While live events are still shut down here in the UK, over in the US The Flaming Lips have come up with an inspired way to put on a Covid-safe gig during the pandemic.
The band have just played two shows where the audience was placed in inflatable bubbles – and so was each member of the band.
The concerts, which took place at Oklahoma City’s Criterion, saw 100 Zorb-style balls inflated so that people could still enjoy live music without coming into contact with others.
The idea was inspired by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, who regularly Zorbs over the crowd at the band’s live shows.
Camera operator Nathan Poppe, who was filming the event, revealed how the concert worked in a thread on Twitter.
Each bubble – which could accommodate up to three people from the same household – was fitted with speakers to improve sound quality, and concert goers were handed battery-operated fans, a towel and a sign to indicate if they were either too hot or needed to go to the toilet.
Venue staff were then able to top the bubble up with cool air using a leaf blower.
The rules were further laid out in an instructional video Wayne shared on Instagram prior to the live events.
During the gig, which saw the band play songs from throughout their back catalogue, they held up balloons that spelt out “FUCK YOU COVID-19”, which could be seen in a series of behind-the-scenes images Wayne posted.
However, it’s not the first time the band have experimented with “bubble” concerts.
In June last year, they recorded an event for US chat show The Late Show With Stephen Colbert where the audience were in inflatables.
Speaking about how he came up with the idea, Wayne previously told Consequence Of Sound: “That first day we went into lockdown, I made a little cartoon. I drew myself. It was The Flaming Lips in 2019, and I’m the only one in a space bubble, and I’m on stage.
“Then I drew The Flaming Lips in 2020. I’m in a space bubble, but so is everyone else. Of course, I would think of that, because isn’t this absurd? And then the more it started to happen, it sort of seemed like, ‘I guess it could be possible, but is this all going to be over in a couple of months?’.”