Red Hot Chili Peppers Are A Band At The Top Of Their Game

A Red Hot Chili Peppers concert is musicians in their prime creating unique art right before your very eyes every single night. This week, Melbourne was treated to the brilliance.

At a Chili Peppers show, ever setlist is unique. Everyone leaving the show has just experienced something that will never be repeated.

Bass player Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary is predominately a jazz artist, with two rock musicians in drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante following him. The band is then glued together with one time rapper Anthony Kiedis who has evolved to become one of the most dynamic (and energetic) lead singers in the rock era.

Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers in Melbourne 7 Feb 23 photo by David Mushegain supplied Live Nation

Red Hot Chili Peppers formed 41 years ago in Los Angeles. Kiedis and Balzary were two lost souls from broken homes forming a common bond over music. Flea told the fans, “I was born in the Burwood Hospital. Until I was four years old, we lived in the house my dad built in Derbyshire St, Mount Waverley.”

‘Blood Sugar Sex Majik’ was the fifth Chili Peppers album. The 80s didn’t understand them but the 90s sure caught on. Jump to 2022 and Red Hot Chili Peppers were at the most creative and prolific period of their 41 years. New music flowed to the point of so much it spilled into two albums ‘Unlimited Love’ in April and ‘The Return of the Dream Canteen’ in October.

For this 2023 world tour, Red Hot Chili Peppers are touring the world with some of the most vital new music they have ever created. ‘Black Summer’, ‘The Drummer’ and ‘Tippa My Tongue’ stand alongside anything from their past and gave the show a 21st century relevance. The old merges perfectly with the new. Squeezing ‘Soul To Squeeze’ in between two of the 2022 songs didn’t feel like a trip on the DeLorean at all. (And considering we had Needles on stage, that could have happened)*.

Chad Smith and Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers in Melbourne 7 Feb 23 photo by David Mushegain supplied Live Nation

The intro jam at the start of every show sets the level of how great a band of musicians we are about to see. The roller coaster ride of the next two hours will visit the classic hits (and we got ‘Under The Bridge’ at this show), some deeper album cuts, one cover of ‘Danny’s Song’ sung by John Frusciante and an update of where the band is musically with a seven song showcase of songs from the two new albums.

A special shoutout to the Melbourne based Balzary family. Flea was born in Burwood and the family lived in Mt Waverley before migrating to the USA. There are always a few Balzary cousins around for a Chili Peppers show in Melbourne whenever Cuz comes to town.

And also a special shoutout to Melbourne busker The Bass In Vader who entertained the crowd outside Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station as they left Marvel Stadium.

Red Hot Chili Peppers setlist 7 February 2023, Melbourne

Intro Jam
Can’t Stop (from By The Way, 2002)
Universally Speaking (from By The Way, 2002)
Here Ever After (from Unlimited Love, 2022)
Snow ((Hey Oh)) (from Stadium Arcadium, 2006)
These Are the Ways (from Unlimited Love, 2022)
The Drummer (from Return of the Dream Canteen, 2022)
Tell Me Baby (from Stadium Arcadium, 2006)
Danny’s Song (Loggins & Messina cover) (John solo)
Tippa My Tongue (from Return of the Dream Canteen, 2022)
Soul to Squeeze (from Coneheads soundtrack, 1993)
Fake as Fuck (from Return of the Dream Canteen, 2022)
Hard to Concentrate (from Stadium Arcadium, 2006)
Suck My Kiss (from Blood Sugar Sex Majik, 1991)
Californication (from Californication, 1999)
Black Summer (from Unlimited Love, 2022)
By the Way (from By The Way, 2002)

Under The Bridge (from Blood Sugar Sex Majik, 1991)
Give It Away (from Blood Sugar Sex Majik, 1991)

*Some of you will get that cryptic reference. Those who don’t can Google “who was Needles in Back To The Future”.

John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers in Melbourne 7 Feb 23 photo by David Mushegain supplied Live Nation

Upcoming dates are:

9 February, Melbourne, Marvel
12 February, Perth, Optus Stadium

Then its off to:

16 February, Singapore, Singapore National Stadium
19 February, Tokyo, Tokyo Dome
21 February, Osaka, Osaka Jo Hall

Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here

Be the first to see NOISE.com’s newest interviews and special features on YOUTUBE and updated regularly. See things first SUBSCRIBE here: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE