Skip to main contentGet your sparkly capes, confetti blasters, fake blood and furry costumes ready, Timbers fans: Alt-rock acid casualties the Flaming Lips are playing a free show in Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Sunday, Aug. 3. It's part of Major League Soccer All-Star Week, and a nice aperitif for MusicfestNW which will be in the same park two weeks later.
While they might seem like an odd choice for a sporting event, Wayne Coyne and his merry band of psychedelic pranksters have an intimate relationship with Portland: A few years back, Coyne came to town to film a music video at Mt. Tabor and Sauvie Island, which included naked bike riders, a giant spherical "fur vag" and, of course, his patented "space bubble." (Watch here, though you better believe it's NSFW.)
Though the group's fearless leader has gone a bit off the deep end in recent years—even for him—and despite the darkness of its last two albums, the Lips are still one of the greatest spectacles on the touring circuit today, and if you have the opportunity to witness it for free (and aren't enjoying the final day of Pickathon), you should take it.
The show is slated to start at 4 pm, according to the MLS Web site.
Update and edit, 4:42 pm: Portland band Radiation City will open. The show is free and open to public on a "first come, first serve" basis.
WWeek 2015