Flaming Lips bringing 2002 ‘Robots’ album to McGrath Amphitheatre

The Flaming Lips and Neil Young aren’t aligned sonically, but there’s a common denominator between the iconic recording artists.

The Lips and Young do whatever they please and defy convention, yet both have been with a major label, Warner Bros., for more than three decades.

Pushing the creative envelope while enjoying critical acclaim and having a substantial loyal audience is typically mutually exclusive. But The Flaming Lips have managed to be a critical darling, win three Grammy Awards, and play in front of fans who pack amphitheaters to experience their idiosyncratic rock, which is an aural and visual treat.

Fans can see that for themselves with The Flaming Lips comes to the McGrath Amphitheatre in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday night, June 25, 2024.

“What we create is our choice,” vocalist/guitarist Wayne Coyne said. “It’s our vision and we’re just thrilled that we have an audience that appreciates it.”

The Flaming Lips formed in 1983 but didn’t reach the charts for a decade. The quirky but catchy “She Don’t Use Jelly,” from 1993’s “Transmissions from the Satellite Heart,” was a surprising Top 40 hit. It’s even more bizarre looking back at that tour when the left-of-center Lips opened for the conventional and predictable Candlebox. It was a taste of what was to come, since The Lips teased with a brightly lit but small backdrop as tour support.

No band as successful as The Flaming Lips has been so refreshingly strange. What other recording artist showcases a major label release in a parking garage? The Flaming Lips decided to do so on a number of occasions at Austin’s music conference, South By Southwest.

The Lips upped the ante over the past quarter century as a live act, with ornate unicorns, inflated robots and Coyne performing inside a giant plastic ball — a concept appropriated by country-pop act Sugarland.

“All of the things we have onstage is just a diversion,” Coyne said while calling from his Oklahoma City home. “It takes the audience’s attention from us. Our live show is fun. The fans like it, but for us, it’s about the music. That’s our focal point.”

The Flaming Lips also includes multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd, who, along with Coyne, is the only consistent member since 1991; keyboardist Derek Brown; bassist Tommy McKenzie; and drummer Matt Duckworth Kirksey. The group has been remarkably consistent for a very long time, crafting 24 albums, none of which are clunkers.

“We put a lot into every song but it’s what we do,” Coyne said. “If we didn’t love this, we would have stopped a long time ago.”

The benefit of being part of such a well-respected band is that acclaimed peers want to work with a group like The Flaming Lips.

Nick Cave, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Kevin Turner of Tame Impala, Kacey Musgraves and Miley Cyrus are among those who have joined The Flaming Lips in the studio.

“Creating with such diverse and unique artists has been very cool,” Coyne said. “I’ve enjoyed working with each and every one of them. They’re all unique and amazing in their own way.”

“Where the Viaduct Looms,” from 2021, features the bands performing Nick Cave covers sung by teenage Canadian singer Nell Smith. Who else takes such a chance but The Flaming Lips?

“We do what we want to do in this band,” Coyne said. “It’s never predictable with us and maybe that’s why it’s always been so much fun.”

The band is quirky but crafts catchy songs, such as the gorgeous, deep and hook-laden indie rock hit “Do You Realize?”

“We have some range,” Coyne said. “We just create what we're moved to create and go from there.”