Photo courtesy of Mike Brilliant.On Sept. 25, a jazz clarinet track blasted out of the sound system at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. Filling the maximum capacity of the venue, all 13,900 fans in attendance applauded the anticipation of one of the greatest bands from Hollywood, Calif.: the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The noise from the crowd drowned out the solo clarinet, and it was not until the track cut out and the stage went black that the vibrations of the fans screaming and cheering could be felt. As drummer Chad Smith took the stage, he led the band into the beginning of the first song. Flea knelt with his face down to the floor during “Monarchy of Roses,” a song off the latest album “I’m With You,” and fans were expecting to see something similar with new guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer. Unbeknownst to some fans in attendance, Klinghoffer broke his foot in early August playing at a show in Oakland and was forced to stay seated for most of the show. Once singer Anthony Kiedis hopped on stage, the Chili Peppers ended the extended intro and blasted straight into the song.
Photo courtesy of Mike Brilliant.For almost two hours, fans were on their feet to hear a variety of songs made famous by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While the band performed some of its new songs, they still managed to play all of the usual hits that the group has been playing the last 20 years. Longtime fans were pleased to hear Chili Peppers play older songs like “Higher Ground” and “Throw Away Your Television.”
Bringing back some of the aspects of the previous tour, the band used floating TV screens that changed positions above the stage, depending on which song they were performing. Later in the show, the screens ended up serving different aesthetic purposes; at one point, the screens formed a circle in the middle of the stage, then lowered and broke apart into horizontal panels that resembled parts of U2’s 360 tour. A few songs later, some of the screens were used as strobe lights for the song “Goodbye Hooray” — which, according to Flea, the Guinness Book of World Records called them to say it was the quietest song ever — and it’s so quiet that “mothers play it for their babies who still have placenta all over their faces.”
Ending its initial set with “By The Way,” the band left the crowd wanting more. More is what they got when Chad Smith came out once again to show off how much of a rock star he is by hanging onto a circular light fixture that was suspended above his drum set and was then hoisted 10 feet in the air. As he dangled there, white beams of light strayed throughout the venue, creating a fascinating light show in the dark.
While there was not enough time for a drum solo, Smith gave his band mates a beat to walk out to as they took the stage for the second time. It was easy to see that Klinghoffer had been tired of sitting and decided to limp over and stand in front of Smith’s drum-riser.
Going with the beat, Klinghoffer initiated the opening chords to Led Zeppelin’s “The Wanton Song.” Flea walked over to his band mates to continue the show, although, he did not know the bass riff to the Led Zeppelin tune. On the screens above the stage, fans could hear Klinghoffer yelling “F” to the bassist to indicate the key of the song. It looked as if Flea did not want to start improvising, so Smith ended the rendition and Kiedis re-took the stage.
The band continued to play for another 15 minutes, playing songs such as “Suck My Kiss” and a cover of Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.” While fans could sense that the night was quickly coming to an end, the band began their closing song “Give it Away.” For a few select attendees, this was the most memorable song as photos of fans in attendance were projected to the arena on the screens above the stage. The bands management took pictures of individual fans prior to the start of the show and threw them in the system to display during the last song.
Old fans of Red Hot Chili Peppers from the '80s, and those just discovering the band, were not let down by its live show — even when the guitarist had a broken foot.
Photo courtesy of Mike Brilliant.
Reach the reporter at Mibrilli@asu.edu or on twitter @mbrilliant
