Let’s face it: social settings that might have been dubbed weird, ridiculous, or outrageous before the pandemic hit are slowly starting to look like acceptable alternatives now.
Case in point: this “space bubble” concert held by American rock band The Flaming Lips in Oklahoma City over the weekend.
The concept came from frontman Wayne Coyne, who’s known for rolling over massive concert crowds inside a giant Zorb ball — yep, even before COVID-19 was a thing.
The band held two concerts over the weekend, with each show being able to accommodate 300 people, or specifically, 100 bubbles with three people each inside.
Each bubble was equipped with a high-frequency speaker so the sound outside won’t be muffled, as well as a battery-operated fan, complimentary towels and water bottles, and a sign that says “I gotta go pee/hot in here” to alert concert marshals.
If anyone needed to go to the bathroom, marshals would ask them to put on a mask before escorting them out of the bubble. If it got too hot, the bubble would be refilled with cold air with a high-power leaf blower. The band members play inside their own cool capsules as well.
This isn’t the first time they performed in front of a “cocooned” crowd though — last June, The Flaming Lips debuted the concept in a brief one-song act for Stephen Colbert’s online program.
Ever since the coronavirus halted live entertainment, artists have looked into unique substitutes to still allow fans to safely enjoy their musical performances. We have so far seen drive-in concerts by the likes of Keith Urban and The Chainsmokers (which sadly backfired), an amazing “vertical concert” by a Ukrainian rock band that let audiences rock out from hotel balconies, and most recently, this “space bubble” concert.
Which of these do you think is the safest way to attend a concert?
