By Avery Ballmann | Staff Writer
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently on their “Unlimited Love” tour, a global tour in Europe and North America. I had the privilege of seeing them live Sunday evening at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Arriving at the venue there were thousands of people sporting the iconic Red Hot Chili Peppers logo. There were fans of all ages and ethnicities, including a family of five with three young children sitting in front of me. I enjoyed the diverse crowd because it shows the prominence of this band and how far their music reaches.
I was in the second upper level of the stadium to the right of the stage. This spot was great, because even though I was higher up I could see the entire stage and only had a few rows in front of me.
The show started at 6:30 p.m. with Thundercat and then The Strokes went on around 8 p.m. I was not a fan of Thundercat just because he was only playing songs that were on his guitar with no lyrics. I loved The Strokes’ set because they were interactive with the audience and played a mix of their popular songs and new ones.
When the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on the stage, lights dimmed and the crowd roared with excitement. I’ve never heard an audience so loud before. The headliners opened with one of their hit songs “Can’t Stop.” This by far was one of the coolest experiences because this band has been around since the 1980s and this song was recorded before I was born.
Though the band members were older with the lead singer, Anthony Kiedis (50), Bassist, Flea (59), lead guitarist and vocalist, John Frusciante (52) and drummer Chad Smith (60) they never slowed down. Flea was especially energetic, this bassist jumped around the entire set and I loved his energy. Across his guitar was a large sticker that read “Support your local freak.” This band is the definition of rock stars and their show proved that.
Their set was right under two hours long and it was full of popular songs and their current studio album “Unlimited Love.” One of my favorite aspects of their show was their lights and graphics on the screen.
On the right and left side of the stage there were two massive screens that would zoom in on individual band members. This was helpful since my seats were farther back. The stage had a screen that began at the top and curved behind the band to the pit. It looked like a skateboard ramp but upside down. This design was cool because the graphics stretched across the wide screen. Each song had different light sequences with different colors. My favorite song according to the lighting was “Give It Away” because of the psychedelic graphics and bright colors.
My favorite song the Red Hot Chili Peppers played was “Otherside.” This is one of my favorite songs by them, and it was surreal to see it live, because I always sing this in my car. The vocals and music at this concert were astronomically better than my car speaker. Anthony Kiedis is an amazing singer and sounds exactly the same as he does in recordings. That’s what made this such a great concert because the performance was authentic.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are releasing a new album, “Return of the Dream Canteen” October 14. You can pre-order their album on their website.
