This Week in the Mercury
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Contest Win Tickets to the Flaming Lips and Built to Spill!
Posted by Ezra Ace Caraeff on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 8:12 AM
It seems like we were just talking about this show—oh yeah, we were—and now here we are, giving away a pair of tickets to see the Flaming Lips and Built to Spill, performing on Thursday, August 20th at Edgefield.
There will be giant hamster balls, aliens, people in furry costumes... and that's just at your mom's house before the show.
Um, anyway, the Flaming Lips are probably the single greatest live band on this planet—or Mars—as Wayne Coyne and pals have cemented their legacy as one of the most inventive, and just plain fun, musical acts around. (Plus, little known fact, Built to Spill's Doug Martsch has been continually guitar soloing since 1993.)
To win these tickets, just comment below on why you think you deserve to attend this show. Get creative, beg and plead, talk about the band's 90210 performance ("I don't usually like alternative music, but those guys rock!"), or whatever you see fit. The top comment by Thursday at 5pm will be the proud owner of a pair of tickets.
And just in case you fail to win this contest, you can beat the on-sale rush by clicking on this very special pre-sale link this Friday at 10am (the password is MCMENAMINS). The pre-sale will end at 5pm that day, but all online orders will receive "a digital bundle of three songs from the upcoming album, three b-sides, and the live Edgefield show." Yay.
1
I deserve to win tickets to see this show because I am being evicted and am going to hell. If I win these damn tickets I will be convinced there is good still left in this twisted world. Besides, Built to Spill is so goddamn good and I totally need to rock out at the Edgefield this summer. Thanks ahead of time.
4
We deserve the tickets because we just had twins and they really need to be exposed to an amazing musical experience! The fresh air is also good for them.
5
I need to win these tickets because in the past year and a half my wife and went bankrupt on our little cafe, took jobs as sub-contractors, lost them, spent the puny savings we had on the rent, and just found new jobs. It's been almost a year since we've seen a concert and we need a pick me up.
6
I need to win these tickets because in the past year and a half my wife and went bankrupt on our little cafe, took jobs as sub-contractors, lost them, spent the puny savings we had on the rent, and just found new jobs. It's been almost a year since we've seen a concert and we desperately need a pick me up.
Plus, Built To Spill just kills it every time live... double plus, we'd jump at the chance to put on a costume and go on stage with the Lips.
Plus, Built To Spill just kills it every time live... double plus, we'd jump at the chance to put on a costume and go on stage with the Lips.
7
I am starting med school this fall and this would be my final hurrah before digging a deep trench for the next four years.
8
Just last night, Tom Cruise appeared to me on a tortilla, reminding me that my life would be an utter disappointment if I was not able to broker a deal pitting Ichiro versus the dreaded Pink Robots. If Ichiro is truly a robot made by Nintendo, that would be one epic battle I would not want to miss. Don't know what that has to do with why I deserve to go to the show, but what fun in making sense? I tickets well derserve I explain why.
9
I am starting med school in the fall and this would be my final hurrah before digging a deep trench for the next four years. My wife and daughter and I dance all over the house to Yoshimi.
10
I deserve tickets to see the single greatest live band on this planet because I spent three months sitting next to the Mercury staff refrigerator as part of my unpaid internship and I never got tickets to a show, a dvd or even a stinking cd. On top of that Eric Henriksen burned a bowl of top ramen— which I didn't know was even possible— and as a result think I developed a type of lung disease similar to those working on ground zero around 9/11 (just don't add water and microwave on high for two minutes to see what I mean). Please give me these tickets as a form of reparations!
11
My lovely, loves-to-dance wife and I are expecting our first child a scant two weeks after this show. Please, let the power of these great live acts bless and enhance our strange child. Perhaps we'll name him Mercury should this, our possible last great live show as twentysomethings, rock our worlds at your expense.
We perform good deeds, in addition to being expectant parents. She is fearless, and she recently talked our friend out of getting a misguided X-Men tattoo. I toil in the Pearl District, frequently staring directly into upturned noses in search of the elusive yuppie soul.
