Thank you Red Hot Chili Peppers. Thank you for reminding me why I go to gigs.
Yes, that's right. ANOTHER concert entry.
This gig however, was quite a monumental show for me. In one way, it was the first gig i've ever been to in a football stadium. (Yep, that's right.. Theatres, clubs, arenas, big venues, small venues, open air and festivals.. But never a stadium!) In another way, it's the first gig in a very long time when I haven't had beer/water/who knows what thrown over me, and of course.. It was the Red Hot Chili Peppers for fucks sake! They made Green Day at Milton Keynes look like a Pop Idol audition.
..Alright so nobody could make the BIAB show look like a Pop Idol audition. But Red Hot Chili Peppers were better than that, okay? Trust me, and i'll tell you all about it.
The night before the gig, me and Jamie stayed at his dads house and watched The Mighty Boosh until a ridiculous time in the morning. We had the commentary on though, so we were listen to Noel, Julian, Rich and Dave (and eventually Michael, when he arrived about 3 episodes in, lol) chatting about all sorts of things. It hadn't really sunk in that we were going to see RHCP the next day so it didn't take long before we were asleep.
We'd made plans to leave at around 9:00 in the morning. Kate - who had gone to see them a few days before us - had told me that she'd gotten there around 12:30ish and ended up 5 rows from the front. We'd already decided that we'd rather sit than be in the pit (GOSH! I know, weird for me, eh?) but we wanted to get there early anyway, because queuing is great! Usually.
Anyway. So we'd made plans to leave at around 9:00, so at 10:20 we were just getting into the car to go, hehe. We're not very good at getting up in the morning. It was fun on the drive down, we listened to Motorhead really loudly and blasted out all the other cars! We were talking about what we thought the show would be like, and in all honesty, neither of us had any idea. What were RHCP like live? Who knew? (Well, I do.. Now!)
When we got to the Derby Pride Park stadium, we noticed that there was already a little queue formed by the doors, and it was only 11:30! So we quickly joined that and waved goodbye to Jamie's dad, who wasn't coming in with us. The security kept moving the queue, by adding extra gates and making us stand along them, it got a bit irritating but eventually.. At around midday, me and Jamie were in a position where we could see through the fire doors (which were open) into the pitch. So I was looking through there when suddenly a group of people walked past the doors.. I grabbed Jamie's arm, willing him to look as I gasped: "IT'S ANTHONY KIEDIS!!"
Jamie looked too late and didn't see him. But I was reeling! Anthony Kiedis! Anthony fucking Kiedis! It's like James Hetfield all over again but younger and better looking! The lead singer of RHCP had walked by and I had seen him. *Gasp*.
Ahem.. So after a little while the queue got split by security barriers. Luckily we were so close to the front of the queue that we were in between the barriers =) we could see the end of the queue which snaked all around the stadium and along the road opposite, so we were all waving at them and shouting things like "You should've come 4 hours earlier!" Eventually everyone ended up sitting down because it was obvious we weren't going anywhere for a while. Suddenly the crowd fell silent as the first few notes of "Give It Away" rang out, then the air was filled with screams and cheers as we realised that RHCP were doing their soundcheck.
Everyone started talking loudly about how great the show was going to be and how hot Anthony Kiedis was and how crazy Flea was, etc. About half an hour after they finished their soundcheck, the crowd were all really bored and then a group of people next to me and Jamie suddenly started singing 'By The Way' which quite a few people joined in with. It was quite fitting actually. (You know.. "Standing in line to see a show tonight.." etc. Hehe) It was really funny.
Our tickets claimed that the doors were going to open at 4:00PM, so at about 10 to everyone stood up, starting sorting their bags and getting ready. The excitement began to mount and everyone was peering over shoulders to watch the security. Who did nothing. It reached 4:00.. Nothing. At 4:10 a few footballs starting being thrown around the crowd waiting to be let in.. Still nothing. At 4:20 the footballs began to get thrown at the security. Nothing. At 4:30 the clapping started, slow at first then getting faster and faster until they descended into loud booing, with mixtures of "LET US THE FUCK IN!" being shouted. FINALLY, at 4:40 the security took up places and began to let a very disgruntled crowd in, receiving their fair share of abuse.
Jamie and I walked around to the turnstiles and got into the venue, climbing the first set of stairs we found. We realised as we entered the pitch, that we were in the seats at the back of the stadium, so we wandered down to the pit and walked across to the seats by the side of the stage and took our place there. We had an excellent view! Not only could we see the stage clearly and closely, with no obstructions but we could see the entire pit as well! It rawked.
