouse’s and The Flaming Lips’ “Its Summertime Tour,” attendees like myself were sure to leave this eccentric, colorful night with confetti still woven through hair strands, lodged in pant pockets and shoes, and hidden in the depths of purses. 

As frontman Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips announced to the crowd during his set, the warm Santa Barbara September summer night was agreeably “the perfect night to scream at a concert.” The night was soon to take on a shape less like that of a concert and more like one reached only through a magical portal to a strange place where time warps and oddities come out to play.

Chicago- based band Dehd kicked off the night, making it their third show as openers for the two main acts. Lead singer and bassist Emily Kempf epitomized the image of a true rockstar with skin lathered in decadent ink, dressed in shin-high, black Nike socks finished with a pair of black high heels. Guitarist Eric McGrady thrashed around the stage with his flashy, fluorescent green guitar sparing no one of his enamoring bass face and electric sounds. After a captivating set from the openers, the crowd consisting of glitter painted faces and plenty of dads rocking sun scorched hair, sandals, and alien adorned headbands filed in for the bowls anticipatory double feature. 

First up was Modest Mouse with a set spanning their decades long discography, one that pleased both their early fans and new alike. Their hit “Float On,” landing the second spot in their set beguiled a harmonizing chant from the crowd as the chorus rang out with an existential sense of hope in its composition.

As the sun dipped over the coast, the crowd was serenaded by frontman Isaac Brock as a soft sunset painted the sky. Fog spilled into the venue as the bowl was awash in a swampy blue light. Brock’s voice never wavered as he sifted through the set with ease moving from slower, melodic choruses to faster rap-like bridges.

The group showcased recent work including their unreleased track “Dogbed/Sheetrock,” while also dipping deeper into their discography with songs like “Paper Thin Walls” and “Perfect Disguise” off their 2000 album The Moon and Antarctica. The guttural screaming of passionate lyrics from frontman Brock commanded the strength of this group’s position in the indie rock scene. 

Before the second act of the Summertime Tour, Brock forewarned the crowd we’d be in for a fun night. 

Catching conversations prior to the finale that involved a “Do you feel it yet?” while watching the production crew begin to assemble a novel set unlike one I’d ever seen at the Santa Barbara Bowl, I knew the night would be taking a funky turn.

The Flaming Lips album title track “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” set the tone for the night as a number of giant inflatable pink robots towered over and beside them as frontman Wayne Coyne sang. 

Colossal inflatable balls and pools of confetti poured onto the crowd who erupted in laughter and glistening smiles. The scene unfolded like a child’s most wildly imagined, ideal birthday party, simultaneously acting as a musical fantasy for adults, one that was sure to bring out everyone’s inner child. With plenty of eye candy and sensory stimulation to go around, the crowd was enthralled in a sensory overload that showed no moment of dullness in sight. 

There were ample moments of crowd interaction and connection as Coyne urged listeners to continue to spread joy and to let others know if they are feeling good because that might just be the thing that another needs to hear.

He emphasized the importance of music with its ability to touch people in the darkest parts of their mind and remind them that they are not alone. Sweet faces stained with flecks of colored glitter caught light from the stage, and sentimental smiles were exchanged as Coyne’s lyrics begged the necessity of closeness.

A highlight of the night came with their rendition of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” a song deeply rooted in a political, anti war message which rang out as the screen’s visuals displayed a woman thrashing on a set of drums in a colorful frenzy. Amidst a word of chaos, it felt fitting for the political message to be made, one which he hopes is “still getting truer and truer and more heard” today. 

The night was a psychedelic fever dream, with Coyne in one moment singing from within a hamster ball, at another dancing between a massive set of eyeballs and a mouth. A large rainbow stretched across the stage as friends and lovers held each other close. Kids danced through the aisles and ushers grooved in their designated posts to tracks like “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song.” To close out the night Coyne emerged on stage hoisting a giant silver inflatable above his head that read “FUCK YEAH SANTA BARBARA,” a fitting way to end the colorfully charged summer night.

Articles and Photos by Bailey Schroerlucke