FRIKO/MODEST MOUSE/THE FLAMING LIPS
Friko/Modest Mouse/The Flaming Lips, The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA 8/5/25.
Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips coming to Philadelphia was a can’t-miss show. The opener for the night was Chicago’s Friko, a high-energy indie rock duo. Since I had seen them before, I knew the crowd was in for a great opening set. The singer ran all over the stage and even laid down flat at one point, keeping the energy high throughout.
With the crowd fully engaged, it was time for Modest Mouse, who surprised everyone by opening with their all-time hit, “Float On.” Another fan favorite they played early in the set was “Lampshades on Fire,” the lead single from their sixth studio album, Strangers to Ourselves. Later in the set, they performed another major hit, “Dashboard,” which had the audience singing and dancing along. As the set neared its end, the band ripped through multiple powerful guitar riffs before closing with the emotional “The World at Large.”
Between Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips, the elaborate stage setup made it clear that something big was coming. The Flaming Lips came out to “Sleeping on the Roof,” greeted by a screaming crowd eagerly awaiting the legendary Wayne Coyne entrance. When the band launched into “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 and Pt. 2,” giant pink inflatable robots filled the stage, swaying side to side as confetti filled the air. It was unlike anything I had ever seen at a show before.
Nearly every song featured some kind of visual spectacle; inflatable aliens, a sun, eyeballs, a rainbow, and constant bursts of confetti filled the venue with surreal energy. During “Waiting for a Superman,” Wayne came out dressed as Wonder Woman and told the crowd that even though the song was sad, he wanted everyone to keep their energy up and not feel down.
They closed out their main set with my personal favorite, “Do You Realize” which had everyone in attendance feeling nostalgic. After a brief break, the band returned for an encore, bringing out Modest Mouse’s singer, Isaac Brock, to perform a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne. They shared a mic for an unforgettable rendition of “War Pigs.”
For the final song of the night, “Race for the Prize,” Wayne performed inside a giant inflatable ball, singing under a shower of confetti before emerging to run around the stage holding a massive balloon that read “F*** Yeah Philadelphia.”
Shot and Written by Jonah van Bemmelen