After a while, we noticed that from our position we could also see backstage and the VIP area, where what looked like Chad and John (the guitarist and the drummer from RHCP) were sitting! Wow *_*
We noticed from our seats that there were people with kegs of Fosters on their backs walking around filling up people's cups. Eventually though, they all just stood in a line at the side of the pit and let people queue up to them, in looked funny!
When the stadium was about half full, the first band came on. They were called Chick Chick Chick (or something?) and they were INSANE. They had three drummers, a keyboardist, two guitarists, a bassist and about 3 singers. At first they were kind of funny, the lead singer danced like Napoleon Dynamite and at the end of songs all the musicians would swap round and play a different instrument. But then we realised that all of their songs just sounded like noise.. The lead singer was really quiet so you could barely hear him above the crashing and bashing of the band.
Nobody was too bothered when they went off.
After that one of the roadies came on and was like "HELLO DERBY!" But he said it all like 'Derrrr-beeee!' so we all laughed. He paused and looked offstage and then was like "..Darrr-beee!" Haha. Then he continued; "Due to unforseen circumstances, Goldfrapp have pulled out of tonights show! So instead, we give you BEN HARPER!"
The crowd went pretty wild so they must be well known? The name rung a bell, but meh, I dunno. They were alright. I ended up going to sleep for a bit during their set! Only for five minutes but still, haha. It was because they kept going into like 20 minute jams or something. It got boring, quickly. The crowd were getting restless too, you could tell. Everybody stopped jumping around and was just chatting or looking bored.
Oh Gosh, it seemed to go on for AGES.
Finally, they went off and everyone sitting down stood up and stretched their legs and everyone started looking excited as we realised RHCP were on next!
All of a sudden, there was a burst of music and Flea, John and Chad ran on and started jamming. We went MAD! Everyone sitting down, stood up and starting cheering. Everybody in the pit starting jumping up and down and screaming. The band were onstage, playing a little melody and we thought: "Where is Anthony?" Then we noticed him, just offstage, jumping up and down seemingly pumping himself up for the show. Then the first few notes of 'Can't Stop' rang out and on he ran!
Everyone sang along to Can't Stop, the crowd were going insane, Flea was jumping around with his bass, Anthony was dancing around whenever he wasn't singing, it was amazing. After that song finished and everyone had screamed their approval. They played 'Dani California' which of course everyone recognised because they just released it! The crowd went mad, Flea went mad, everyone was singing their hearts out, etc.
They played Charlie after that, which not as many people knew because it's off Stadium Arcadium and hasn't been released. So me and Jamie sat down to have a breather (yes, we were worn out after 2 songs and we were in the seating area!) Then when that song finished Flea took the mic and was like "I'd like to thank Chick, Chick, Chick and Ben Harper for supporting us! I'd like to thank you for coming to see us! I'd like to thank uh.. This evening for being this evening! What a great evening it is! Watch out everyone, you're about to see something special!"
Damn right we were.
The songs they played were: Can't Stop, Dani California, Charlie, Snow (Hey Oh), Californication, Tell Me Baby, Throw Away Your Television, (which was a great surprise 'cause that's my favourite song off of By The Way and I never thought they'd play it!) By The Way, Don't Forget Me, Be My Friend, We Believe and some others that I can't remember but were just as amazing.
About 45 minutes into it John took the mic, and I squealed. 'Cause this was what i'd been waiting for. Kate had told me that when she saw them John had done a solo version of 'How Deep Is Your Love' by Take That. Sure enough, it was! Everyone laughed and sang along. I got a video although apparently the sound sucks. His voice began to get higher and higher and it was like: "Whoa, how high is your voice?" It was good though!
After a while.. Flea, John and Chad starting jamming again and it got really heavy when suddenly it stopped and they gently guided us into Under The Bridge, amid hysterical screams. That was a beautiful song, everyone had their lighters and phones out.
Then they thanked us all and ran offstage, but we weren't letting them get away that easily! Everyone began cheering and stamping their feet for about 10 minutes. It was non-stop! We weren't leaving until we heard another song! So Flea, John and Chad ran back on and began playing 'Give It Away' (which some of us had already heard live that day twice - but nobody cared!) Screaming, cheering, whistling, singing followed with much picture taking.
When that song finished Anthony laughed and thanked us all again, before running off in a way that seemed so final - but Chad, John and Flea stayed on for another good ten minutes having a jam session in which John and Flea ended up kneeling on the floor face to face, playing their hearts out. It was amazing!
So there we go. RHCP are a must see band live. I don't know what it is about them. Green Day have got it, The Zico Chain (who you should all go listen to on Myspace) have got it, RHCP have definately got it more so than any other band I have ever seen.
Plus I saw Anthony Kiedis walking along the pitch before the show. *squeal!* Hehe.
Zico love x