Why are other bands so boring by comparison?

"MAY GOD SMITE GEORGE BUSH AND HIS CRONIES!" is how it starts.

And "Bohemian Rhapsody" is how it ends. And inbetween possibly one of the greatest shows of all time. Even without all the accoutrements of showmanship, the Flaming Lips would be perhaps one of the most attractive live propositions around : a heartfelt, sincere act wrapped inside a spectacle that could only fail to entice if you were dead.

In some ways, it's like watching two shows - one a fantastic audio-visual sensual overload, the other a brilliant, strange rock band singing perhaps the oddest songs about life, death, and love known to man. In some ways, it reminds me of everything Pink Floyd shows in the 70's were supposed to be like - grand stagings about universal themes and huge visions made real.

Make no mistake, The Flaming Lips are possibly one of the best bands of all time. From the start, a rambunctious romp through "Race For The Prize", replete with Wayne Coyne introducing himself to the audience using the old rolling-around-the-crowd's-head-in-a-gigantic-balloon trick that never fails to shock and awe, to the final closing moments, the venue is nothing but alive : stage left sees 20 dancing alien girls doing karate high-chops, stage right, 20 Santas grooving away. In the middle, Batman, Captain America, The Fantastic Four, The Incredibles, and Superman all combine to fight the forces of evil - and bad pop music.

And at times like this, riding the euphoric crest of a wave, as streamers and confetti and hundreds of green balloons shoot over the audience, as the film screens show live footage, strange films, and colours that probably don't exist anywhere else in the world, I realise how boring most bands are. Most bands just turn up with instruments, play songs, say "Thank You", and fuck off.

This is a feast for the eyes and the ears. The band themselves, centered around Wayne Coyne's focal, near hypnotic whimsy, and his strange, interesting lyrics and between song chats (most of which feature George Bush getting a much deserved drubbing), as well as Steve Drozd playing drums, guitar, keyboards, vocals and almost everything else you can think of. In the flesh, the songs expand and contract, living, breathing, and dying in fluid shapes, similar in some ways to the free form jams of old. The band only perform three songs in the first half hour, and yet, it feels as if mere seconds have passed.

And the songs - fantastical, otherworldly space jams of bizarre concepts that deal in the kind of immense philosophy that songs are normally far too small to manage. "Do You Realize?" - dedicated tonight to a departed fan who had the song played at his funeral. Songs from this years At War With Mystics rub shoulders with long established anthems such as "Fight Test" and "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt.1" - and they are just as good. To hear the chorus of voices chanting the call and response to "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song", whilst Wayne flies a plastic dove in clouds made of fog - now, that's entertainment.

And then I ask myself, why are other bands so boring by comparison?

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