Photos and review: The Flaming Lips, St. Vincent, and more at Summer Cut (June 1)

by Jessica Harp

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To turn the festival into an annual event would be ideal; to bring The Flaming Lips back for another round would be even better.

DALLAS — For the first day of June, the weather was unusually cool as 91.7 KXT’s Summer Cut kicked off at Gexa Energy Pavilion. Concertgoers – small crowds at first that grew as the night wore on – listened to bands hand-picked by the local radio station, which has now become a major player in the Dallas music scene.

Under the array of lights fit for the show The Flaming Lips would later perform, Telegraph Canyon played folky, Americana-laced tunes. The Fort Worth band is the only truly local group to play the main stage at the concert. The band performed songs from their growing repertoire, including a few new tracks bound to make their way onto the band’s forthcoming record. Although the set was a short one, Telegraph Canyon managed to capture the attention of the growing audience.

On the side stage just outside the pavilion, Smile Smile struggled with sound issues for the duration of their brief set. Plagued with either lack of sound from Jencey Hirunrusme’s mic, or with reverb from the amps, the duo – backed by a full band – couldn’t seem to recover fully and lacked the usual snarky stage banter they are known for. However, the band did debut a few new tracks from their new record, Marry A Stranger, due out on August 14. Curious passersby stopped to take a listen.

As the sun began to sink on the horizon, former Dallasite St. Vincent (Annie Clark) performed and reminisced about her time as a young 16-year-old getting drunk on boxed wine while catching shows on the pavilion’s lawn. The usually-calm musician came out of her shell and rocked the stage with her cute, robotic dances moves as she erratically plucked her guitar and frantically moved about. Taking everyone by surprise, the petite singer dove into the pit and sang as she tossed and turned while crowd surfing.

The celebration of music soared to new heights as The Flaming Lips took the stage to falling confetti and balloons. For a festival that was family friendly, the band still made their usual entrance: through a psychedelic vagina on the video screen. Lead singer Wayne Coyne even brought out his giant hamster ball, inside which he had a hard time maintaing his balance as he was carried throughout the pit by his dedicated fans. The band pulled all the stops that make a Flaming Lips show one to brag about: laser lights, giant balloons filled with confetti, psychedelic colors, and Coyne’s giant laser hands aimed at a large disco ball to reflect the light into multiple beams at the audience. Sadly, Erykah Badu did not make an appearance, even though she is featured on the band’s special Record Store Day release, The Flaming Lips and Heavy Fwends, and will be performing with them in Houston on Saturday night. But the band more than made up for it with their spot-on cover of Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage.”

Towards the end of the set, Coyne noted that 91.7 KXT’s Summer Cut was an outstanding success and informed the excited audience that they should demand The Flaming Lips return next year. To turn the festival into an annual event would be ideal; to bring The Flaming Lips back for another round would be even better.

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