Featured White Papers
- PCI DSS therapy for the smaller retailer (McAfee)
- Oct. 14th: Simplified IT with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) (ZDNet)
- The rise of Web commuting (Citrix Online)
Content provided in partnership with
Herbal glee
Sunday Herald, The, Mar 9, 2003 by Andrew Burnet
reviewed red hot chili peppers SeCC, GlasgowHHHH Not long ago, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were a rock'n'roll cliche of hard drugs and overdoses, fall-outs and line-up changes. Even the death of founder member Hillel Slovak in 1988 didn't halt their trajectory, though it did lead to the recruitment of guitarist John Frusciante and the creation of their first great album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, in 1991. But by 1995, Frusciante had been kicked out and the band had made their unhappiest album, One Hot Minute. Their mojo, it seemed, was on its last legs.
And then, somehow, they recovered it. Frusciante cleaned up and rejoined. Heroin was abandoned for yoga and herbal tea. They became the rock'n'roll anti-cliche: clean, sober, and mostly over 40, they are - miraculously - better than ever. Since 1997, they've made two vigorous, melodic, huge-selling LPs; now they're on tour, reaching Glasgow on Frusciante's 33rd birthday.
The Chili Peppers are as big now as they'll ever be and, perhaps conscious of that, they don't mess about.
They stick to the popular material, beginning with chart-topping single By The Way, segueing into ScarTissue and following up with Around The World.
If there's a problem with the set it's predictability. All the recent singles are here - including the current Can't Stop - along with songs from the last two albums. One Hot Minute is ignored, but there are a judicious selections from Blood Sugar, including a searing Give It Away to close the set and Under The Bridge as an encore.
Never a band to stand and deliver, they're keener than ever to disport themselves. Singer Anthony Kiedis prances around like a goat, Frusciante folds and unfolds like a jellyfish; bass player Flea leaps and bounces like well, like a flea. Kiedis and Flea waste no time baring their musc-ular, tattooed torsoes, but the famous horseplay is kept to a minimum - though Flea allows himself a brief falsetto riff on the word "Glasgow".
The only really unexpected treats are little between-song jam sessions to show off the band's virtuoso musicianship and brief snatches of cover versions, including The Clash's London Calling.
Few surprises then, but you couldn't accuse the Chili Peppers of resting on their laurels. It's a tight, punchy, joyous show with an irrepressible spirit of fun. Keep taking the ginseng, boys.
Copyright 2003 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
