 Chili Peppers in top form at centennial concert Band members show no signs of their age in electrifying show
After blazing through two opening songs, Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis paused onstage Saturday night to look at the massive swarm of fans before him.
"Happy birthday, Las Vegas, Nevada," Kiedis said, drawing a roar from the 50,000 people gathered before him on a grassy field outside Sam Boyd Stadium. He peered into the desert beyond them and adopted a curious tone. "I wonder what it's gonna look like in another hundred years."
That uncertainty stood in sharp contrast to the assured nature of the band's headlining performance at Vegas Rocks 100, the free concert festival celebrating the city's centennial.
Despite spending most of the past year in the studio recording their ninth album, the Chili Peppers were in top form during an electrifying 90-minute set.
And their fans experienced it in a surprisingly comfortable atmosphere.
The planning boondoggles that screwed up distribution of complimentary passes and prompted a last-minute venue change gave way Saturday to an astoundingly well-organized event. Even Mother Nature cooperated as a refreshing breeze helped cool temperatures well below the 110 degrees forecasted.
The Chili Peppers -- Kiedis, bassist Flea, guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith -- showed no signs of their age entering their third decade playing offbeat funk-rock numbers.
After rousing versions of hits "By The Way," "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside," the quartet debuted excellent new material. The songs saw Frusciante carving out more space for wailing solos and the rest of the group stretching into a more adventurous, textured sound.
Kiedis didn't announce the name of the new numbers, but one -- with the repeated lyrics, "There's a reason for the 21st century" -- featured a blistering solo from Frusciante's Stratocaster. Another new track was even catchier. "Ready made, ready made/Rock-and-roll will set it straight," Kiedis sang over a driving bass line steering the song. "Let it out on the city of Sedona!"
When Frusciante wasn't on his knees ripping out riffs, the stage's most compelling spectacle was Flea, clad only in underwear briefs and a multicolored flyboy cap with a propeller on top.
The energetic bassist took the opportunity of a song introduction to goof on Mayor Oscar Goodman, who three hours earlier had appeared onstage to lead early concertgoers through an off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday."
"Y'know that guy who's the mayor of Las Vegas?" Flea asked. "That guy with the red nose? The guy with the showgirls? He wrote this song."
I half-expected a cover of Bessie Smith's "Me and My Gin," or even Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice" to follow in tribute to the martini-swilling mayor.
Instead, they paid homage to a girl named for another liquor, breaking into the 1970s soft rock hit "Brandy."
Yes, that's right, the Red Hot Chili Peppers played "Brandy," that incessant lite radio staple about a fine girl who would make a good wife. Yet this wasn't a wink-wink, irony-fueled cover so prevalent among rockers today. Delivering a straightforward and passionate reading, the band astoundingly elevated dreck into art.
Encore performances of mega-hits "Under the Bridge" and "Give It Away" capped one of the best concerts here in some time.
Earlier, Weezer meandered through an hour of midtempo rockers about girls, teen geekdom and drugs. Although they were playing singalong anthems swathed in power chords, the band members were nearly motionless as they slogged through perfunctory versions of "In the Garage," "Island in the Sun" and their new single, "Beverly Hills."
Frontman Rivers Cuomo -- in his nerd-signature uniform of Bermuda shorts, golf shirt and black socks -- stared at his guitar most of the time he led the band through their geek rock hits.
Laconic, still and never too loud, Weezer would've been a better fit playing Madame Tussaud's.
Yet many fans seemed pleased by a performance anchored by songs from the group's 11-year-old debut album. They bobbed their heads. They sang along. And they actually began to dance when Weezer finally cut loose on "We Are All On Drugs."
Then it was all back to business as the group brought back its bored demeanor to sleepwalk through closers "Buddy Holly" and "Hash Pipe."
The Adolescents, back together after splitting in 1989, preceded Weezer with a brief, first-class set of the frenetic Orange County punk sound they invented 25 years ago alongside Social Distortion and Agent Orange.
Among the admirers of the veteran punkers was Chili Peppers guitarist Frusciante, who stood only a few feet from the stage singing along. He politely declined an interview request with this critic by professing his love for the rare treat of an Adolescents gig, looking and sounding the part of a fanboy half his age.
"I wanna watch this show," he said, jumping in place and bobbing his head. "This is great."
And it was. |
