Many of us have heard stories or seen footage of the Flaming Lips' infamous interactive parking lot and boombox experiments. In 1997 the Lips released Zaireeka, a sort of at-home version of these experiments. The album was split into four discs, intended for simultaneous play.
The legendary experimental psych-rock group is playing a sold-out show at the Pageant Friday with Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, and Sleepy Kitty is playing a set at the Halo Bar afterward. Sleepy Kitty has a tendency towards taking everything they do one step further than is expected, and in true form, they've decided to throw an afternoon rooftop Zaireeka listening party at the corner of Cherokee and Iowa Street.
From Sleepy Kitty Arts' site:
The result is...amazing. It's unlike any other musical experience I've ever heard. Parts phase in and out of sync with each other, lyrics surge up then fade again, and no two listens are the same. It reminds me of that beautiful moment that occasionally in a group house or a practice space, when you're passing between two room that are each playing songs you know, but somehow in the space between there is a third song, a new and strange sound you've never heard before. When I first heard it, back when it was first released, I can honestly say that the experience affected my life. I became much more aware of the way music takes up space, and the way that our ears process and interpret the physical space around us, and how compositions can be pulled apart and put back together again.It's not a simple thing to play Zaireeka, and it intentionally involves a collaboration between several people. Sleepy Kitty is looking forward to involving ourselves and our friends and our neighborhood and our city in the experience. If you've ever done Zaireeka, you know how interesting it can be. If you haven't--especially if you like the Flaming Lips--you know where you need to be this Friday at 4pm.
One of the great things about a Flaming Lips show is the atmosphere - from the second they emerge from the stage and the confetti begins to fly, everyone in the crowd seems genuinely happy and connected to each other. If you didn't get your hands on tickets to the sold-out show (or even if you did), experiencing Zaireeka blaring from the rooftops in one of St. Louis' finest districts with dozens of your extended neighbors is a pretty fantastic way to spend a Friday afternoon and connect with other fans.
*Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips explains Zaireeka