Thank you, won't you?
Brodie
We perform good deeds, in addition to being expectant parents. She is fearless, and she recently talked our friend out of getting a misguided X-Men tattoo. I toil in the Pearl District, frequently staring directly into upturned noses in search of the elusive yuppie soul.
Thank you, won't you?
Brodie
12
I deserve these tickets because I spent all my money getting my boyfriends third nipple removed. We're getting married and that would just not work out. And plus, I'm pregnant (but it's not my boyfriends baby) and I just need a pick-me-up. It's actually Wayne's baby and I was artificially inseminated though their website. I need to go to the show to tell him about the baby. They REALLY need to remove that link from their site!! I know there are other people that probably deserve these tickets more then me, but god dammit it would be cool if I got it! Plus, did I tell you about the baby....
14
I really don't deserve these tickets. However, neither does anyone else on this list who is begging due to their life circumstances which are frankly boring and cliche. Give them to me and I promise to attend the show with my free tickets and shout out requests for She Don't use Jelly when Built to Spill is playing and Car when the Lips are on and complain loudly when they don't. In between I will shout for Freebird. This will be at the expense of all those around me who will comment loudly that I should be at Steve Miller instead. My activity will inspire a new beer, exclusive to Edgefield called "obnoxious guy" and will be a much needed addition to the available beer selection.
15
Being Tantamount to the Grateful Dead in terms of a historical musical legacy, the music of the Flaming Lips is practically BUILT TO SPILL for the heads of our current generations. That means people like me.
So, I write this as the priest driven ambulance takes me away and it’s becoming more and more apparent that the clouds really DO taste metallic. I guess all I can really do is hope that my transmissions from Satellite Heart reach Yoshimi in time, who will undoubtedly be ego tripping at the gates of hell once she beats those damn robots. It’s also become apparent that the softest bulletin couldn’t sooth our current and dreadful war with the mystics, thus, the fight tests must rage on but first, the first order of business, PLEASE LET ME SEE THIS FUCKING SHOW like the peach pit did in ‘95 on 90210! - (I would offer a bribe for this if necessary, i.e. beer and/or a liver to go with said beer?).
So, I write this as the priest driven ambulance takes me away and it’s becoming more and more apparent that the clouds really DO taste metallic. I guess all I can really do is hope that my transmissions from Satellite Heart reach Yoshimi in time, who will undoubtedly be ego tripping at the gates of hell once she beats those damn robots. It’s also become apparent that the softest bulletin couldn’t sooth our current and dreadful war with the mystics, thus, the fight tests must rage on but first, the first order of business, PLEASE LET ME SEE THIS FUCKING SHOW like the peach pit did in ‘95 on 90210! - (I would offer a bribe for this if necessary, i.e. beer and/or a liver to go with said beer?).
16
I think you should give me the tickets because I quite like the Flaming Lips. But, you know, whatever.
17
choose me-- i'm not going to use kids or unborn kids or my money problems or my boring job as reasons. i just want free tix so i don't have to pay the price and fees. and i like the band.
18
because if you don't give them to me I am going to club this baby seal:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/club%20…
http://media.photobucket.com/image/club%20…
19
because if you don't give them to me I am going to club THIS baby Seal:
http://www.babychums.com/wp-content/upload…
http://www.babychums.com/wp-content/upload…
20
I deserve the tickets as I love Built to spill and like so many people today, I have absolutely no money. Its takes money to do anything these days-besides riding your bike or wallking..etc. Plus, I never win even free stuff.
Please!?!?!?!?!
Please!?!?!?!?!
21
let me win dis s**t..
i never win anything -
and if i dont wint this - yall can suck it
ill win some other contest
yeah? - yeah bitches
i never win anything -
and if i dont wint this - yall can suck it
ill win some other contest
yeah? - yeah bitches
22
I deserve these tickets as I'm a full-time graduate student and an unpaid intern working at a juvenile correctional facility. Seeing the Flaming Lips live rejuvenates me and gives me the perspective I need on life to fulfill myself and spread healing to others in need. Their songs are imaginative and provocative, and take me to a different place of consciousness in which problems that come up seem manageable, life seems more simple, and love seems that much more central to everything we do. Their artistic talent surpasses any of live bands I've seen before, and I can't wait to experience their magic again!
