The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse both delivered topnotch sets during during their co-headlining tour stop on Sunday (Sept. 7) at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley.
Yet, there was one specific moment that towered above all others and, indeed, will likely be remembered by the goodly sized crowd as one of the coolest concert moments of the entire year.
It occurred at the very end of the show, as Flaming Lips ringleader Wayne Coyne kicked off the two-song encore segment by leading his band through an amazing rendition of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
Of course, there have been a lot of Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne covers going on at concerts in recent months — ever since hard rock titan Osbourne died in July — including a really fun smorgasbord of “Electric Funeral,” “Paranoid” and “Crazy Train” served up terrific punk act The Offspring at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View at the end of August.
Yet, what made this particular Ozzy shoutout so special was that came from an indie-pop act better known for twee neo-psychedelia than hard-hitting heavy metal.
And, yet, the Lips took on the legendary anti-war anthem with complete commitment, thundering through “War Pigs” in a fashion that likely would’ve impressed even Black Sabbath mastermind (and godfather of heavy metal) Tony Iommi himself.
Donning an American flag as a cape as he appeared for the encore, Coyne — intentionally or not — did a great impression of the Ozz-man, delivering the lines with a bit of a high-pitched nasal ring to them as he stalked the stage like a restless big cat in a cage.
Yet, the true star of this portion of the show was Matt Duckworth, who absolutely nailed those powerhouse drum parts originally laid down by Sabbath’s mighty Bill Ward (aka, one of the greatest drummers in rock ‘n’ roll history).
It was the absolute zenith of what had been an all-around memorable night for the two co-headliners.
Modest Mouse was the first of the two to take the stage, greeting the energetic Greek Theatre crowd right around 7 p.m. and then sticking around to deliver a powerful 75-minute performance.
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Vocalist-guitarist Isaac Brock and company had their A-game going throughout the 15-song show, opening with a formidable take on “Gravity Rides Everything” from 2000’s “Moon & Antarctica” — which is not only the band’s finest album, but also one of the top overall rock platters of the last 30 years — and then continuing through “Fire It Up,” “King Rat” and other fan favorites.
Highlights included the hit single “Float On,” which arguably tied with the Lips’ “She Don’t Use Jelly” for the title of the biggest crowd singalong of the night, and a massive version of another “Moon & Antarctica” standout — “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes.”
The Flaming Lips followed with its own 75-minute set, which didn’t include nearly as many great songs as we got from the Modest Mouse offering. But it did include vastly more special effects and the kind of over-the-top rock ‘n’ roll goofiness that fans have come to expect — and love — from the Flaming Lips.
There were the giant pink inflatable robots towering over Coyne and the rest of the band near the start of the show, followed by plenty of streamers shot out into the crowd, a kind of a slow dance/hug segment between the frontman and an inflatable sun creature, and big ol’ bouncing balloon balls sent out into the crowd.
And, of course, Coyne would once again call upon the Lips’ signature concert special effect — the giant hamster ball — as the band brought the show to a close with “Race for the Prize.” The singer would enter the ball — or, more accurately, it was inflated around him — and rock it a bit about the stage. But, sadly, he wouldn’t take the contraption into the crowd for a cruise atop thousands of outstretched hands the way he did back in the day.
Overall, it was a winning evening — for both co-headliners as well as the crowd — as the Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse showcased why they are both alt-rock champions.
And in the midst of all that cool modern rock, it was a heavy metal moment that truly stole the show. That’s the power of Black Sabbath.
Flaming Lips setlist:
1. “Sleeping on the Roof”
2. “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1”
3. “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2”
4. “Turn It On”
5. “Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung”
6. “Five Stop Mother Superior Rain”
7. “The Golden Path”
8. “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”
9. “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)”
10. “She Don’t Use Jelly”
11. “Do You Realize??”
Encore:
12. “War Pigs”
13. “Race for the Prize”
Modest Mouse setlist:
1. “Gravity Rides Everything”
2. “Breakthrough”
3. “Float On”
4. “Never Ending Math Equation”
5. “Fire It Up’
6. “Dogbed”/”Sheetrock”
7. “King Rat”
8. “Fly Trapped in a Jar”
9. “Heart Cooks Brain”
10. “What People Are Made Of”
11. “Dashboard”
12. “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes”
13. “Third Side of the Moon”
14. “Dramamine”
15. “Night on the Sun”
Note: Setlists based on our notes and information from setlist.fm.