What makes for a great live band? I’ve been pondering this question since The Flaming Lips played one of the best shows I’ve ever seen on Wednesday night. In fact, I’ve been pondering it on and off for the 25 years+ I’ve been going to gigs and I’m still not much closer to an answer.

Great songs? Well, obviously it’s a good starting point, but it’s not sufficient. I’ve seen plenty of bands whose records I love, but whose live shows haven’t been all that. Plus, it’s not necessarily the songs I love in advance that turn out the best live.

Technical ability? Maybe, up to a point, but sometimes musicians with great talent can make for a very boring show (I’m not much of a one for lengthy guitar or drum solos for example) and I’ve seen good shows by bands that are barely competent on their instruments. I’ll also be honest and admit I’m not that good at identifying instrumental talent. I can only tell the difference between a good and bad drummer (for example) at the extremes.

Stage presence? Yes, but it’s hard to find a more nebulous concept. Does it mean audience interaction? Stage banter? A confident swagger? Just generally looking cool? It could be any one of these things or all.

Theatrics? Props, explosions and other bells and whistles can sometimes help, but Ive seen shows with just one person and a guitar on a stage in a tiny room that have been better than stadium gigs with every trick imaginable.

All these things and more can make for a great show, but there’s something more than that, something ineffable, something specific about that time and place, the emotions you were feeling on that day, your history with the band and the people you were there with.

Which brings us back to The Flaming Lips.

Great songs? Check. Do You Realize? Race For The Prize. Waiting For Superman. She Don’t Use Jelly. Plus many more I knew less well from albums I’ve never heard, but sounded stunning on the night.

Technical ability? Check. Even I could tell that they’d gotten pretty good over 30+ years as a touring band.

Stage presence? Check. They looked as cool as ever, especially their double drum kits, and identically dressed drummers. Wayne Coyne remains a superb and engaging frontman, keeping the crowd entertained during even quite lengthy gaps between songs.

Theatrics? Very much check. Giant inflatables, huge screens with graphics and flashing lyrics, flying bird toys, confetti, bubbles and even balloons spelling out “Fuck Yeah Leeds” (side note — I assume they’re updating those for each show, and can only hope they’re not playing in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne or they’ll blow their entire budget)

But there were something more than all that. Part of it was to do with the pandemic, I think. This show was originally scheduled for July 2020, and like every other gig I had tickets for that year was postponed again and again. I really doubted this gig, or even any gig, would actually happen. It wasn’t my first since the pandemic, but it was the first where the pandemic felt truly over (an illusion of course, in reality it is not, as shown by the fact The Flaming Lips had had to cancel gigs earlier on this tour), but it felt that way on the night. It was the first time since 2019 I could really lose myself in the joy of live music, of being in a crowd, singing together, and it was magnified by the feeling that we had regained something we thought lost.

The Flaming Lips were the perfect band for this moment, their big, anthemic songs rich with joy for life, despite hearbreak, despite death, despite everything. They radiate a sincere love for their audience, and their audience loves them in return, everyone there seemed to be fully embracing the moment. They have an explicitly expressed and sincerely held aim to make every show they ever do the best show they’ve ever done. This explains them bringing along every prop, even the huge ones from their stadium days that threatened to create a Spinal Tap moment in an, at best, medium sized venue.

I went to this gig without the highest expectations. I’d always heard The Flaming Lips were a great live band, but hadn’t listened to them that much for years, and wondered if their best days were behind them. It was a Wednesday night, by which point I’m tired from work and parenting, ready to hunker down in front of Netflix and have an early night. I made it though, and before the first song even began I was enraptured, by the second song I was in tears, and by the end of the night I was hoarse from singing and whooping, buzzing with the rush of joy and adrenaline that only music, and specifically only live music, unable to remember a gig I enjoyed this much in years.

So, what makes a great gig, I’m still not sure, but I do know that you have to go to as many as you possibly can, because you never know which one it’s going to be.