In Pictures: The Flaming Lips in New York, NY

Monday evening (7/27) at the SummerStage in New York City's Central Park must have seemed liked the center of the universe to fans of The Flaming Lips [ tickets ]. Mild breezes showed up to cool the overheated East Coast just in time -- a fact not lost on Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, who kicked off the show with the words, "This night is fucking perfect...."

The band's set was filled to the brim with visual bombastics like the signature giant inflatable "hamster ball," confetti, a giant video screen, costume-clad dancers and a man in a fairly realistic-looking bear costume who carried Coyne on his shoulders. The show closed with "Do You Realize??" which was made the official rock song of Oklahoma last spring.

The Lips will begin an overseas trek next week, but they will be back to kick off a North American tour in mid September. SoundSpike contributing photographer Chris Owyoung attended the aforementioned show in Central Park, and below are some highlights.