(Camping World Stadium, Orlando FL) Despite a 2-hour rain delay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' concert was ghost-pepper-hot and satisfied many of the concert-goers hungry to fill some nostalgic musical appetites.
Torrential rains relentlessly poured into the roofless open-sky Camping World Stadium. At one point, some spectators had genuine concerns if the show would be cancelled as there was seemingly no end in sight with the rain. Then almost 2 hours later, the rain began to slow down and parking crews began being dispatched out to the puddled and muddied parking lot areas adjacent to the stadium. Spectators who had taken shelter around the venue began to trickle back into their assigned seating areas. There was a buzz in the humid air as to how the time was going to be made up in order for the show to conclude by midnight in order to be compliant with local sound ordinances: would the opening acts be cut out entirely? Would the Chili Peppers cut their set to accommodate the openers?
With minimal notice, the photographers were quickly ushered into place signaling that the show was about to begin. The band crews feverishly used brooms to clear the blanket of water that sat on the stage, pushing gallons of water into the pit area.
In what sounded like an unbelievably quick videogame being played over the speakers, I looked up to see Thundercat on stage. Thundercat is the stage name of rapid-fire bass player, Stephen Bruner. I had never heard of him before to be quite honest, but I was amazed by the nimbleness of how he maneuvered ALL around that fretboard of his. The speed at which he played should have been coming from a keyboardist who was utilizing all of his fingers. Instead, I watched a very happy Bruner wearing all smiles as he played effortlessly while rain continued to fall on concert attendees seemingly unphased by the precipitation at this point.
The Strokes went up next. The lighting on this stage was so dim and they made so little eye contact with the audience, I literally made no connection with this band.
Somehow, the show had powered through the first two acts, while giving each group ample opportunity to showcase themselves (Thundercat succeeded, The Stokes not so much), and tonight's headliners were able to take to the stage at almost exactly 10p.
Red Hot Chili Peppers unpretentiously strolled out onto stage. In a purple mesh vest, Flea walked across the stage where he was handed his bass. Backwards-baseball-cap-wearing drummer, Chad Smith, nonchalantly took his position behind the drum kit. Then, in unassuming fashion, guitar-great John Frusciante who contributed greatly to the early success of the Peppers, and who many in the audience were excited to see back on stage with the Peppers began shredding right away while Flea stood directly in front of him as they erupted into a good ole' jam session.
Then with Flea leading the entrance, they went into crowd-favorite Around The World. With all instruments a-go, lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis took to the stage in a red-mesh shirt where he gyrated around in between his fellow band members.
Kiedis' voice has withstood almost 4 decades of singing in this band which he co-founded with Flea back in 1983. The beauty of his performance is that he never awkwardly strained to hit notes beyond his upper register; rather, he carved out this unique sound niche in which his loose syllable-pronouncing skater-boy accent has helped define this very distinct Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound. The 4-member band was a throwback to when I was still in my early childhood days. Their continued success hinges on the very different skillsets of each band member. Flea is widely regarded as one of the best bass players in the world (ironically, the opening act Thundercat is often referenced in those same discussions). There's a saying that goes: 'Game recognizes game.' There were several instances tonight during which Flea found himself face-to-face with Frusciante and the 2 would just become so enthralled with the other that their playing just escalated into the heavens, producing this other-worldly blend of complimenting harmonies. It was quite amazing to witness how expansive and dimensional the sound from these 2 instruments alone engulfed the entire stadium. Now couple this with the ghost-note playing, punk-metal fusion sound of the drums under Chad Smith, you've got an intergalactic spectrum of sound to support the vocal embellishments of Kiedis. And in front of some 40,000 audience members on this night in Orlando, it all came together beautifully, with the band sounding just as good, if not immensely better than when I first heard them nearly 40 years ago on the radio.
Kiedis' stage presence was also on full display. He dances awkwardly, but as the band would play I observed dozens of even worse dancers in the crowd. I fully believe that it's because of the wildly uninhabited nature of Kiedis and his free-willed spirit and embodiment of 'dance like no one is watching' mantra, he empowered most of the crowd to truly let it all hang out, literally.
They played for just over 90 minutes, covering just over 15 songs including Dani California, Snow (Hey Oh), Californication, and Give It Away. Their set felt like so much longer, but in a good way. I felt as though mentally I was able to journey back into my childhood for almost 2 hours. I enjoyed Red Hot Chili Peppers' unique funk sound, and the crowd seemed to be dancing and singing like they were alone in their rooms, but tonight with 40,000+ doing the same, it all came together and now it looked as though the giant mass of individuals had collectively come together to form this one cohesive concerting body.
I'm glad that rain didn't seem to dissuade most of tonight's attendees. With this particular tour nearing its end, you'll want to be on the lookout for the next time this band passes through central Florida as you'll want to attend that one: rain or shine.
