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Elly Roberts reviews
at the City of Manchester StadiumFriday 18th June 2004
CD: Greatest Hits (CD + DVD)
Stadium rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppersblasted their way through twohours of a scintillating show in Manchester. Its a case of better latethan never for the LA band formed in 1984. After years of cult status inthe States, theyve finally delivered the goods and hit the big time.Sixty thousand frenzied fans flocked into the City of Manchester Stadiumto see them do their thing. Two highly successful albums and some greatsingles over the past couple of years has seen them hit thestratosphere, and come of age.
Arguably THE band of the moment, theystormed the arena with their unique blend of Punk and Funk. Taking theircues from James Brown (their support), Sly Stone, The Slits and FrankZappa, theyve blended a unique sound. Throbbing the masses with tracksprimarily taken from their best selling albums By The Way andCalifornication, they have turned into a highly acceptable, and dare Isay it, mainstream act. As bassist Flea (right) hit the stage to do a thumpingsolo, the crash barrier was surged by thousands of hysterical teenagers.
Bodies were removed at a rate of knots .What is it about the Chilisthat causes such as commotion? In the past theyve been dogged bytragedy, drug abuse, personnel changes, and lewd behaviour. These eventshave overshadowed their musical credibility, but theyve gained theirreputation as a great live act. Then something happened. Popsters AllSaints covered Under The Bridge in 1998, and did it to get them noticed. In1999, the single and album Californication took them a step further. Outcame the album By The Way in 2002, a couple of lifted singles – By TheWay and Zephyr Song, and things were hotting up again. Selling amillion copies here and the States, its outstanding in everydepartment.
On stage they love to showboat , jumping, strutting and air splits, they simply command attention. Musically theyre driven byFleas mesmerising bass work: in reality hes the foundation for theirnew found success. Diminutive, muscled and tattooed singer AnthonyKiedis (right) added rich vocals and chants, as he held a Boston Crab on themic. Guitarist John Frusciante textured with rippling and wailing riffsand picks. Drummer Chad Smith pounded away on the sticks as everythingcame together beautifully and it was very loud.
Theres a highdegree of ethnicity about their music – its infectious and very catchywithout selling out . Glorious harmonies kick in at unexpectedpoints making them a masterful piece of musical DNA. Every song wasgreeted with hysteria, both on the pitch and in the stands. Great songafter song rolled out Around The World, Otherside, UniversallySpeaking and Get On Top. In the middle they did an oldie, Brandy, an outand out mellow pop ditty, and new track Rolling Sly Stone, againfeaturing dazzling bass beats from Flea.
By now the crowd was literallyat boiling point as they jumped to the beats, and the band was lovingevery minute of it. Moving on with pace, they hit Californication whichdrew a massive response, with the entire crowd singing along. At thispoint ominous storm clouds had gathered, but the gods were kind to them.As they headed for the end, the lightshow went into overdrive, and videoscreens flashed images into the darkness. Opening the encore, Fleaplayed a peculiar trumpet solo with effects, dedicated to Ray Charles.Then it was rock all the way to the end, with Black Cross and Give ItAway. Fantastic night out bring them back ASAP !
“Godfather of Soul” James Brown (right) was a great warm-up. For a solidhour he rolled out his hits, Sex Machine, Papas Got A Brand New Bag,Its A Mans World et al.
He never fails to impress with his tight band,backing singers, and stage antics. Hes a superb performer, but not astadium act.
Review & pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004.
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.