Andrew Dansby:

The rudiments of a Flaming Lips show haven't changed significantly since I last saw the band, my favorite live act, a decade ago. There are large orbs of varying size and color and lots of confetti. There also wasn't much in the way of setlist surprises Sunday night at Eleanor Tinsley Park because the group's set list hasn't varied greatly in 2010. But I'm happy to leave the improvisation to Phish in exchange for a Lips spectacle.

From a non-musical standpoint it was great to see local hero Steve Drozd alive and well after a hospitalization last month, and he seemed glad to be back in the town where he spent his pre-teen years. Wayne Coyne seemed enthused by the layout of the stage, with a wall of enthusiastic Lips folks as far as he could see to the east and west.
The spectacle of the Flaming Lips: Jordan Graber : 29-95
From a musical standpoint, the show did me the service of opening up the somewhat difficult Embryonic and not just because three-quarters of the band emerged from a video vagina, while Coyne rolled around in his transparent egg to start the show proper.

A fan of the band in its early acid-drenched/damaged era, I nevertheless grew fond of the Lips' sentimental steering into symphonic pop. Angular and sometimes dark Embryonic songs like Worm Mountain actually nestled nicely amid the band's gentler fare. That Coyne needed help with the high parts on In the Morning of the Magicians did nothing to diminish its status as one of the prettiest songs I've ever heard.

You can play songs or you can put on a show. Both have their merits. But for me to stand ankle-deep in pungent-smelling mud in the dark I need the show: the dancers, balloons, human hamster balls, for sure. But also the songs. Both aspects -- the songs and the show -- are why this band escaped the awesome but doomed '80s underground.

Bobby Hankinson:

I admit it: I wasn't a huge Flaming Lips person before. (*ducks*) In my defense, I had never seen the band live. Folks had told me the set was super visual, but I had my doubts. They said I would love the spectacle, but I still resisted. I was assured I would walk out a fan, but I wasn't so sure. Well, I'm to here to say I WAS WRONG. DEAD WRONG. Not only was the Lips' closing set provocative (and heavy on Freudian imagery), but it was emotionally satisfying as well. From high-energy dance numbers to spaced-out psych rock, the Lips turned a music festival into an honest-to-goodness spiritual journey. And not one of those hokey, musical spiritual journeys with robes and chanting and whatever; this was a spiritual journey with GIANT LASER HANDS.

As they concluded with the pensive "Do You Realize?" I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Yes, Omar and all the people who worked on this festival deserve an unquantifiable amount of praise for putting Summer Fest together. However, being among these tens of thousands of fellow Houstonians, I was proud to be a tiny part of something that's redefining this town.
The party at the main stage.: Jordan Graber : 29-95
Sara Cress:

I have been excited about seeing the Flaming Lips in my city since the first whispers of this year's Summer Fest headliner made it to my ears. It was with no small amount of regret, then, that I left the set early because I couldn't find a good place to enjoy it. Had I not been working throughout the day, I would have claimed a spot on the hill early in the day, but that was not to be.

So I wandered around the park trying to get any kind of view of the stage with no luck. The mud had a lot to do with this, and who could have done anything about the mud? C'est la vie. I finally settled far away on the hill, sat on the wet grass and lamented that I couldn't be part of the party. I made the most of it, though, and watched Wayne Coyne on the projection screen as he explained that there wasn't a reason why the Flaming Lips hadn't headlined a show in Houston in 10 years, it was nothing personal or a "drug deal gone bad." He apologized and told us that he loved us and I do believe that. I always believe that anything Coyne feels, he feels it 100 percent.

I was starting to enjoy my spot when the nearby Dos Equis stage started spewing noise from a rapper. It drowned out the Lips, frustrated those of us who were trying to watch the Lips, and ended Summer Fest on an unfortunate note for me. According to the schedule, there should have been no one on that stage at 9 p.m., so I don't know who is to blame, but it sure was upsetting. There should be no other stages going when the headliner is playing. Period.