Red Hot Concert With The Chili Peppers by seth

We’d like to welcome our newest east coast C&V contributor, Seth Cohen, and commemorate the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 23rd anniversary with his review of an October 18th, 2006/Continental Arena concert.

-Amit

From the opening notes of “Can’t Stop” to the closing chords of “Give It Away,” only one word can describe the Chili Peppers experience: INTENSE. And I mean good old grit-your-teeth, stomp-your-feet, and pump-your-fists intense.

The show began with the trio of musicians - Flea on bass guitar, Chad Smith on drums, and John Frusciante on guitar building a quiet and steady jam. The slow build-up into the show’s opening number, “Can’t Stop,” created a feeling of great anticipation as the fourth band member, Anthony Kiedis, exploded onto the stage with a primordial scream. Blinding lights and video screens that reached halfway across the ceiling lit up the sold out arena as the audience went berserk.

No time was wasted as RHCP launched into their newest hit single, “Dani California,” off of their current album, “Stadium Arcadium.” While the song does sounds suspiciously like Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” it holds its own with a perfect blend of pop, funk and metal that the Chili Peppers pull off so well.

Following this crowd pleaser, the group continued with a mix of show standards – “Scar Tissue,” “Parallel Universe,” “Right on Time,” and “Californication,” – and a number of songs from the new album such as “Charlie,” “Hump de Bump,” and “Tell Me Baby.”

While all of these songs rocked in their own right, “Don’t Forget Me” was undeniably the highlight. Beginning slowly and quietly with Flea’s perfectly timed bass licks, and building into a mesmerizing climax in which Anthony Kiedis wails in perfect harmony with Frusciante’s ripping guitar solo, this tune sent people into a wild frenzy. The show could have ended there and you would have left with a smile on your face.

On they went for almost two hours, closing the set with the literally show stopping “By The Way.” This was the band’s final chance to show off their chops before leaving for the encore break. Anthony twirled around the stage at breakneck speeds. Flea leapt 4 feet in the air with his multicolored pajamas, thrashing his head in a way that would make members of Metalica green with envy. Pounding the skins, Chad Smith perfectly complemented Flea’s funk by holding it down behind the kit. And, of course, Frusciante’s almost animalistic guitar-playing united with the other’s energy for one final explosive climax…or so we all thought.

The band returned for the encore to a cheering crowd. Those cheers then turned into a group sing-along as the band began perhaps their most notable song, “Under the Bridge.” While this song is a beautifully written confession of the trials of heroin addiction, the performance was somewhat tainted as Kiedis’ and Frusciante’s vocals were drowned out by the out-of-key audience.

The final song of the night, “Give It Away,” was, other than “Under the Bridge”, the only pre-1999 song of the night. I found this somewhat disappointing, but this loud funk rock number took those in the arena older than age 17 back to the good ole days. The loud rap-rock vocals Kiedis delivered were flawless. After the final verse, he left the stage and the show ended as it had begun; the three remaining musicians were left to jam the night away.

Edited by Amy Zolla

posted on 1:51 pm 12/28/2006
Music, Reviews | | |