A Taste of the Peppers

My first taste of the Red Hot Chili Peppers came from my ex-boyfriend who gave me a bootleg tape of Mother's Milk. Soon after, I became the girl in college as one wearing the "Red Hot Pepper" shirt. And finally, 15 years later - I got to see them in concert, live at the Oakland Arena!

Early advisory came out that the Peppers were playing the same night the Raiders had a football game in the neighboring stadium, so expect loads of traffic and no parking. We decided to BART it, along with the legions of football fanatics and Pepper rockers. As we descended the BART stairs, a sea of black (Raider team color) overwhelmed the rocker people. So I guess watching football is still a more popular pastime in this area, over attending rock concerts.

A little off-tangent trivia - Ateneo de Manila buys the parquet wood floor of the Oakland Arena, thus explaining why there's a huge Warriors sign on the basketball court of ADMU.

The air was nice and nippy with just a hint of autumn in the air. The crowd? A good mix of aging 30somethings (us included), a majority of young'uns wearing their mandatory rock costumes and a sprinkling of parents accompanying their minor children. One parent loudly proclaimed "This is going to be a long night." There was a kid maybe 14, all dressed in red. Ronald McDonald red hair, red t-shirt, red shorts and a red face and body tinted with red paint. He was accompanied by four tennybopper girls in tight tank tops which read "The Peppers". I trailed them with my eyes as they walked around the stadium like mascots trying to see if they could get to the front of the stage. People occasionally asked to take photos with them, making them mini celebrities for the night.

Food prices were highway robbery. Beer was $9. Garlic fries were $6. Hotdog was $5 and a Pepsi was $3. Why? Why? Whyyyy?

I brought along my binoculars and tried to absorb every single detail. 8 bouncers in blue in the front, 6 huge Marshall speakers, 6 smaller speakers on the left. The entire Backdrop resembled was a huge screen which extended to the ceiling, showing a multi-media experience of sight and sound. The images broadcast on this massive video wall included animation, mixed with live feed, some with graphic warholic effects - all show in real time. It was like nothing I've seen before. It made me want to change careers and live out my dreams of becoming.... a concert video producer. Ah, to dream.

Okay let's get to the music. The opening act was this group called The Mars Volta. I can't even begin to describe their music. It was part Led Zeppelin (because of the vocalist's sound quality to Robert Plant), part Jamiroquai due to the funky beats, part Sabor Latino due to the use of Cuban percussion instruments, and part Metallica. The music was so confused and so was I. A quick visit to their official website bio says they disdain labels and don't want to branded as such and such music. No wonder. Or maybe my judgment is so clouded by the fact that I was DYING to get the Peppers on stage and anyone who had a hand in delaying the experience sounded like crap. They also had the gall to call the crowd "boring people." Well maybe because they bored us! The most exciting part about them were their jewfros.

Finally the Peppers came on stage. Their first song was Don't Stop. And man, could they play. Just the four of them on stage energized the entire arena with beats so powerful you could feel it in your chest. Anthony Keidis looked the same, except for a small tummy apparent under his white tank but his voice was still as crisp as white Chinese laundry. Flea was amazing, jumping around like Tigger on steroids while blasting out those catchy beat-funky bass riffs. I never noticed how much Chad Smith looks like Will Farrell. He was such a huge guy, practically dwarfing his drumkit. The baby of the group John Fruscinate, looked the oldest and most worn by drugs. But the broadcast images of his fingering proved his musical prowess hasn't faded one bit.

In true album promotion fashion, they played most of their hit songs from their latest album "Stadium Arcadium" and while I hadn't listened to the entire album yet, it made me want to buy it. Their sound has deviated a bit from their older albums, but still maintains the Hendrixique guitar workings of Frusciante, that made me fall in love with them (and with John) the first time around. I really couldn't stand it when Dave Navarro replaced him in the mid 90s. Carmen Electra can have him.

*a little disclaimer. These photos aren't mine. I "borrowed" them from Yahoo news. Rules said no camera. Refer to the ticket above.

Some songs I was dying to hear but they didn't play were:
Knock Me Down
Give It Away
Suck My Kiss

But one surprise highlight was when Frusciante sang "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" originally done by Carole King. Who knew he could sing?

And then they said, Thank you and Goodbye. What? It's over? But then I recalled my top three signs that a band is making a fake concert exit.
1. It ain't over until they give away the drumsticks.
2. It ain't over until the band hadn't sung their most popular hit, from the past.
3. It ain't over until stadium lights are turned back on.

So amid loud cheers and deafening applause, the Peppers came back to sing two encore songs "Under the Bridge" and an obscure hit from Mother's Milk album. The applause saw no sign of waning, and we still wanted more. I scremed my throat raw but they were already tucked away safely in their jumbo jet or hotel room or wherever tired rockstars go after a concert. We had to console ourselves by listening to our their CD afterwards. "Give it away, give it away, give it away now...."

The Peppers came a long way since they wore socks on their naughty bits. If they're still touring in another 15 years, I'm there. Totally.