23
Because I'm going braindead studying for the Oregon Bar exam, which I will be taking on July 28th and 29th, and there is seriously no better way for me to celebrate being $150,000 in debt and not having a job than by getting free tickets to this show. Did I mention I've loved the flaming lips since I was like twelve??? ohmygodpleasepickme.
24
Because I'm awesome. And because I ride topless on Trimet so the merc can write about it. :-P But no really, because I'm awesome!
25
I don't deserve to win these tickets. In fact, none of these people deserve to win these tickets.
That being said I want these tickets so I can take my 8 year son, whose favorite band is Built To Spill. He used to go to bed listening to Perfect From Now On, and knew all the lyrics to "So and so" when he was 4.
That being said I want these tickets so I can take my 8 year son, whose favorite band is Built To Spill. He used to go to bed listening to Perfect From Now On, and knew all the lyrics to "So and so" when he was 4.
26
I deserve to go to this show because I don't have kids to hold me back from having a good time, therefore the whole crowd will benefit from me being there with one of my hot friends.
27
I need these tickets to show my girlfriend who's boss. She got me amazing presents for my birthday. She thinks she's so cool? She's the only one who can give awesome gifts? No f'n way.
28
I deserve to win these tickets because Built To Spill is my family's house band and even the babies think "Perfect From Now On" is the best rock album ever. Pick me, pick me, pick me!
29
I deserve these tickets because I sprained my ankle at the naked bike ride and have been unable to participate in any other Pedalpalooza rides since then and it's making me sad.
30
Attn. hippie imbeciles! Win tickets to the Flaming Lips! Go have one of your "psychedelic freak-outs"! Then get a job. http://bit.ly/3zdU7V
31
Being a mid 30s housewife I don't have time for extensive trips to the laundromat with the kids baseball and karate practices, not to mention dinner preparations and daily house-chores. There are the reasons why I deserve this Brand New Washing Machine. Thank you.
32
Because the day before is my boyfriend's birthday and it would be an awesome present I don't have to buy. :) He does a killer "She Don't Use Jelly" at karaoke, too.
33
I would like to win the tickets to give to my husband, who just knocked out his two front teeth in a drunken stupor and has no idea how. And since we don't have health insurance (not to mention the poor fucker lost his job yesterday - rad), we're pretty much fucked. By winning these tickets, you'd not only make us happy, you probably save me from knocking out his teeth again.
34
I need these tickets because last year my friends danced on stage naked with the Flaming Lips at Sasquatch and my immune system bitched out at the last second and I couldn't go with them to the concert. I need this to be my opportunity to be publicly naked with one of the greatest bands of all time, and show up my jerk friends.
35
Wow, Jesus, God. For God's sake give the tickets to the lady threatening to knock her husbands teeth out. Or one of the other people whose problems sound genuinely problematic. DON'T reward someone for being clever, they clearly need nothing because they have themselves to amuse them. Too much of the world rewards the people who can afford to be clever and not the people who really need help. A sad spiral of hypocrisy...
Of course, if you give the tickets to me, I will show my dick to a cop in honor of your grace.
Of course, if you give the tickets to me, I will show my dick to a cop in honor of your grace.
37
Please pick me because I am still stuck in the mid-nineties when both these bands still mattered. (i'm serious I really want to go). Oh and because I said please.
38
hey ex-intern, didn't you know what you were getting into when you signed up to do an unpaid internship with the mercury? eff your burnt ramen lungs, give ME those damn tickets!!!
39
i deserve those tickets simply because i'm american, and all americans have a sense of entitlement that enables them to believe they deserve everything. in fact, the world OWES it to us. therefore, by deduction, you, the mercury, OWE ME those tickets.
