The Red Hot Chili Peppers proved just how hot they could get with a blazing performance on Tuesday night at TD Garden — a performance that thrilled the audience. As thousands of people sporting their eight-pronged asterisk logos filled into TD Garden, the excitement in the crowd was palpable, and fervor had already set in.
Trombone Shorty opened the act with a high-energy performance that had people on their feet and dancing before RHCP even had a chance to enter the stage. After a solid set that lasted for about 30 minutes, he finished a performance that people would not forget anytime soon.
At this point, the audience was getting so restless in anticipation of RHCP, every movement on stage elicited hoots and cheers from the audience.
A deafening roar arose when RHCP’s members walked on stage, and they took it in stride, immediately starting with an instrumental intro that soon blended into their hit song “Can’t Stop.” This was followed by another sensational song, “Dani California,” that got the few people who had not been standing for the first song on their feet as the entire audience sang along.
With unparalleled energy, lead singer Anthony Kiedis danced around onstage, owning the audience, completely unaffected by the fact that his foot was in a walking boot, raising the energy a few notches higher.
“I heard you guys had a rough weekend,” he roared into his mic, referencing the New England Patriots’ win at the Super Bowl. “We’ll try to help make it better,” he continued, ensuring that the audience was all smiles and really in a celebratory mood.
In bright and multi-colored attire that truly captured his vibrancy, bassist Flea pranced on stage from end to end, looking out into the audience, giving them poses they wanted and twerking at them. At the same time, he maintained an excellent bass line that truly brought together the entire sound.
Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer added to the spectacular display as well, with mind-blowing guitar riffs, insane power rock postures and swinging hair flips.
The entire aesthetic appeal of their performance was high. More than a hundred cylinders of light were suspended from the ceiling, moving up and down, changing colors and creating a mesmerizing effect.
The next highlight of the night came when they started performing their legendary hit, practically an anthem, “Californication.” The audience went insane as soon as they heard the first notes of the song.
This was soon followed by “Suck My Kiss,” a high-energy song with an almost metal sound to it. The crowd sang along, screaming “suck my kiss” every time the chorus came around and giving an incredibly spirited vibe to the entire event.
The band continued on with several songs, combining hits such as “The Zephyr Song” and “Hey” along with tracks from their newest “The Getaway” album, including fan favorite “Go Robot” and “Feasting on the Flowers,” a song with an elaborate bridge.
All the songs were delivered in their classic punk rock fashion that genuinely energized the crowd, creating an experience to remember.
They ended the set with the somewhat gentler “I Could Have Lied,” a song that got the audience swaying with the melody.
The encore opened with a dynamic solo by Klinghoffer that was well-executed and was followed by the track “Goodbye Angels.” Finally, they played the loud and spirited “Give It Away,” which ended the night at a high point.
The only complaint about the performance was that it was too short. The entire show definitely established, once again, that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are punk rock legends. Their music is here to stay.
