Red Hot Chili Peppers Rock Soldier Field

Rob Grabowski and Tom Wojcik caught the Red Hot Chili Peppers In The Act at Soldier Field in Chicago on August 19th. Check out Tom's review of the show along with Rob's great photos!

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Chicago, IL - Soldier Field - Friday, August 19, 2022

Drums.
Guitar.
Vocals.
Flea.

Three necessary ingredients for a kick-ass rock 'n' roll band, and one enigma unlike any other living organism to slap the strings of the bass. Taking the stage on a perfect summer night, the Red Hot Chili Peppers returned to Chicago after five years to a wildly sold-out audience at Soldier Field. The energy was intact before one note was played, as bassist Flea bounced across the stage with the fervor of a horny teenager, his brother-in-rhythm drummer Chad Smith and longtime guitarist John Frusciante set a tone for the crisp Friday evening on the lakefront with an opening jam session.

Vocalist and notorious frontman Anthony Kiedis finally pranced on stage as the band began with "Around The World," and the hits kept coming with "Dani California," "The Zephyr Song," "Snow (Hey Oh)" and "Suck My Kiss." Flea took a second to reminisce about the Peppers timed history in Chicago, noting the Cubby Bear, opening for Bad Brains and The Minutemen, before strumming the sweet bass intro to 1991's "I Could Have Lied." The next song, "Me And My Friends," with its also familiar bass intro, woke the crowd up with its eponymous shout-along chorus, thus marking the eldest track performed from the bands catalog (from 1987's The Uplift Mofo Party Plan).

The Los Angeles foursome continued to jam, going into "Californication" and getting a public service announcement from Kiedis: "I feel like that guy got the wrong address," the frontman alerts of an unwanted stagecrasher. He then went onto to proudly call out his mother on her 80th birthday, watching her son from the audience (Kiedis was born in Grand Rapids, MI). "You are a strong motherf*cker, mom!," perfectly segues the opening line to the next song, "What I got you got to give it to your mama" as "Give It Away" ends the set to an explosive football stadium begging for an encore.

Flea's agility continued to astound as he struts across the stage on his hands, finally flipping right-side up to grab his bass, launching into set closers and fan favorites "Under The Bridge" and "By The Way."

A triumphant return to the live stage as these Hollyweirdos brought a much needed dose of no-frills rock 'n' roll to the Midwest, leaving fans dancing from end zone to end zone.

New album out October 14, 2022 - Return Of The Dream Canteen

Intro Jam
Around The World
Dani California
The Zephyr Song
Aquatic Mouth Dance
Snow (Hey Oh)
Suck My Kiss
Pea
These Are The Ways
I Could Have Lied
Me And My Friends
Wet Sand
Tell Me Baby
The Heavy Wing
JAM
Black Summer
JAM
Californication
Give It Away