The Flaming Lips mafia took over Troutdale, Or. on Thursday night as a host of orange clad roadies set the stage at Edgefield for an epic confetti- and smoke-filled extravaganza starring the Lips and Built To Spill. While giant balloons and set pieces transfixed the audience later in the night, it was the night's openers Stardeath and White Dwarfs that stole the show's first half. SDWD are a psychedelic and riff-heavy Oklahoma City quartet led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Dennis Coyne. Dressed in a skin-tight purple jumpsuit, Coyne and his bandmates tore through their set with ferocious enthusiasm, head-jarring guitar play (especially by bassist Casey Joseph) and plenty of green smoke courtesy of Coyne's own specially rigged axe.
Recently signed to Warner Bros. Records, SDWD share the experimental tendencies of their friends the Lips—Dennis is also the nephew of the Lips' Wayne Coyne—but bask in a heavier, darker and, at times, more playful light. Songs like "I Can't Get Away" and "New Heat" shoot out melodies from seemingly cannon-sized synthesizers while bass and guitar riffs bounce into a dizzyingly catchy funk. There are quiet moments on the band's debut The Birth, but on stage it was all a hurricane of sweaty movement and pounding rhythm that had the newly acquainted audience quickly on their feet.
Before the show, I caught up with Dennis Coyne. Read the interview here.
Stardeath & White Dwarfs w/The Flaming Lips - "Borderline" (Madonna cover)
Casey Joseph can seriously play the bass. We'll see more of this young man for sure!
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