Philadelphia, PA -- Please click this slideshow to follow along with the blog.

I’ve always been intrigued by the Flaming Lips since I was in middle school. I’ll never forget popping on my tape of “Transmissions From the Satellite Heart” and thinking how weird it sounded. I once even watched an entire episode of "Beverly Hills: 90210" just because the Lips were playing the Peach Pit.

Fast forward 11 years and hundreds of bands discovered later to July 16, 2006 -- my chance to come face to face with the man behind the Lips, Wayne Coyne.

But this is more than just the story of a 20 something trying to meet one of their teenaged musical idols. This story incorporates a whole day full of music, chance meetings, drunken fools and people dressed like aliens. That’s right, aliens! (To see an entire photo album of just the Flaming Lips performance Click Here)

My friend Tamara and I armed with media passes and digital cameras, canvassed the Southern Comfort Music Experience at Penn’s Landing Festival Pier. A free music experience featuring De La Soul, Bob Mould Band and my old favorite (and a current favorite for that matter) the Flaming Lips.

(Click Here to see Tamara's Blog)

I must say I think the Festival Pier where the SCMX (that’s the hip name the kids were calling the show) was held is a great venue. Especially considering it has an air-conditioned tent area where the local stage was housed along with one of the many bars full of SoCo themed libations.

Fooling April had taken the stage when we entered. These guys deserved better than 90 plus degrees and only a handful of fans toughing it out to watch them. They did inspire this one guy; we will refer to him as the dancing madhatter, to flail around like a mad man. Tamara made friends with him. Later in the day of course he wound up passed out –my guess is that dancing mixed with excessive sun to do him in.

The dancing fool isn’t the only person I remember from SCMX. There was the guy wearing the Flaming Lips shirt to the show with his friends. A warning to all: never wear the shirt of the band you are about to see! I was guilty of being that guy when I was younger but years of experience have taught me the wrongs of this. Wear that Flaming Lips shirt anywhere by all means just don’t wear it to the Flaming Lips show.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox, back to the randomness of this day. I saw this kid Pat I grew up with who is now the drummer of local band the A-Sides. If you get a chance to check them out, do it, they bring it 100%. I also ran into Mary Stamm one of only a handful of people I’ve met in my life who have the same last name as me.

In my wondering I ran into all sorts of groups of people just out to have fun. I bought a few records (MC Hammer and Duran Duran for $0.50 each! What a deal!). And I discovered two of the greatest ideas ever: portable toilet bathroom attendants and the ATM Van. Knowing I can have clean hands after using a portable toilet after taking out money from a mini van will allow me to die a happy man.

What would happen next though shocked and appalled me. (Well not really)

Th' Legendary Shack Shakers took the stage. These guys out of Nashville were wild rock-a-billy. They looked the part too, tattoos, cigarettes and the craziest looking lead singer I’ve ever seen. They drew a decent crowd outside but my focus was inside the tent where fans watched on TV. Are we really that lazy now that we have to watch a concert we are at on a flat screen?

After the Shack Shakers set I got backstage where I began the process of trying to track down the Flaming Lips. I know what you’re thinking, backstage wow! A crazy party. In reality it was pretty much just a bunch of people hanging I’ve never seen before hanging out on couches, drinking (mostly Southern Comfort) and eating catered food. No Flaming Lips anywhere in site. Only a rental truck full of the white balloons they throw into the crowd during their show.

I decided to take in De La Soul from the side of the stage area. De La always brings a fun show. It’s refreshing to listen to a band without agendas except having a good time and dancing.

De La was getting the going crowd going with “Me, Myself and I” but my attention was drawn to all the Flaming Lips' guitars I was standing near. One in particular caught my eye because it had a cell phone attached to it. Bizarre.

I was keeping an eye out for Wayne from the Lips while standing on the side of the stage jamming to De La. I turn around and there he is – Wayne Coyne in a hilarious seersucker suit. I turned to talk to him but just at that moment he jumped the barricade to talk to his guitar tech. I missed him. I missed my opportunity!

After De La I decided I was going to camp out backstage until I saw Wayne again. The SCMX people said they would try to grab him for me but it was no guarantee. In the meantime Tamara scored the crowd taking photos of cool swag that the beautiful SoCo girls were giving out.

Just when I was giving up and about to leave the backstage area I literally ran into Wayne Coyne. He was giving a lucky fan an autograph on her pass and Ipod. The digital age of signatures is upon us!

I just went to Wayne asked him for a few minutes and he was more than happy to do an impromptu interview.

Wayne is a real nice and sincere guy. Coyne said the Flaming Lips movie project Christmas on Mars, which has been in the works for years should be out sometime next year.

What I really wanted to know though was what the heck is up with the cell phone on the guitar? How the Lips, known for their eccentric electronic beats, decide what to make music with. Wayne’s answer, “Anything you can get to make a sound you use.” It makes perfect sense if you think about it. He added that having great technical people around you doesn’t hurt. After the interview Wayne went on to check out some of Bob Mould, an old hard rocker. It was all blurry to me though – I was too excited to see the Lips.

I saw the Lips four years ago and was blown away by their bizarre stage setup. So I expected some crazy things. But what they did blew me away.

The band came out and just messed around with the stage setup for about 10 minutes before the music began. They had to set the camera on Wayne’s microphone to show his close-up face on the huge screen behind the band. And they also had to get all their roadies into superhero outfits.

The sun was setting. The show was about to go on. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Flaming Lips.

Before the band began, they let me into the area between the crowd and band. I felt ridiculous with my digital camera next to all the professional photographers, but figured what the heck; a photo's a photo no matter what camera you have.

Before the music started though, out came Wayne in the human hamster ball. Wayne got inside this huge bubble and surfed over the crowd. I had heard of them doing this but seeing it was amazing. He nearly killed me on his way back to the stage as the hamster ball almost hit me on the head.

Then the music began: people dressed as Santas and aliens released hundreds of those white balloons over the crowd. Separated to each side of the stage, Santas and aliens were armed with flashlights and confetti.

As the music hit I got hit in head again. This time by a huge amount of confetti shot from a large cannon. It was like being in this colorful war zone full of sound. I snapped away photo after photo of the Lips: Wayne Coyne, in that same suit, dead center on main vocals and guitar. Michael Ivins near the Santas dressed in a skeleton Halloween costume. Steven Drozd, the former drummer (he still drums some on the screen) now on keyboards, guitars and some vocals.

The crowd exploded when they started the second song, a cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” They encouraged singing along by showing the lyrics on the huge screen behind the band. People were going crazy as the balloons and confetti bounced all over the crowd.

The rest of the show was a blur. By the time the Lips played “Do You Realize” to close their set I was out in the crowd dancing with old and new friends. This band just brings joy when they play.

The set closed with a politically charged version of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Wayne dedicated the song to the hope for peace. We can only hope.

I must say I slept pretty well once I got home with confetti in my hair and flaming lips on my mouth.

Links:

Dizzle Stizzle's Blog: Sun, Fun And Flaming Lips Images

Flaming Lips Burn In Philly