The Flaming Lips - Kelvingrove Bandstand 27/07/2026

A Cosmic Tonic

Summer Nights is back at the Kelvingrove Bandstand, and there is no better way to celebrate the return of the festival than with the cosmic absurdity of The Flaming Lips. Wayne Coyne took the stage and shared a reflection on his younger self—a 14-year-old dreamer imagining playing a bandstand in a city with a cone on its head—It was good to see him live out this dream many years later in Glasgow ;)


The Flaming Lips, photograph by Stewart Fullerton


The show started in typical Lips fashion with "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots." When the inflatable robots refused to inflate properly, it didnt ruin the moment—it turned into a spectacle of stagehands battling to get them upright, which only added to the charm.
A case of "Yoshimi and the Stagehands battling the Pink Robots"
From there, the night descended into a beautiful, bonkers party filled with balloons, lasers, pyro, and enough confetti to bury the park.


The Flaming Lips, photograph by Stewart Fullerton

Coyne is a master orchestrator. He kept the energy locked in, demanding we "keep going" with constant cheers, whispering "I love you, dont hold back." There was a hauntingly beautiful, trance-like moment where he swung a light around that looked like it had been picked up at a highway service station across America, and as the band played the slide guitar, the music grew faster and faster until the entire crowd was simply frozen in a trance, staring at the stage in collective wonder.


The Flaming Lips, photograph by Stewart Fullerton

The show found its true weight during a moment of profound vulnerability. Coyne spoke openly about the recent death of his brother, breaking down in tears while wearing a suit that made him look like he was being carried by an alien. It was a juxtaposition that only this band could pull off—the absurd, silly costume providing a strange, necessary trauma relief before launching immediately into a new song.

As the night darkened, "Are You a Hypnotist??" transformed the amphitheatre with a massive disco ball, turning the bandstand into a swirling galaxy of light. "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" was the anthem we all needed, with fist pumps all round. Then came "Do You Realize??"—the set closer—a song about living in the moment that carries so much weight. My friend next to me leaned in to mention it was their funeral song, and I think half the park felt the same emotional gravity, a true reminder to live in the present.

And yet, the biggest surprise of the night wasnt the balloons, the alien suits, or the dancing suns (which, for the record, bore a striking resemblance to Partick Thistles mascot, Kingsley). It was a blistering, unexpected cover of Black Sabbaths "War Pigs." WOW. It was a masterclass in how to change the energy of a room.


The Flaming Lips, photograph by Stewart Fullerton


Race for the Prize was a final high-octane explosion that sent us all off full of energy!

It is impossible not to be happy at a Flaming Lips concert. If you need help in your life, come see them; it is the best tonic.

Full Setlist (27th July 2026):

It Overtakes Me (Outro only)

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2

Turn It On

Vein of Stars

Every Teardrop Cried

A Spoonful Weighs a Ton

Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung

The Golden Path (The Chemical Brothers cover)

Five Stop Mother Superior Rain

Are You a Hypnotist??

She Dont Use Jelly

The Spark That Bled

The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)

Do You Realize??

Encore: 16. War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover) 17. Race for the Prize

Review by Craig McGee, photography by Stewart Fullerton.

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