Let's do interiors the way The Flaming Lips does a rock show

The Flaming Lips bring the same kind of layering to their live show that we should bring to spaces as we design them.

I was lucky enough to enjoy part of last weekend with friends at a new music festival on a farm east of Seattle. The Psychic Salamander Festival was all kinds of awesome. And while being completely dazzled by the spectacle of the headliner, it came to me that I want to do interior design the way The Flaming Lips does a show. 

When I heard the first notes of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots I was compelled to head to the stage. To say the performance was more than I expected could be my understatement of the year. A colorful light show combined with smoke held and filtered the light making it look like the light was hanging in midair! Pink robots inflated to dizzying heights on stage surrounded larger-than-life Wayne Coyne. Also did I hear some Beastie Boys-esque riffs during this part of the show? I thought I did, which ruled. I am no expert. The inflatables/costumes continued with aliens, a sun and a rainbow. Paper confetti lightly rained down multiple times and at one point was dropped through blue light making it look and feel like a serene snow globe. Giant balloons full of confetti bounced through the fans who joyously kept them aloft. The lyrics were displayed on a huge screen amid colorful (so many colors) lights and beckoned us to join in the singing. And all of this was layered with the beautiful sound of the music. It was magical. And the crowd went wild - in the best way. 

Need we mention the references to love and peace? I just checked and the band's instagram bio says: The Flaming Lips will always love you!

When people talk of layers in interior design, this is what I think about. Certain elements ground a space or set the stage if you will (in this instance a grassy field with room to breathe and a massive, solid stage with PNW trees in the background) and allow for a feeling of ease. From there, any surprising delightful elements presented can easily bring added enjoyment and the stoke. The space or in this case, the show, delighted as it invited, encouraged and even demanded a sense of wonder and community interaction. What else could we want?

A cherry on top came, as many things do, from a thrift shop find. I'd been hankering for my junior high Polaroid camera for years but balked at the price or a new or refurbished one thinking I don't need to pay that much for nostalgia. But we saw one in a thrift store Friday and it seemed like it might work. For $25 I was willing to gamble. Dan bought film with 8 photos which cost I think $20?! BUT IT WORKS. And here's the first photo taken with it - from the festival. Should I use it to take photos of people reacting to the spaces I design once they are complete? How fun would that be?!