40
Why should I win the tickets?
Because I endured the 1999 show at the Roseland where they didn't play with a live drummer. It felt like a crummy karaoke party. (Un)fortunately I won those tickets through Monqui for anagramming Flaming Lips into I Fling Spam.
Here's the Strangers (cross-promo baby) take on that dreaded tour:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cut-the…
Please make it come full circle. Free tickets with a live band and DRUMMER!
Because I endured the 1999 show at the Roseland where they didn't play with a live drummer. It felt like a crummy karaoke party. (Un)fortunately I won those tickets through Monqui for anagramming Flaming Lips into I Fling Spam.
Here's the Strangers (cross-promo baby) take on that dreaded tour:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/cut-the…
Please make it come full circle. Free tickets with a live band and DRUMMER!
41
My Fiancee and I went on our first overnight date to see the Flaming Lips play at Sasquatch. We had sex all weekend, I told her she was my girlfriend, and we drank a lot of expensive crappy beer. Now we are planning our wedding, are limited on funds because of said wedding, would like to reminisce about our first overnight date, and then have the kind of sex we had in our cheep old tent in a crowded campground.
42
So I haven't seen a concert since 2001 when *NSYNC came to the Rose Quarter. Boy, was THAT a disappointment. My seats were tucked behind the stage in nosebleed territory and I literally just saw one member every minute or so when one of them decided to venture across the stage. At that moment, I knew there was more to life than crazy shit like this.
I was just a teeny bopper then, age eleven going on to whatever age Justin Timberlake was so I could have a legit, realistic chance in being his girlfriend, but that jazz is all over now. Since then, I've enlightened myself, I have dug deeper to figure out the essence of music (alternative, if you will) and how true art and beauty in music comes in many, MANY more forms other than some of the commercial-drenched crap Lou Pearlman could squeeze out of his ass circa 1999.
I don't want to turn this into a scathing rant on *NSYNC, but don't let this be my last concert memory any longer. I can't take it anymore. The Flaming Lips sparkle and invigorate my zest, my enthusiasm, my respect, for my musical discoveries and inferences over the years.
Help me out, people! And thanks for reading this, if anyone does, or whatever...
I was just a teeny bopper then, age eleven going on to whatever age Justin Timberlake was so I could have a legit, realistic chance in being his girlfriend, but that jazz is all over now. Since then, I've enlightened myself, I have dug deeper to figure out the essence of music (alternative, if you will) and how true art and beauty in music comes in many, MANY more forms other than some of the commercial-drenched crap Lou Pearlman could squeeze out of his ass circa 1999.
I don't want to turn this into a scathing rant on *NSYNC, but don't let this be my last concert memory any longer. I can't take it anymore. The Flaming Lips sparkle and invigorate my zest, my enthusiasm, my respect, for my musical discoveries and inferences over the years.
Help me out, people! And thanks for reading this, if anyone does, or whatever...
43
Unfortunately me., the smell of the staff refrigerator and lung disease caused from burnt ramen—which happened my first day— were not discussed during the meeting in which the internship was offered to me. Now I’d like to collect my reparations please.
44
My nine-year-old hasn't spoken to me ever since I ripped him out of the suburbs and moved him to North Portland.
He has loved The Flaming Lips ever since he was old enough to speak and maybe if I took him to this show, he would talk to me again (and possibly forgive me).
He has loved The Flaming Lips ever since he was old enough to speak and maybe if I took him to this show, he would talk to me again (and possibly forgive me).
45
Reason one: several years ago I went to a Cake concert with some friends who neglected to tell me that also it was a FLAMING LIPS concert, and we all left before the Lips came on, me not knowing that they were even coming on!
Reason two: Two days after I happened to be in Washington DC this year for my first and only time I was looking up Flaming Lips tour dates and saw, HEY they are playing in DC! Wait, no, they JUST PLAYED in DC....for free! While I was 100 yards away in the damn Air and Space Museum! AAAAAaaargh
Reason three: I just drove back to Portland from a temporary relocation to the east coast, have been living out of my car, have no job, and very little money.
