After seeing Red Hot Chili Peppers earlier this year at Reading Festival, I was hoping for a spectacular night – and I got what I came for.
BABYMETAL graced us with their strange, but amazing presence before the magic of the Chili’s. I was surprised when I heard BABYMETAL would be supporting RHCP, but excited to see one of the most unique bands in the world. They had half an hour, half a stage, and half a crowd (the venue queues were ridiculously long), but they did an outstanding job. Their set was shorter than usual gigs, but BABYMETAL compiled a set list full of their most energetic songs, including Karate and Gimme Chocolate. They interacted with the crowd, prompting us all to sing along, and did a great job warming everyone up. I’m really not surprised they’ve won ‘best live band’ awards, as their performance was one of the best I’ve seen.
Next came what I can only describe as 90 minutes of pure insanity. RHCP are now in their mid-50’s (aside from Josh), but the energy they bring makes you feel like you’re watching a bunch of teenagers. From their conversations between songs to the smiles on their faces, they wanted to be there as much as the crowd. It made their performance much better than previous years, namely their Stadium Arcadium tour. They spent the best part of their set running around the stage – but this took nothing away from their musical ability. Not a bum note or dead beat was played or sung. Even if there was, you wouldn’t be able to tell from the amounts of people screaming along.
Having seen the band at Reading festival this year, I was a little worried that the set list would be exactly the same, but I was pleasantly proved wrong. Their set list has changed several times this tour, RHCP have more than enough singles and fan favourites to have multiple great set lists, so I can’t complain. While we didn’t have Snow, Under The Bridge, or The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie, we did get a whole host of great songs. Highlights would be Give It Away, By The Way, Goodbye Angels, and Dani California. It was a great combination of songs from ‘The Getaway’, and their older albums.
Their sound mixing was second to none. Every instrument sounded perfect, and filled the arena, so it could be heard clearly by everyone. It did the songs justice, which you need with a band where everything from the bass to the drums needs to be appreciated. This, along with the background visuals and light which rivaled Bring Me The Horizon in its on way, added a whole other dimension to the gig.
Overall, it was the best gig I’ve been to this year, if not in my life.