On Friday night, Oklahoman psychedelic rock band, The Flaming Lips kicked off the UK leg of their 2025 world tour at the O2 Academy in Birmingham. With no support act, the band played two full sets: the 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots in its entirety followed by another full set of greatest hits and fan favourites.

I arrived at the O2 Academy just before the doors opened and the queue was already stretching down the street. Fans of the band dressed in eccentric, vibrant outfits to pay homage to The Flaming Lips’ funky aesthetics. It wasn’t long before the venue was packed out to the very back and the eager crowd awaited for the band to take to the stage. 

“

The delicious electricity of the track paired with dazzling lasers, a blizzard of confetti and neon robots swaying to the beat established the show as a kaleidoscope of chaos and fun from the very beginning.

A cover of ‘War Pigs’ by Black Sabbath filled the venue as the band walked into view but as they realised it was the wrong version they humorously re-entered the stage once they found Sabbath’s original track. Frontman Wayne Coyne asked the crowd to continue cheering before he explained that they played the track to pay homage to Birmingham. As the familiar synths of their hit track ‘Fight Test’ blasted through the venue, three gigantic pink robots started inflating behind the band. The delicious electricity of the track paired with dazzling lasers, a blizzard of confetti and neon robots swaying to the beat established the show as a kaleidoscope of chaos and fun from the very beginning. This track is one of my personal favourites and represents the Yoshimi album incredibly, making it a stellar opening track.

The psychedelic, sci-fi journey continued with the mellow basslines of  ‘One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21’ followed by the band’s cult-classic track ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt.1’. As the acoustic guitar melody and electric drum beat filled the venue, fans comedically yelled the ‘hey, heys!’ which feature on the track as the twenty-foot robots observed. The instrumental counterpart of the track, ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt.2’ came next. Huge neon green balloons made their way into the crowd as flutters of confetti shot out from above. Despite there being no vocals in the track, the band didn’t fail to keep their fans entertained and I found that the instrumental tracks accommodated some of the most amusing moments of the night.

“

The mesmeric dreaminess of tracks such as ‘In the Morning of the Magicians’ and ‘Are You a Hypnotist??’ were brought vividly to life despite being more subdued songs.

As the band made their way through the album, there are times where you could take yourself out of the swirling mayhem of the show and think you were in a hallucinogenic-fuelled fantasy. The mesmeric dreaminess of tracks such as ‘In the Morning of the Magicians’ and ‘Are You a Hypnotist??’ were brought vividly to life despite being more subdued songs. Before heading into their career-defining hit ‘Do You Realize??,’ Coyne explained that the enormous rainbow they are about to inflate takes a while so he uses the time to talk to the crowd. Mirroring the message of the bittersweet song, he encourages fans to let the people closest to them know they are loved. 

The hopeful melodies of ‘Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)’ closes the Yoshimi set and receives rapturous applause. After a ten minute break, The Flaming Lips returned to the stage, once again honouring the rich music scene in Birmingham, playing ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra. Their quirky track ‘She Don’t Use Jelly’ kept the momentum of the show afloat, fans singing along loudly to the unusual lyrics. Dressed as a flower, Coyne shares a long anecdote about Kacey Musgraves taking LSD (another one of those moments which makes you question your sobriety), before playing their 2020 track ‘Flowers of Neptune 6’. 

From ‘Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung’ to ‘Love Yer Brain’ the set was packed to the brim with a diverse array of indie-rock tracks. The undeniably fun ‘The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song’ closed out the bulk of the second set, leaving fans wanting more. Satisfying their needs, The Flaming Lips kicked off the encore with the whimsical track ‘A Spoonful Weighs a Ton’ as a lead-up to their finale of ‘Race for the Prize’. The celebratory anthem ended the show on a positive note, leaving fans with an optimistic buzz.

“

The coruscating aesthetics alone are a good enough reason to attend one of the band’s shows…

A Flaming Lips show delivers three pink robots, two full sets and one unforgettable powerhouse band. With this tour, the band have proved that they are a spectacular live act. The show was one of the most visually remarkable live performances I have seen. The coruscating aesthetics alone are a good enough reason to attend one of the band’s shows but paired with their impressive musicality, The Flaming Lips are a must-see band.

---