Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Knebworth Park

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Pictured above: Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Knebworth Park, 23rd June 2012.

Concert review: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Knebworth Park, 23rd June 2012

After the release of their tenth album, I'm With You, a huge world tour and the breaking of Anthony Kiedis’ foot, the Red Hot Chili Peppers came back to the UK one last time to show us that, despite going for nearly thirty years now, they are as full of energy, passion and talent as they were ten years ago.

As a huge Chili Peppers fan myself, I admit this review may contain the tiniest hint of bias. On the other hand, my undying passion for the band and everything they have done gives me the greatest enjoyment in seeing them live, as well as being able to recommend the best bits for you if you’ve not really ever gotten into them. So here it goes.

Red Hot Chili Peppers fans queue up at Knebworth Park.

@ Knebworth Park

Knebworth Park has held many incredible events in the past, namely Led Zeppelin at the Knebworth festival in 1979, and is the home of Sonisphere festival which was, unfortunately, cancelled this year. So it comes as no surprise that the event had a very festival-esque atmosphere.

Arriving at 9.30am we saw the gorgeous view that is Knebworth house, and next to it the pleasant sight of a dozen port-a-loos and three burger vans. As we waited for five hours, the queue swelled from around twenty people to somewhere in the region of sixty-thousand. When we got let into the park, the sight of thousands of people wearing Chili Peppers t-shirts rushing to get to the front was an awesome thing to behold. One thing that makes me very proud to be a Chili Peppers fan is that their music reaches all four corners of the earth. I heard a guy with a Brazilian flag shout "Italia!" at a group of beautifully tanned people with their respective flag, with the Chili Peppers asterix drawn on the middle. Cultural diversity at its most beautiful.

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Support Line-Up

Supporting was quite a line up: Reverend and the Makers, followed by The Wombats and finished off nicely with none other than Dizzee Rascal. Quite a contrast, I think, you’ll agree? Although it did send out a firm message that the Chili Peppers whole-heartedly support home-grown British talent, whatever the genre. It started to rain during Dizzee’s set, but it only seemed to add to the incredible atmosphere as one-hundred-thousand people bounced up and down to his biggest hits.

Chili Peppers’ Usual Level of Brilliance

When the Chili Peppers did eventually come on, Flea’s beaming smile and thumbs up was enough to send the crowd crazy. Opening with Monarchy of Roses, the band were up to their usual level of brilliance, which continued throughout the gig. Josh Klinghoffer seemed to have really come out of his shell, thrashing and jumping around the stage with Flea and Anthony and putting his own spin on the guitar solos in tracks layed down by previous Chili Peppers guitarist, John Frusciante.

Highlights include Flea’s incredible bass improvisation before ripping into Around The World, to which the entire crowd seemed to jump up and down to. So if you live in the Knebworth area and felt the ground shake, that was us.

Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Knebworth Park.

More highlights from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Gig

Another highlight was Flea playing Pea, from One Hot Minute, which I completely did not expect but was welcomed by the fans. Chad Smith’s drum jam with Brazilian percussionist Mauro was a wonder to behold and went on for a good length of time, playing the crowd and showing off Chad’s immense talent. The jam was finished off by Flea walking on his hands on stage, ever the performer.

Suck My Kiss was a huge crowd pleaser, as was the spine-tingling version of Under The Bridge, started by Josh sitting down on the stage and strumming so beautiful the crowd were hanging onto every note. The sound of one-hundred-thousand people singing together gives you a feeling like no other. The identity of being a Chili Peppers fan was defined on that night.

Flea wows the crowd by walking on his hands (far left) during Chad and Mauro's drum solo.

As ever, they finished on Give It Away, performed with as much enthusiasm and energy as I think is physically possible and ended with a stunning jam between Josh, Flea and Chad. The band finished, giving everyone goose bumps for sure, and Flea took to the mic to wish everyone well, thanked them for coming and to express how much we (his fans) mean to him, and to support live music of all kinds. That, right there, is an incredible man and a great role model.

Needless to say, it was one of the best nights of my life, and I’m pretty sure every single other person there (who could remember it) would agree. If you have never given the Chili Peppers time, now is the time, especially as there is talk of another album as soon as next summer. And if you’re a hardcore RHCP-with-Frusciante fan, give Josh Klinghoffer a chance. He’s a breath of fresh air and adds a whole new dynamic of modest brilliance to the band. The band performed impeccably and their sheer passion for music shines through as they play, as well as the chemistry and connection between the four members. If there is one band you must see live, it’s the Red Hot Chili Peppers.