[08/26/07]

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - READING FESTIVAL, SATURDAY AUGUST 25, 2007 - Rating: 4 stars

Before getting on to the headline act and my main reason for going to Reading Festival this Saturday, a bit of the all-day run-up to their performance.....

We made it to the Reading Festival arena around noon, and to the front barriers at the main stage just as Paramore had started their set. I'd never heard of them before, but my gosh does that woman have a voice! 4 stars.

The band that followed, The Dead 60s, were OK-ish, I felt every song they started sounded great, but two minutes into every song I got bored with it. 2 stars.

Next on the bill were the Eagles Of Death Metal - very Spinal Tap - very entertaining. 3 stars.

After that, The Shins; they were definitely good, but I just didn't like their stuff. 2 stars.

Next up, Angels And Airwaves, who received both a happy reception and a barrage of bottles from the crowd; personally I didn't get what that Blink-182-dude was trying to get at - ego trip? wanna-Bono? attitude? descend? parody of himself? - and was glad when the set was over. 1 star.

Then, Panic! At The Disco, who received a mix of enthusiasm, sing-along and bottles from the crowd. I'd never heard any of their stuff before, but they kept me entertained. 3 stars.

Six and a half hours into this festival, my feet were already numb, my skin getting sunburnt, and the crowd was getting more and more crushing, and I was about to be served with a band that I've never really liked, Bloc Party. But I was very impressed with their performance and the well-deserved all-positive crowd response. 4 stars, and a fabulous quote from a hysteric female Bloc Party fan behind me (about singer Kele Okereke): "I am sorry. I know he's gay, but I love him so much!"

On to Arcade Fire, a band I was looking forward to seeing, and I was positively blown away by their performance. Absolutely amazing, nothing more to say. 5 stars.

9.5 hours gone, despite all the pushing and crushing I had survived standing against that front barrier all that time, waiting for my favourite band, even though every part of my body hurt except for my feet which I could not feel anymore. My persistence was rewarded with a fabulous two-hour set of Red Hot Chili Peppers heaven, and I won't be put off that opinion by anyone wanting to express themselves negatively about it.

So not everything was 100% perfect and seamless, like could be expected at a U2 gig, but to me that's part of the Red Hot Chili Peppers charm and attraction, that nothing appears over-rehearsed and 'choreographed', it's one of the things I love them for. They had a tough act to follow (as said, Arcade Fire had been amazing) and they did not disappoint.

The band had a bit of a false start, after the opening jam going into Can't Stop, when an enthusiastically dancing and jumping Anthony Kiedis accidentally bounced onto John Frusciante's panel of pedals causing a loud buzzing noise, a moment of shock horror for me thinking that might well be the end of their performance, but I should have known better - that these guys are professionals and won't be put out that easily - and I apologise for my lack of trust there and then. While the crowd were holding their breaths, Chad Smith and Flea improvised to prevent total silence, Anthony Kiedis spoke apologetically ("...I just bounced...") with an innocent-boy-ish "if-anyone-gives-me-a-dirty-look-I-am-going-to-burst-into-tears"-look on his face, John Frusciante looked over to his guitar tech as if to say "help me, please". The guitar tech walked on, straight over to the pedals, and within seconds: problem solved.

Can't Stop, Take 2. The band re-started the song, though it appeared each band member at a different stage of the song. So they tried again.

Can't Stop, Take 3. The band re-started the song again, this time all at the same point, initiated by Frusciante. They got on with the song as if nothing ever happened, and then, this time with Kiedis nowhere near Frusciante's pedals, the noise was back. Frusciante dived onto his panel of pedals, frantically touching the switches on it, and within seconds the issue was resolved again.

Can't Stop, Take 4. The band continued and finished the song as if nothing had ever happened, proving to the crowd that nothing was going to deter them from serving up a good show, in some way giving a whole new (positive) meaning to that song title.

After this messy opening, a varied setlist followed, containing a fine collection of hits to serve any non-RHCP-fan festival crowd, mixed in with an eclectic mix of album tracks, most of which sounded a hell of a lot better live than their studio versions, re-affirming that the Red Hot Chili Peppers need to be seen/heard live to be appreciated and one of few rock acts in the world that is always better 'live on stage' than 'recorded in a studio'. Personally, I love a setlist that excludes Under The Bridge; I mean, it's a great song, but so damn overplayed. Wet Sand was a treat, that song always seems to make me want to cry for its beauty. No pre-BSSM songs on tonight's set list, disappointing yes, but judging by past audience rapport (or lack thereof) whenever they did play older songs during their gigs, no surprise, and no hard feelings. Overall a great set list to serve both 'generic' audience members and die-hard fans.

