Red Hot Chili Peppers Were Happy to Be Home for Night One of Three at L.A.’s Staples Center

Joseph Baura

There are not too many bands that exemplify the idea of what it is like to exist sunny coast of California. However, if there is one band that had to be designated with such as classification, it surely would be the Red Hot Chili Peppers. With a career that spans over three decades, the Chili Peppers are essentially Los Angeles’ signature band. While many classify them as funk rock, or alternative rock, there’s no doubt that RHCP has consistently maintained a sound that is essentially one-of-a-kind. With 80 million records sold worldwide, the most number-one singles, the most top-ten songs, and 6 Grammys, Red Hot Chili Peppers are legends who can easily be called one of the greatest rock bands in history. In 2016, the band released their eleventh studio album, “The Getaway”, adding another chapter to an already surreal, storied career. RHCP has taken to the road for “The Getaway” tour in the past couple of months, and of course, the band took to their hometown to perform a special 3-night engagement at the Staples Center.

Unlike many other bands where the lead singer is the main focus for fans, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are all legends in their own right –  and all get their time to shine while on stage. With that being said, drummer, Chad Smith, bassist, Flea, and touring guitarist Josh Klinghoffer took to the stage without lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, to perform an impromptu jam session to get fans warmed up. In expected fashion, Flea, Smith and Klinghoffer had fans amped up as they all performed solos worthy of being an encore performance. Once the jam session ceased, the lights went dark throughout the entire stadium and Kiedis emerged onto the stage to go directly into their hit songs, “Can’t Stop,” “Dani California” and “Scar Tissue.” This early in the show, fans were going absolutely berserk, with the energy affecting everyone there.

Throughout their performance, the band touched on their most popular albums, weaving in and out of hits from “Californication” and using the majority of their set to perform tracks off of “The Getaway.” Despite being in their 50s – with the only outlier being Klinghoffer who is 37 – the band didn’t lose stride throughout the entire night. Flea danced and jumped around the stage as he hit licks on his Lakers custom bass, and Kiedis swayed his hips with ease back and forth as he paced the stage interacting with his bandmates.  The frontman also did a stellar job on the vocals as he spouted out his signature quick-fire lyrics through various songs without even breaking a sweat.

Towards the end of the evening, the RHCP performed “Under the Bridge,” which coincidentally will be celebrating its 25th anniversary on March 10, and “By The Way.” Leaving the stage, fans clamored for an encore, and of course the band had to oblige, returning to the stage to perform “Goodbye Angels” and “Give It Away.”

As fans continued to cheer the band on after ending the night on a high note, RHCP left no doubt that they gave their hometown crowd everything they had.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers played Staples Center March 7, and have two more shows, March 8 and 10.