I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. I mean, what are the odds of my two favorite bands playing in the same town on the same night? It's insane. Preposterous. And these aren't "Johnny-Come-Lately's" when it comes to favorites; these bands have been top of my list for almost a solid decade. In many regards it almost can't happen, but it is. I'm talking about Radiohead and The Flaming Lips, both playing in Toronto at separate locations next Saturday. It's madness. A fan since college, Radiohead elbowed their way back onto my favorites list in 2003 with Hail To The Thief, a brilliant tour of the existential and collective cognitive discord that reigned in the early years of the 21st Century in the wake of 9/11, and soon they floated to the top they haven't left since thanks to In Rainbows and the vastly under appreciated King of Limbs. The Flaming Lips immediately shot to the top thanks to the musical genius of Steven Drozd and poignancy and artistic ambition of Wayne Coyne, and as bands that I'd loved for decades faded, it was Radiohead and The Flaming Lips who became my bands.
I even came to view the two bands as being locked in a mutually beneficial musical space race ala The Beatles and Beach Boys in the mid 60's when both bands traded classic albums back and forth culminating in a trifecta of albums that shaped rock music, Revolver, Pet Sounds, and Sgt. Pepper's (Brian Wilson's... uh... issues... scotched the completion of Smile, the Beach Boys' answer to Pepper). Now whether such a relationship Radiohead and the Lips exists is entirely debatable, but looking at their output over the last decade they've both been remarkably forward thinking sonically, and it's entirely possible that creative geniuses Steven Drozd and Jonny Greenwood have been trading ideas back and forth. In any case they're my bands, I missed the Beatles and Beach Boys the first time around, Radiohead and the Lips have become my Beatles and Beach Boys, it's my musical theory/fantasy/delusion, and I'm going with it.
Yes, next Saturday is going to be a music bonanza, for this music lover at least, with the long awaited buffaBLOG Beach Party in the afternoon at Sunset Bay Beach Club, and personal music nirvana in Toronto that night. An incredible lineup of local bands has been assembled for WNY's listening pleasure including Aircraft, The Tins, Canary Girls, Nelson-Type, Voodoo Friends, and Handsome Dan; and for $5 it's an incredible deal. Fun, sun, booze, buffaBLOG, and an excellent showcase of local music. It's a total no-brainer, and for some folks I'm sure, a great prelude to all day wackiness. But I still can't believe that Radiohead and the Lips are in Toronto that night (and on the same ____ing day as the Beach Party). It's my ultimate double bill, but it wasn't to be (although a few years back there was talk of a Radiohead/Lips collaboration, nothing came of it). I mean, seriously, only Radiohead could keep me from a Flaming Lips show (and vice versa), let alone a free Lips show for NXNE at Yonge and Dundas (where R.E.M. rocked a wonderful free show back in 2001) with Of Montreal and Portugal. The Man opening;* and unbelievably Radiohead is actually keeping me from the Flaming Lips. It's mind-boggling. It also makes me ponder life, the universe, and everything.
* What an amazing lineup. Unreal. Literally. It's going to be bonkers. If I wasn't going to see Radiohead, I'd totally be going to that. Without a doubt. ____.
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