FUSE TV - Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne Talks Post-Tornado Oklahoma Resilience

Still fighting back an illness that had forced the Flaming Lips to postpone two shows, frontman Wayne Coyne opened the band's London show on Tuesday with a 10-minute speech about the tornado that left 24 people dead in Oklahoma.

Placing the Lips' whimsical stage show in the context of the loss of life and devastation in his home state, Coyne referred to the show as "a ridiculous event" that was "not important." Despite the somber opening monologue about the futility of their show in the wake of tragedy, Coyne joked that the audience should tell anyone who asks about the concert it was "the most important f-cking show the world has ever seen."

Offstage, the Lips frontman continued sharing his thoughts about the tornado and need to come together in the face of disaster to the Daily Beast. "Thankfully, there’s nobody that I’m deeply connected with who’s going through a lot of pain right now," Coyne said, adding, "things that I've seen for years are now just a pile of rubble."

The Lips' frontman also spoke of the hardiness of his home state: "The people of Oklahoma City are resilient… they have a sense that even though you may not know each other, we’re all one." Coyne also pointed out that although it's easy to forget, helping out isn't hard—you can donate $10 to the Red Cross just by texting 90999: "If you could do that, that’s a beautiful way to help."