As said, not everything about this performance was perfect, at times Chad Smith did seem unable to entirely 'hold it together' (Scar Tissue) yet always recovering within seconds, and at times Anthony Kiedis did appear to somewhat mess up his lyrics (Snow), but that's nothing new and to me imperfection, recovery and improvisation are strengths rather than weaknesses of a rock band. If you want perfectly played, perfectly mixed, go listen to a studio album; if you insist on perfection live, don't object to over-inflated ticket prices and go see U2 or Dire Straits.

Anthony Kiedis was on top form tonight. His vocals were strong and on key (better than I'd ever heard before live), and he seemed to have no trouble hitting any of the high notes either. His stage presence was exuberant, showing no signs whatsoever of 'tiredness', 'illness' or 'unhappiness' as suggested so often in the past year and a half. Too exuberant perhaps, when accidentally bouncing on John's pedals at the start, and later on during the end of Wet Sand, when he fell over, taking part of Chad Smith's drum kit down with him. He seem to fall pretty flat and hard, causing me to have another shock horror moment of thinking this performance might end prematurely, but he swiftly got up and with an apologetic smile started putting back everything he had knocked over, finishing off with a comical dabbing and polishing of the area in front of the drums. During C'Mon Girl his exuberance seemed to get the better of him yet again, as he barely managed to regain his balance after another spin (otherwise he would have fallen over again, this time taking out band mate Flea).

He took the time to express his admiration of Arcade Fire, to introduce guest guitarist Josh Klinghoffer to the audience, and to thank the audience. Kiedis is a top class front man, though never entirely taking centre stage, and as such giving enough of the limelight to his fellow band members, and I admire him for that. He left the stage giving the female admirers of his looks a little teaser baring the upper half of his body as he walked off stage. I gave him a score of 9/10 (reserving the maximum score for when he ever starts using more of the space on stage available to him to run, dance and jump around and show himself off to the audience).

Chad Smith was his usual self - does that man ever have a bad day? Does he ever do a 'bad' gig? Not by my accounts, ever! I gave him a score 9 out of 10 (reserving the maximum score for the Keith Moons, Ginger Bakers and John Bonhams of this planet).

Flea showed once again that he is one of the best bass guitarists, if not the best, in the world. Standing at the front of the crowd, in front of the stacks of speakers and woofers, it was a great experience to not just hear but to also very much feel his bass playing. I gave him a score of 9 out of 10 (staying one point clear of the maximum score for him somewhat leaving out his funkadelic masterdom).

John Frusciante was his intricate perfectionist self tonight, after recovering from the initial technical glitches becoming one with his guitar and his music, so engrossed with his instrument and playing that at one point he hit himself in the head with his guitar while playing a solo. I gave him a score of 9 out of 10 (reserving the maximum score for when he shows a more loose, less tight, more relaxed, less serious enjoyment of being on stage performing).

With a lead singer bouncing about and falling over, and a guitarist hitting himself in the head with his guitar, I guess that added a fitting slapstick element to a performance of a band known for their dry humourous onstage banter.

I am grateful that the Chili Peppers have always managed to steer cleer of the clichés "I can't hear you!", "How's everybody at the back?", "Is this side of the audience louder than that side?", "When I say [enter word(s) of choice], you say [enter word(s) of choice]" and the like, or cringeworthy Freddie Mercury style sing-backs (you know, where the singer lalalas or hohohos ever-lengthier melodies and expects the crowd to sing those back).

Tonight's banter was omnipresent and of classic Chili Peppers quality, just a couple of quotes to illustrate this:

"What do you call a sheep with no legs? A cloud."

-- (Flea, addressing the audience);

"I am sorry I spat on you, sir, it must have been the bath tub of cream cheese I ate before the show."

-- (Anthony Kiedis, apologising to one of the cameramen in front of him).

Spoiler of the night: a camera shot of the set list shown on the video screens well before the end of the night, so we all knew what was coming.

Overall rating: 4 stars. I am not leaving that 5th star out because of the technical glitches, just purely because personally I'll never be a fan of outdoor (festival) performances or super-size crowds and will always prefer shows with just their name on the bill, at an indoor venue, with an audience of less than 20,000 (ideally less than 10,000).

Poor cell phone pictures here (had I known they weren't going to check my bag, then I might have risked taking a 'proper' camera).