For the first time in nearly three decades, the Red Hot Chili Peppers played the Syracuse area (and the first time playing Central NY since Woodstock 1999). A lot has changed since that time, The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers now play arenas or on this tour, Stadiums. They brought with them The Strokes and new band King Princess. There were about 35,000 fans who enjoyed one of the first nice days of warmth we had in this part of NY since last fall.
First up were a band called King Princess. The bands name is really the stage name of Mikaela Mullaney Straus. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, she and her band played 30 minutes of indie and electro pop. Her smiles and enthusiasm permeated through and into the crowd. This helped fans who may not have been familiar with her music, seem to get into her music more. King Princess played a few notable tracks “1950” and “Ohio.” Too bad she announced this would be her last appearance on the Chili Peppers tour. I assume the band were probably gaining fans by every show and this crowds reaction to them.
Next up were The Strokes. I must say that I was happy to finally see them live. A few years back, they were on all the magazine covers being promoted as the new big rock band. I must say their 40 minute set left a little to be desired. Vocalist Julian Casablancas’ monotone singing voice made all the songs sounded the same. His appearance reminded of Ian Ashbury from The Cult as he was donning dark shades and just his overall stage presence reminded me of him. The Dome isn’t known for great acoustics so not sure if it was that or just the overall live sound of the band. The band did draw a lot of attendees as a few left after the bands performance was done.
Closing out the show were the funk rockers in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea did his usual handstand while taking the stage. Of course, all he had on was a purple skirt that left his underwear showing while doing it. Both him and drummer Chad Smith wore clothing that sported purple and gold coloring (homage to their favorite team the Los Angeles Lakers). Even after a few tracks, Flea remarked that he always had a soft spot in his heart for local hometown hero Carmelo Anthony (Anthony helped the Syracuse men’s basketball team win the Championship back in 2003). Joining Flea and Smith at the beginning was guitarist John Frusciante. They all did a 5 minute jam before vocalist Anthony Kiedis came out wearing a walking boot on his left foot. The feel good “Can’t Stop was the bands first track. Two of the others bands more well known tracks “Snow ((Hey Oh))” and “Suck My Kiss followed with new track “Here Ever After” sandwiched in. The band came out with two new records back in 2022 ‘Unlimited Love’ ‘Return of the Dream Canteen.’ Six tracks were played off of those albums. If you wanted to illustration of Frusciante’s work, the solo in “Eddie” will show the class and talent that he has and brought back to the band (Fruscinate just rejoined the band back in 2019). The next tune “Carry Me Home,” both Smith and Flea showcased their extraordinary talents. Watching this song I don’t know of another rhythm section that has the groove, power and funk that these two do. Kiedis removed his shirt soon after and the band ran through a few more songs including hit songs “Californication” and “By the Way.” The band had an overwhelmingly massive video screen then actually started from the below the stage band continued all the way up behind them. It made the stage higher to look at when you were up front but for everyone else in the crowd, it was such a cool visual effect to look at.
It could be said that the band played too many of their new tracks and not enough clastic material. I understand the need to create and not only have the set fresh for the fans but the artist themselves. It was disappointing not to hear “Under the Bridge,” “Dani California” and “Aeroplane” to name a few. It’s always a hard balance to keep a setlist that appeals to everyone. The band is changing it every show. Again, the newer tracks did sound great and I believe the band never sounded better! Kudos to them!!
Setlist:
Intro Jam
Can’t Stop
Scar Tissue
Snow ((Hey Oh))
Here Ever After
Suck My Kiss
Tippa my Tongue
Soul to Squeeze
Nobody Weird Like Me
Eddie
Don’t Forget Me
Carry Me Home
Californication
What is Soul? (Funkadelic cover -snippet)
Reach Out
Black Summer
By the Way
Encore:
I Could Have Lied
Give It Away
We would like to thank Tim Tobin from Liventaion for his assistance in obtaining credentials so we could review the show.
