I got a call at about 4:30 pm today from a guy I work with who asked if I wanted to go see the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
My first response was, "No way." I had too much to do. But some gentle arm twisting and the realization that I would be passing up a free concert ticket made me change my mind fairly quickly.
The opening act was Mars Volta. I had heard of them, but never heard them so I was interested to see what they sounded like.
Lemme tell you something, I have never heard a worse live act. If you're reading this and you're a fan of Mars Volta, please feel free to explain why. Because as far as I'm concerned, they blow.
It was such an assault on all things good and true that I felt violated. Sonically violated.
The Chili Peppers were good. If you're 25 and under (and there were a lot of you at this show), you probably thought they were amazing. That's because you were probably introduced to them sometime after Mother's Milk. Most of what they played was from that era.
Songs I can remember them playing (in no particular order): Dani California, Under the Bridge, Give it Away, Californication, Scar Tissue, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and Hump de Bump. There were obviously more, but I just don't remember them all.
I don't begrudge them the right to play stuff off Stadium Arcadium and propmote the album. And it's not a bad album. It's just not as good as the stuff from Uplift Mofo Party Plan or Freaky Styley or even Mother's Milk.
As a result, I'd give them, say, a 7 or an 8 out of 10. A good show worth seeing, but not my favorite of all time.
My Trusted MOGs
When I saw them at Lollapalooza I was really disappointed in the set list, which was heavy with Stadium Arcadium stuff. I had only heard the album once, and Dani California was the only song I knew off it. Even the older stuff they did wasn' t the older stuff I wanted to hear. Their performance was great, but it wasn't the cross-section of songs I wanted.
My Trusted MOGs
I had the same reaction. Great performance, wrong songs.
I wonder if they're reluctant to play stuff from before Hillel Slovak died?
My Trusted MOGs
I was hoping at a festival that they would do a wider variety of their catalog.
Perhaps they are reluctant to play that stuff. Was most of the crowd younger? Perhaps they feel they have to play the stuff the younger crowd would be into? Maybe they are sick of the older stuff? I don't know.
My Trusted MOGs
"It was such an assault on all things good and true that I felt violated. Sonically violated". I'm keeping that.
My Trusted MOGs
i'm so glad to hear what you said about mars volta live. when i saw them i was shocked that they were allowed to open for the red hot chili peppers. i agree that most of their stuff was from the last four albums. they did play great though, frusciante had some awesome solos.
My Trusted MOGs
They stopped doing heroin and it ruined them, I think.