We're not entirely sure that The Black Lips shows in India are going as planned. Pitchfork recently ran a report from Arjun S Ravi, editor of Indian independent music website Indiecision, which implies that both the band and the audience might not have known what they were in for:
The Black Lips' first tour of India got off to a shaky start in Pune on January 17. Backstage, the band were pretty nervous; in interviews prior to the gig they mentioned how they would tone down their zany live act to "respect the people and places that provide these shows for us." In Pune, they were headlining a Campus Rock Idols event and playing to a crowd of nearly 1,500 kids who were largely unfamiliar with them save for an obnoxious MC's introduction: "Sixties hippie hard rock– like Jim Morrison!"
The battle of the bands competition featured predominantly metal and hard rock college acts and started around noon. The Lips didn't take the stage until 9 p.m. When the band went on, the Pune audience was taken aback. They had just been treated to eight straight hours of mediocre college metal, after all. The idea of four white guys from the U.S. playing punk rock was startling. At first there was a little nervous cheering. Then came the shower of plastic bottles. The lack of boos and negative sentiment seemed to suggest that the audience were simply channeling their energy into propelling these plastic missiles.
Drummer Joe Bradley was the only band member to avoid getting hit by a bottle. To add to the confusion, an announcer got on the PA in the middle of the set and treated the headliners like just another competition band, saying "You have seven minutes remaining." They displayed no on-stage antics. None. They left the stage visibly shaken.
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UPDATE: Creative Loafing is reporting that The Black Lips have fled the country after India's authorities threatened to press charges regarding indecent exposure. Read more here.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Vice Magazine spoke to the band about the whole affair here.