Four: It's my top living band to see live!
Reason two: Two days after I happened to be in Washington DC this year for my first and only time I was looking up Flaming Lips tour dates and saw, HEY they are playing in DC! Wait, no, they JUST PLAYED in DC....for free! While I was 100 yards away in the damn Air and Space Museum! AAAAAaaargh
Reason three: I just drove back to Portland from a temporary relocation to the east coast, have been living out of my car, have no job, and very little money.
Four: It's my top living band to see live!
46
OH MY GAWD!!! It was ME! I confess! I'm the one who put the water bug in the police man! I consider myself a free radical. My arsenal consists of tangerines, psychedelics, and an uncanny soundtrack orchestrated by Steven Drozed. Please consider me for the tickets. I might be fanatical!
47
Ohhhhhh, great Flaming God With Lips, who's going to win!? I really, so seriously, would like it to be me. Come on 5 O'clock. Let's get here already.
48
9 minutes and I really hope no other musicians are currently on god's chopping block.... Ahhh, come on time, move!
49
I should win these tickets because I'm the last one to post! Also, the Flaming Lips, through their DVD-Audio presentation of their latest three albums, have far surpassed all my expectations as a recording band. I must see them live! Built to Spill is, possibly, the best band with too many guitars. How do they do it? I need to see these bands live!
53
Scratch that, please let us all know so that we have some guidance on whether or not to use the super exclusive link you posted for presale.
54
Wow, these were some great responses. Our judging staff had a tough time picking a winner, but we chose the best entry and contacted them. If you did not hear from us, our apologies. Thanks for reading and commenting.
55
That's odd... my email must be broken because I haven't received word that I won yet. Reparations!
56
turn it on gives me diarrhea every time i hear it and i swallowed my car keys and need to pass them
57
shit. I wake up every morning thinking about how great this show would be! and thats before everything else. If I won them instead of buying them ten I ould for sure have a ride to go actually see it!
58
I don't "deserve" tickets, nor do I feel entitled to them. However, I would LOVE to see them and can't afford to buy the tickets myself! I would be so grateful if I was able to go!
59
Well, I if I were drifting through space-time trying to comprehend what was occurring all around me yet failing to realize that putting space-time into logic that my brain can compute is utterly impossible (Stephen Hawking, you pretentious asshole), I would be, of course drifting with some form of music in my ears. Most likely a) the Flaming Lips, because there is no other band worthy of describing indescribable cosmic confusion through sound than they, or b) Built to Spill because I am from Boise, Idaho like they are, and indeed I believe there are few bands that meet their (especially Doug's) endearing modesty and authenticity. I believe seeing (or even listening, but preferably seeing) either of these bands live, would restore (briefly) my faith in humanity.
60
I don’t deserve these tickets. I am far too busy protecting the streets of Portland. Each night, I dress in skin tight vegan pho-leather, cover myself in protective jelly, and head out into the night. No, no I am far too busy Protecting Portland from vampires, dinosaurs, republicans, land monsters, and used baby diapers. I am far too busy saving the endless lives of Portland’s children, sick and elderly, and soccer moms to ever go to a Flaming Lips concert. I mean why would I want to take a night off to see only the greatest live band ever? Why would I tire from fighting endless creatures of your nightmare? I am only Portland’s lonely servant, who protects you while you sleep.
61
When I saw the Flaming Lips at Coachella I had hitchhiked 400 miles, hopped three fences, and been chased by ATV's through a citrus grove. Security was shouting on bullhorns, but as I cleared the last fence, which was actually a dense hedge, and fell into the backstage area I knew I was in the clear. I waited patiently with the audience. The crowd was impatient and nervous. But then a giant hampster ball rolled into the crowd, giant furry creatures began to bounce on stage, and the music began. I will never forget that moment- covered in sweat and orange tree leaves and with scratches on my legs. I guess I am saying I would like to win these tickets, but if I don't, a few fences and some security guards won't stop me from a good show.
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