Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Red Hot Chili Peppers came back through the Western New York area on Friday night for the 1st time in 7 years. The band is currently on the road what they are calling the Unlimited Love Tour. The last time they played the area was in Buffalo at the KeyBank Center in February of 2017. So, its been a while since their fans had to wait for the band to circle back around. This time though they had longtime guitarist John Frusciante back with them replacing Josh Klinghoffer, who was with the band form 2009-2019.
In the last few years, the Chili Peppers have been opening up with what hey call an in “Intro Jam.” Bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and Frusciante play and nice number warming up before vocalist Anthony Kiedis joins them. Flea did his usual walking on his hands to his bass stand while Smith hit the massive gong before the band did the jam. Kiedis joined the band for one of their hits in “Around the World.” This was prelude of what was to come as the entire set was littered with hit after hit it seemed like. Kiedis continues to sport a walking boot on his left ankle. After seeing the band over a year ago, he was also wearing it at that time as well. So it might be for precautionary measures as I was unable to find anything else about it. Irreghardless, this didn’t detract from Kiedis as performer or his vocals while singing. He move all around the stage and was very active throughout the set. Frusciante back with the band really adds a whole new element that seemed to be lacking when he wasn’t in the band. He melodic background vocals and his spot on playing really brings the back back to its formative years when they were ruling the charts and cranking out must see videos on MTV. Frusciante had a solo spotlight as he was alone for covering the Ramones song “I Remember You.” The band added a 2nd Ramones cover in “Havana Affair.” After this, Flea led them on a barrage of hits that included ” Suck my Kiss, “Soul to Squeeze” and “By The Way.” It was funny on the latter song as Kiedis was galivanting across the stage at one point and Flea decided to follow him around. The band exited the stage and came back out for a tune they haven’t played much on this leg the tour in “Under the Bridge.” With such a broad range of material, its funny how the band doesn’t play this hit song with more regularity? So it was treat to hear them play it live. Flea took to the top of his speaker cabinets to help power the band through “Give It Away.” The band gave everything and then some to its fans.
Kiedis ended with saying, “until we see each other again, be good to one another other and why not Love? Flea gave the heart emoji as he walked off and Smith threw his sticks and wristbands into the crowd and thanked them for coming. One of the best shows overall we have taken in a long time. The sound was great and the band was very interactive with each other and its fans. Hopefully, next time won’t be as long of a wait!
Setlist:
Intro Jam
Around the World
Dani California
The Zephyr Song
Aquatic Mouth Dance
Universally Speaking
I Remember You (Ramones cover -John Frusciante solo)
Eddie
Hey
London Calling-(Intro snippet)/Right on Time
Havana Affair (Ramones cover)
Suck my Kiss
Soul to Squeeze
Carry Me Home
Californication
Black Summer
By the Way
Encore:
Under the Bridge
Give It Away
We would like to thank Ron Perks from Live Nation for the credentials to review the show.
