We hadn't planned on attending the inaugural Chicago edition of the DMB Caravan but a last minute chance to see The Flaming Lips perform Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon set us on our way to the fest's south side location yesterday. The new Lakeside venue grounds intrigued us with the chance to set up a viable new concert location in a promising new spot. We admit, though, we are not exactly fans of the fest's curator and headliner (and, prior to yesterday, even less a fan of their fans) so we set out on our journey with a mixture of trepidation and honestly excited curiosity. more ›

If you've ever been curious about the concept and creation behind the four-audio-channel-demanding glory/mess of Zaireeka, or want to know why AC/DC rocks so hard on Highway to Hell, the good folks at Quimby's Bookstore would like to drop some knowledge on you with one of their always-excellent in-store readings. more ›

Count on a band like The Flaming Lips to top off a year in which they challenged their fans to find even the newbies were up for the challenge by suddenly releasing The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon. The title pretty much tells the whole story, but don't worry ... Rollins doesn't do any singing. more ›

We've always been confused by the folks that view The Flaming Lips as some shiny, happy, modern version of up with people. Yes, the strains of "Do You Realize?" are joyous but have the fans that think the band is all about being one big party ever actually listened to the group's lyrics. While the darkness has never left the group's basic aesthetic we believe it's been misconstrued by many and mistaken as a vehicle meant for confetti filled cannons, half-naked dancing aliens, and a white-suited guy wearing a Hulk fist while rolling over the crowd in a giant bubble. more ›

Christmas On Mars is the years in the making super-independent first feature film from The Flaming Lips. A few years ago lead-Lip Wayne Coyne rounded up his bandmates, a few friends, and set out to make an interstellar psychodrama built around sets constructed from found objects primarily located around the Coyne home compound in Oklahoma City. The plot line involves ... actually we have to admit there barely is a plot line. The movie underwent numerous re-writes over the years as locations fell by the wayside, and the band's full-time obligations forced long lulls in filming. The end result is a disturbing tone-piece constructed from cameras that veer from disturbing close-ups to static location shots, and pop back and forth between black and white and color. more ›

There is nothing more that we want to get done than this installment of Empty Out Your Wallet, so we can get outside and enjoy this day. Leave it to the Ticketmaster gods to curse us once again with numerous great shows making our job harder. The show that our readers were looking forward to last week, The Flaming Lips at the Aragon, goes on sale at 11 a.m. on Saturday. This should be a... more ›

The Comas have been at this shit for a while now. Originally formed in Chapel Hill, NC in 1998, their blistering brand of psychedelic-soaked garage rock has left a steady stream of sweaty, melted faces in its wake for nearly the past decade. They’ve collected some of the most desirable accolades an independent-spirited band can hope for, including contacts with North Carolina tastemakers Yep Roc and (currently) Vagrant Records, shoe shines from Pitchfork Media, Rolling... more ›

The rumors had been swirling about who else would play Friday night at the Pitchfork Music Festival and those rumors turned out to be true for Slint and GZA joining up with Sonic Youth to play a full album. We never heard a peep about Saturday’s headliner of Yoko Ono. Love her or hate her, for a myriad of reasons, John Lennon’s widow is quite the accomplishment for Pitchfork’s Fest in July. Ono is more... more ›

Whew! Happy, sore, tired, but mainly thrilled Lollapalooza spends her time in our home town. We'd like to give props to each and every one of the fans who stood their ground to be down front for whoever was their favorite band from The Flaming Lips to Wilco or The Raconteurs and the Chili Peppers. You guys are the ones who made Lollapalooza the best! Here are just a few more thoughts on the bands that performed. more ›

Day Two has come and gone. We thought that maybe we were slacking today, since we only traversed the magnificent mile four times instead of yesterday's seven, but it seems that we took a lot more pictures. Today's bands didn't disappoint, from Wolfmother to Living Things and, not even mentioning, Sonic Youth or The Go! Team. And, all we have to say about The Flaming Lips is - WOW! We're looking forward to tomorrow. What... more ›

Lollapalooza founder, Perry Farrell more ›

When the Doves announced they were canceling the first of several dates on their U.S. tour, openers Mercury Rev became headliners by circumstance and were thrust into a badly-needed spotlight. more ›

. From the chorus with Brady Bunch kids dance moves to their frequent fist-pumping, the Spree put on one helluva show – an aural equivalent of Prozac. Exuberantly happy and amazingly sincere, they made Chicagoist think of The Flaming Lips minus the huge balloons animal costumes. It would be a tall order to top such an event, but the Animal Collective, who are playing at the Empty Bottle on Thursday, might be just the group to do the job. (Maybe we're just in need of seeing more musicians in animal costumes.) more ›

Chicagoist was going to write something about local poster artist Jay Ryan today, but wouldn't you know it, our friends over at Gapers Block beat us to the punch. (Damn... rival... blogs...) As part of their ongoing Audible City series, they have a great interview with the man behind posters for area shows of The Flaming Lips, Built to Spill, Stereolab, and basically every other quality band that's ever come through town. And Chicagoist learned yesterday that he is providing the cover art and six interior pictures to accompany the hardcover release of Michael Chabon's latest novella, The Final Solution. Check out Ryan's website to see/buy some of his amazing work. And blame Gapers Block for scooping us. more ›