Bailey Guinigundo
Torrential rains relentlessly poured into the roofless open-sky Camping World Stadium. At one point, some spectators had genuine concerns if the show would be cancelled as there was seemingly no end in sight with the rain. Then almost 2 hours later, the rain began to slow down and parking crews began being dispatched out to the puddled and muddied parking lot areas adjacent to the stadium. Spectators who had taken shelter around the venue began to trickle back into their assigned seating areas. There was a buzz in the humid air as to how the time was going to be made up in order for the show to conclude by midnight in order to be compliant with local sound ordinances: would the opening acts be cut out entirely? Would the Chili Peppers cut their set to accommodate the openers?
With minimal notice, the photographers were quickly ushered into place signaling that the show was about to begin. The band crews feverishly used brooms to clear the blanket of water that sat on the stage, pushing gallons of water into the pit area.
In what sounded like an unbelievably quick videogame being played over the speakers, I looked up to see Thundercat on stage. Thundercat is the stage name of rapid-fire bass player, Stephen Bruner. I had never heard of him before to be quite honest, but I was amazed by the nimbleness of how he maneuvered ALL around that fretboard of his. The speed at which he played should have been coming from a keyboardist who was utilizing all of his fingers. Instead, I watched a very happy Bruner wearing all smiles as he played effortlessly while rain continued to fall on concert attendees seemingly unphased by the precipitation at this point.
The Strokes went up next. The lighting on this stage was so dim and they made so little eye contact with the audience, I literally made no connection with this band.
Somehow, the show had powered through the first two acts, while giving each group ample opportunity to showcase themselves (Thundercat succeeded, The Stokes not so much), and tonight's headliners were able to take to the stage at almost exactly 10p.
Red Hot Chili Peppers unpretentiously strolled out onto stage. In a purple mesh vest, Flea walked across the stage where he was handed his bass. Backwards-baseball-cap-wearing drummer, Chad Smith, nonchalantly took his position behind the drum kit. Then, in unassuming fashion, guitar-great John Frusciante who contributed greatly to the early success of the Peppers, and who many in the audience were excited to see back on stage with the Peppers began shredding right away while Flea stood directly in front of him as they erupted into a good ole' jam session.
Then with Flea leading the entrance, they went into crowd-favorite Around The World. With all instruments a-go, lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis took to the stage in a red-mesh shirt where he gyrated around in between his fellow band members.
Kiedis' voice has withstood almost 4 decades of singing in this band which he co-founded with Flea back in 1983. The beauty of his performance is that he never awkwardly strained to hit notes beyond his upper register; rather, he carved out this unique sound niche in which his loose syllable-pronouncing skater-boy accent has helped define this very distinct Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound. The 4-member band was a throwback to when I was still in my early childhood days. Their continued success hinges on the very different skillsets of each band member. Flea is widely regarded as one of the best bass players in the world (ironically, the opening act Thundercat is often referenced in those same discussions). There's a saying that goes: 'Game recognizes game.' There were several instances tonight during which Flea found himself face-to-face with Frusciante and the 2 would just become so enthralled with the other that their playing just escalated into the heavens, producing this other-worldly blend of complimenting harmonies. It was quite amazing to witness how expansive and dimensional the sound from these 2 instruments alone engulfed the entire stadium. Now couple this with the ghost-note playing, punk-metal fusion sound of the drums under Chad Smith, you've got an intergalactic spectrum of sound to support the vocal embellishments of Kiedis. And in front of some 40,000 audience members on this night in Orlando, it all came together beautifully, with the band sounding just as good, if not immensely better than when I first heard them nearly 40 years ago on the radio.
Kiedis' stage presence was also on full display. He dances awkwardly, but as the band would play I observed dozens of even worse dancers in the crowd. I fully believe that it's because of the wildly uninhabited nature of Kiedis and his free-willed spirit and embodiment of 'dance like no one is watching' mantra, he empowered most of the crowd to truly let it all hang out, literally.
They played for just over 90 minutes, covering just over 15 songs including Dani California, Snow (Hey Oh), Californication, and Give It Away. Their set felt like so much longer, but in a good way. I felt as though mentally I was able to journey back into my childhood for almost 2 hours. I enjoyed Red Hot Chili Peppers' unique funk sound, and the crowd seemed to be dancing and singing like they were alone in their rooms, but tonight with 40,000+ doing the same, it all came together and now it looked as though the giant mass of individuals had collectively come together to form this one cohesive concerting body.
I'm glad that rain didn't seem to dissuade most of tonight's attendees. With this particular tour nearing its end, you'll want to be on the lookout for the next time this band passes through central Florida as you'll want to attend that one: rain or shine.
Bailey Guinigundo