All the hype was there with Southern Comfort wristbands, banners, booths, DJs, laptops, and VIP areas to brand, promote and drive sales for the alcohol industry giant. This was the only price an attendee had to pay to see some great music by artists Cold War Kids and The Flaming Lips. . . It was a great deal! The festival started at 3pm with lesser known bands that kept the limited early crowd well entertained. The antics of drummer and lead man Fred LeBlanc from New Orleans’ Cowboy Mouth got things turned up a notch and the crowd well geared up for Cold War Kids. [You can catch Cowbow Mouth again at the new Majestic Theatre on Nov 07, 2007] Cold War Kids, from Fullerton CA, played their most popular songs with a set similar to the show they played at the Annex earlier this year. It was good to hear their popular tunes again like “Hang Me Up To Dry” and “We Used To Vacation” from their release Up In Rags. The larger stage suited them well and quickly got the crowd hooked as more and more folks poured into the grounds anticipating the headliner to come. CWK is a very talented group lead by Nathan Willett on vocals and piano. Willett’s strong, melodic tenor, thought provoking lyrics, and energetic presence is backed by the bounding rhythms and dynamic melodies of Jonnie Russell (guitar), Matt Maust (bass) and Matt Aveiro (drums).

The Flaming Lips, from Oklahoma, have been recognized for their bigger then life stage sets and electronics. I passed up the opportunity to watch their DVD so I could have my first live opportunity be a fresh view. This was a great move. I was surprised, impressed, and overwhelmed by the explosion of sound and visuals. Wayne Coyne is a master showman and the no holds barred approach used to create a sense of awe and fanfare worked to render the crowd like putty in his hands. The show opened and continued with a gang of Santa Claus’ on one side of the stage, a group of female aliens on the other, and cannons launching confetti into the crowd; brilliant and unforgettable.

With the help of the other Lips Steven Drozd and Micheal Ivins, they played at least a couple numbers off their last album - At War With the Mystics. “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)" is a poppy number that highlights the wrongs of our society with abuse of power. After song, Coyne used the opportunity to express his views against the Iraq war and policies of the Bush Administration. This got a bit elaborate and I sensed some in the crowd bristling a bit, but it’s Madison Wisconsin and for the most part folks were cheering him on. If anyone was put off by this it didn’t last long before being swept way by the complex thoughts and feelings presented in “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and the powerful “Do You Realize”. . . “Do you realize that happiness makes you cry? Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die? And, instead of saying all of your goodbyes, let them know you realize that life goes fast, it’s hard to make the good things last…” I was moved. With my brother and friends by my side, overwhelmed, I cried with a huge smile on my face.

Set list:
Ta Da
Race for the Price
Tapsmir
Free Radicals
Fight Test
Mt. Side
Vein of Stars
Yoshimi
Pompeii
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Taps -> The WAND (Might be a 1st.)
Do You Realize?
Encore: Jelly