I am a huge fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers because of my 16 year old son. Of course, I had heard some of their music on the radio and liked it, but for whatever reason I never became a true fan.
A few years ago, I kept hearing my son playing them while gaming on his XBOX, and I started to pay attention. We talked about it once, and I found out that his favorite album was Blood,Sugar,Sex, Magick.
Sounds like everything a young male teen would be interested in !
I gradually starting acquiring their music and I fell in love. I loved the combination of funk/rap/rock that they were producing and I found Anthony's vocals very appealing, which sealed the deal. You can make the best sounding music in the world, but if the vocalist doesn't appeal to my ear, I won't become a fan. if you follow my tastes at all, you know that I am not particularly attracted to "perfect" voices, it is the feel and emotion that wins me over. Mr. Kiedis 's voice won me over...
So my son and I headed out to Newark to catch the second of a two night sold-out set of concerts by the Peppers. We made an adventure of it, I booked us a hotel near Newark airport and we were off!
We checked in at the hotel and managed to get the the Prudential Center just as it was opening for the event. The venue is lovely, new and spacious and the help were very friendly. After spending a ridiculous $17 for three pieces of cheese pizza, we were ready.
The opening band was Sleigh Bells, a pretty hard rocking group headed by a strong voiced female lead singer. They were fine, but didn't really draw me in. However, some bands need repeat listening to make their impression on you, so I am not making any judgements on them.
Finally, the Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage, opening with Monarchy of Roses off their latest album I'm With You. I like this album, I don't feel it is their best work but I like quite a few of the songs and I appreciate that they are not embarrassed to embrace their age and move in a different direction. Sure Josh Klinghoffer is not John Frusciante, but he brings his own vibe to the group. It is better not to imitate someone else, I am glad that he appears to be making his own path.
The crowd was on its feet and most people stayed there for the whole 2 hour show. My son and I stood the whole time too, there is no way that you would want to sit down through this. They played a fast paced varied set list that did not solely pull from the new album. They did about four songs from the new album and four from BSSM and filled the rest of the show from their other albums. To my joy, the one cover song that the did was a Neil Young cover Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.
The crowd was singing along and weed was in the air everywhere, puffs of smoke rising up into the laser-lit air. They played many of my personal favorites,- Scar Tissue, Give It Away, Under the Bridge, and Don't Stop. No concert wound be complete without a rousing version of Suck My Kiss, the fans happily suppling the "suck my dick" true chorus. Now, that is an interesting moment for a mom to share with her son.
The amount of hipsters in the crowd was surprising to both me and my son. The crowd was primarily in their late twenties/ early thirties and one out of three people where wearing some form of Chili Peppers shirt. Many bought the specific to Newark event shirt and put it right on, which I found interesting. One guy a few rows ahead of us just went shirtless in the true Chili Peppers spirit. Cheaper too, since the shirts were running about $35 ...
The band was full of energy, Anthony was running around the stage, Flea was walking on his hands across the stage and Chad was hanging from the suspended light fixture over his drum kit, just a normal day in rock'n'roll. There were laser lights and colorful themes, the backdrops behind the band constantly changing. It was hard to believe that most of the band was closing in on 50, only Josh is the young blood here. By the end of the show, Flea and Anthony were both shirtless, but the only socks that they wore were on their calves. No "socks on cocks" tonight.
This one was of the most fun concerts that I have ever been at, the crowd was totally into the music, and the energy was up there like a Springsteen concert. My son enjoyed it too, making it an extra special night for me !
The show's encore ended with a jam by Flea, Chad and Josh, no Anthony to be seen. They said their thank yous and good byes, Chad handed out some sticks and they were gone into the night...
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