'Peppers' mildly hot on stage
Critic's Column
Susannah Taylor
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: Culture
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By Susannah Taylor
Staff Reporter
The Red Hot Chili Peppers "Stadium Arcadium" tour made its way to Nashville last week and as a pretty big fan of them, I reached the Gaylord Entertainment Center excited and ready for a great show.
Gnarls Barkley opened with a crazy mix of theatrics including dwarves and stringed instruments played by scantily clad girls. It got the crowd excited, and he finished off his set with "Crazy." The Red Hot Chili Peppers began after about twenty to thirty minutes.
Mirroring the intro of its opening song, the show started by building up the excitement with an unidentifiable jam between bassist, Michael "Flea" Balzary and lead guitarist, John Frusciante. Lead singer Anthony Kiedis came out immediately after the beginning riff of "Can't Stop" began and the tone of the show was set.
The show consisted of hits from the past twenty years for The Red Hot Chili Peppers with seamless blends between their songs and samples of such songs as Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away."
The only aspect of the concert that seemed to be lacking was energy. There were times when Flea and Kiedis would jump in unison to a song when they were particularly into it, but as for working the stage, there were few attempts. The bass player did travel around a bit in an attempt to connect to the audience, but the others did not.
The venue offered the ability for The Red Hot Chili Peppers to have a light and video show that complimented the music perfectly. The panels of changing colored lights extended up behind the stage and then onto the ceiling over the floor. The extravagant lighting varied to suit the song.
As someone who does not know the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers album as well as earlier work, I was concerned that I would be left feeling I had not known much of the set. While they did play such hits as "Dani California", "Snow (Hey Oh)" and "Charlie" the show was not overwhelmingly from "Stadium Arcadium."
In fact, some less frequently heard songs such as "Throw Away Your Television" and "Higher Ground" were played and received with just as much enjoyment from the audience. The set list included some of the more widely known songs from earlier albums such as "Californication", "Scar Tissue", and the last song of the set "By the Way" as well.
To the audience's enjoyment, "By the Way" was not the final song. In an encore the Chili Peppers played "Give It Away" where it was nearly impossible to find someone in the audience not singing, if not dancing, along.
The whole show was great. It was not an especially unique show, but still entertaining and worth the money. The Red Hot Chili Peppers did a good job of creating a set list that you could sing to while still showcasing their ability to be more than studio artists.
And, in case anyone was wondering, no signature socks.
Staff Reporter
The Red Hot Chili Peppers "Stadium Arcadium" tour made its way to Nashville last week and as a pretty big fan of them, I reached the Gaylord Entertainment Center excited and ready for a great show.
Gnarls Barkley opened with a crazy mix of theatrics including dwarves and stringed instruments played by scantily clad girls. It got the crowd excited, and he finished off his set with "Crazy." The Red Hot Chili Peppers began after about twenty to thirty minutes.
Mirroring the intro of its opening song, the show started by building up the excitement with an unidentifiable jam between bassist, Michael "Flea" Balzary and lead guitarist, John Frusciante. Lead singer Anthony Kiedis came out immediately after the beginning riff of "Can't Stop" began and the tone of the show was set.
The show consisted of hits from the past twenty years for The Red Hot Chili Peppers with seamless blends between their songs and samples of such songs as Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away."
The only aspect of the concert that seemed to be lacking was energy. There were times when Flea and Kiedis would jump in unison to a song when they were particularly into it, but as for working the stage, there were few attempts. The bass player did travel around a bit in an attempt to connect to the audience, but the others did not.
The venue offered the ability for The Red Hot Chili Peppers to have a light and video show that complimented the music perfectly. The panels of changing colored lights extended up behind the stage and then onto the ceiling over the floor. The extravagant lighting varied to suit the song.
As someone who does not know the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers album as well as earlier work, I was concerned that I would be left feeling I had not known much of the set. While they did play such hits as "Dani California", "Snow (Hey Oh)" and "Charlie" the show was not overwhelmingly from "Stadium Arcadium."
In fact, some less frequently heard songs such as "Throw Away Your Television" and "Higher Ground" were played and received with just as much enjoyment from the audience. The set list included some of the more widely known songs from earlier albums such as "Californication", "Scar Tissue", and the last song of the set "By the Way" as well.
To the audience's enjoyment, "By the Way" was not the final song. In an encore the Chili Peppers played "Give It Away" where it was nearly impossible to find someone in the audience not singing, if not dancing, along.
The whole show was great. It was not an especially unique show, but still entertaining and worth the money. The Red Hot Chili Peppers did a good job of creating a set list that you could sing to while still showcasing their ability to be more than studio artists.
And, in case anyone was wondering, no signature socks.
