The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse transform Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre into a surrealist rock carnival, with DEHD setting the stage.
On a beautiful moonlit night, the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre on the campus of San Diego State University was alive with the bustle of students and the stirrings of a new school year. The steep, stair-stepped bowl carried the sound of three distinct voices in modern rock: the psych-rock surrealism of The Flaming Lips, the restless guitar-driven force of Modest Mouse, and the minimalist intensity of Chicago trio DEHD.
The night’s opening act offered a compelling contrast to the headlining Flaming Lips. DEHD opened with a concise, 40-minute set that showcased their stripped blend of surf-tinged punk guitar lines and reverb-heavy vocals. Their songs – at once tender and bracing – hinted at the band’s growing stature on the indie circuit. From the first note, DEHD delivered a raw energy and dreamy texture that made their hooks feel both intimate and insistent. Their sound filled the bowl, setting the perfect tone for what followed.
Modest Mouse, led by Isaac Brock, provided the evening’s grittiest textures. The group’s set leaned on their expansive repertoire, weaving in selections from their later catalog. Songs like “Float On” carried the kind of catharsis that brought the crowd together in a full-throated sing-along, but it was the nervy drive of “Dramamine” that best captured the anxious, ever-searching spirit that has made the band so influential. If DEHD represented a younger generation’s earnest minimalism, Modest Mouse offered an unsettled, jagged counterpoint. Modest Mouse’s mix of tension and release reminded the audience how deeply Brock’s restless vision and blue-collar rock continue to resonate in the modern rock landscape.
Modest Mouse’s set also underscored the band’s ability to move between jagged experimentation and unlikely pop accessibility. They incorporated just enough jam-style instrumentation, extending songs with improvisational elements without letting them sprawl unnecessarily. The shifting rhythms, sudden bursts of noise, and Brock’s half-spoken vocal style created a sense of unpredictability that kept the crowd alert and engaged. While their best-known songs drew the loudest cheers, the darker, more expansive numbers reminded listeners that the group’s legacy rests not only on radio anthems but on its willingness to confront discomfort and dissonance without ever losing fan interest.
Then came The Flaming Lips, fronted by Wayne Coyne, who turned the amphitheater into something between a carnival and a cathedral. Opening with selections from Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, the band transformed the venue into a kaleidoscope of light, confetti, and giant inflatable figures. What kept the show from dissolving into pure novelty was the band’s precision. Every balloon drop, every burst of glitter, was timed to frame the songs rather than overwhelm them. When Coyne sang “Do You Realize??” beneath a canopy of lights, the performance felt less like theater than a communal hymn, the amphitheater joining as one voice.
The Flaming Lips’ music has always lived between extremes: playful absurdity on one hand, and a quiet reckoning with mortality on the other. On this night, that duality remained intact. For all the costumes and color, what lingered was a simple reminder of music’s ability to connect people in fleeting but unforgettable ways. The Flaming Lips’ music has always lived in the space between extremes: playful absurdity on one hand, and a quiet reckoning with mortality on the other. On this night, that duality remained intact. In one moment, the amphitheater was flooded with inflatable pink robots; in the next, Coyne was singing of loss and fragile hope under a giant inflatable rainbow.
For the evening’s encore, Coyne came back on stage wrapped in an American flag, encasing himself in his signature plastic bubble, carrying an air of childlike wonder, though his fragile, earnest vocals gave the spectacle a grounding sense of melancholy.
By the end of the night, the surreal had become the familiar. What began as spectacle closed as affirmation, that beneath the balloons, costumes, and carnival excess, The Flaming Lips remain devoted to the idea of music as communion, communicating the universal language of love. For all the costumes and color, what lingered was a simple reminder of music’s enduring ability to connect people in fleeting but unforgettable ways.
THE FLAMING LIPS
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MODEST MOUSE
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DEHD
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