Mother Nature shut Down the Lips in Tulsa!

by Billboard Staff | August 08, 2011 6:00 EDT

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Wayne Coyne tweeted photos after the Flaming Lips lighting rig fell down.

Artists in this Article

The Flaming Lips

INXS

Of Montreal

Rain, rain did not go away over the weekend, in fact, it wreaked havoc on several outdoor concerts. An in-progress INXS show in Pennsylvania, a Flaming Lips concert in Tulsa, a music festival on Long Island. All were halted and/or canceled due to the blanket of precipitation that covered a large swath of the country over the past few days.

The final day of the Escape to New York music festival had to be called off Sunday following an overnight drenching of the festival grounds, owned by the Shinnecock Indians, on Long Island.

Scheduled to play Sunday were Of Montreal, Mates of State and Tiger Love. Refunds were given and organizers are already gearing up for next year. "With amazing reviews and a close to capacity crowd on Saturday, Escape to New York looks forward to returning next year," they said in a statement.

Halfway across the country in Tulsa, Okla., heavy wind and rain knocked down the Flaming Lips' lighting rig before their set on Saturday at the District Block Party. The crew anticipated problems and cleared the stage before the rig crashed down on some of the Oklahoma City band's gear. A roadie claimed that the incident caused about $800,000 in damage. Judging by dramatic video footage of the incident -- in which you can see members of the band looking on -- it's hard to dispute that claim.

Video: The Flaming Lips' Lighting Gear Crashes Down

"The Oklahoma wind and rain was a little bit more unpredictable than we had hoped, and we had a bad gust," frontman Wayne Coyne told NewsOK.com. "The whole thing is shambolic and a bit dangerous and we're working to get as much off of the stage before we get hit with the second wave."

INXS was in the middle of its fourth song Sunday at the Mohegan Sun casino in Pennsylvania when a rain storm shorted out the electrical system and blew out the band's amplifiers. The Aussie rockers made up for it by sticking around and chatting with fans after the cancelation.

Ironically, the weekend's biggest festival -- Lollapalooza in Chicago -- experienced only minimal disruptions, despite getting soaked with rain on its final day.