Chili Peppers haven\'t lost the heat

[davepeck]

A review from the 9/10/03 gig at the Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA. Taken from Boston.com.

MANSFIELD -- It\'s hard to say exactly which day God created punk-stoked funk-metal grooves, but he surely had the Red Hot Chili Peppers in mind. The band practically invented the genre-busting sound in the \'80s -- spawning plenty of imitators -- and 20 years later they\'re still utterly intoxicating.

There was no waiting for the fire to light at the Tweeter Center last night. Bassist Flea, guitarist John Frusciante, and drummer Chad Smith picked up their instruments and instantly burrowed into a hard, intimate pocket for three -- a triumvirate of rubber-band bottom end, searing electric guitar, and steady rhythmic delirium that didn\'t let up for a solid 90 minutes.

The Chili Peppers have become masters of the mood swing, and last night they upped the ante on loud-soft dynamics with something approaching melodic manic-depression. Set opener "By the Way" toggled between languorous verse and uncorked chorus with animal ferocity, and "Around the World" shape-shifted from rap tune to punk anthem to ballad -- tethered to the stage by distorted bass notes that piled up like dirt balls in the belly.

Flea is phenomenal, a furiously gifted technician with imagination to match. Frusciante, ranked number 18 in Rolling Stone\'s recent (and, for the record, terribly flawed) 100 Greatest Guitarists issue, supplied the rant to Flea\'s raves. During an especially ambient take on "Other Side" (a gentle tune with a freaked-out bridge) the pair stood face-to-face, wrapping their parts around the other\'s, perpetually bouncing and never once settling.

Singer Anthony Kiedis, who could legitimately be called an elder statesmen two decades into his career, was a familiar firecracker of a frontman. Proving that a rocker doesn\'t have to sacrifice musicality for intensity, Kiedis lunged, paced, projectiled, and careened through the coiled curves and random eruptions of "Parallel Universe," "Under the Bridge," and "Give It Away" with equal parts command and abandon.

To complete the visceral punch, a battalion of flashing strobes, mounted on five mobile light towers that shifted dramatically throughout the show, sent the Chili Peppers\' evolved funk-punk message directly to the nerve center.

Opening act Queens of the Stone Age spewed some gripping grooves, outrageous drumming, and ear-popping guitar work. But the formidable chops wound up wasted on the group\'s largely meat-and-potatoes stoner-metal tunes, which were a few bong loads shy of memorable.

Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com.

Red Hot Chili Peppers
With: Queens of the Stone Age
At: the Tweeter Center, last night

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

[tiedyetoga]

Did you stealth that show?

[davepeck]

jam >
By The Way >
jam >
Scar Tissue >
Flea Solo >
Around The World
Maybe (John Solo)
The Zephyr Song
Latest Disgrace >
Parallel Universe
Suck My Kiss
Havana Affair
Otherside
Throw Away Your Television >
jam
If You Have To Ask
Don\'t Forget Me
London Calling >
Right On Time
Soul To Squeeze
Can\'t Stop
Venice Queen
Give It Away
ENCORE:
Flea (trumpet) and Chad jam
Under The Bridge
Fire

[davepeck]

Originally posted by tiedyetoga
Did you stealth that show?

yup... check out the stealth thread.. got it, but have no idea how it came out. i took the tape out of the band\'s dat immediately after the show, and i\'m NOT gonna use it to transfer it, since it could self-destruct at any time.. hoping to hook up with matt this weekend and i\'ll transfer it then.. if the results are decent, it\'ll definitely be up on BT...

next stealth job won\'t be until October 9-10; radiohead at msg (assuming i can score tickets)... gonna pick up either a nomad jb3, PDAudio, or M1 (prolly NOT the M1) before then...

[davepeck]

well, i couldn\'t take the suspense and decided to pop the tape back into the d8 last night and give it a quick listen.. listened to a few minutes of Venice Queen, and i was pleasantly surprised with the way it came out.. i was definitely in a great spot for taping.. would have liked to have been closer, but you can\'t go wrong with being dead center...

borrowing matt\'s da-p1 this weekend to transfer it, and it\'ll be up on BT before the weekend\'s over!

[tiedyetoga]

I have seen Radiohead Tickets floating around.

[realisthis]

As much as I dont mind the new "experimental" ballad chili Pepper sound...I WANT another blood sugar sex magic FUNK sooo bad!!!