The Red Hot Chili Peppers Bring Unlimited Love To Charlotte
Alternative Rockers Showcase Their Unique Brand of Funk Rock At Bank of America Stadium
In addition to purchasing the Carolina Panthers football team in 2018, billionaire David Tepper has also helped put the city of Charlotte on the map musically by once again opening up Bank of America Stadium for concerts. Since then, the stadium has hosted top rock and roll and country acts like The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, and Kenny Chesney. This past Thursday, the stadium would play host to tens of thousands of rock fans as the Red Hot Chili Peppers stopped in the Queen City on their Global Stadium Tour 2022 also known as The Unlimited Love Tour.
Since the band’s inception in the early eighties, the Chili Peppers have become known for pushing boundaries and defying genres combining traditional vocals with rap and spoken word and incorporating elements of rock, metal, funk, punk, and everything under the sun to create a heavy, groove-laden sound that is instantly recognizable. 2022 is becoming another massive year in the annals of RHCP with not one, but two, new albums, the recently released Unlimited Love and the soon-to-be-released Return of the Dream Canteen as well as a worldwide stadium tour. With the return of long-term guitarist John Frusciante, the core band remains intact with vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, and drummer Chad Smith.
“Standing in line
To see the show tonight
And there’s a light on
Heavy glow
By the way I tried to say
I’d be there, waiting for…”
As the crowd was still filling in, the evening of music kicked off with two-time Grammy award winner Thundercat. Also known as Stephen Lee Bruner, Thundercat first began making waves on the music scene as a member of the thrash band Suicidal Tendencies before becoming an accomplished solo artist of his own. The stage featured a giant cat head with light-up eyes that flickered and changed color during Thundercat’s set but it was Bruner and his custom six-string bass guitar that became the focal point as soon as he began to play.
A highlight early on was an extended jam session during “How Sway” as it became clear just how talented of a musician Bruner is. Although his set was short, it served as a great introduction to what Thundercat offers. I would love the opportunity to see him again on a smaller stage in a much more intimate setting to witness his skill up close and personal.
Next up were New York City rockers The Strokes. Coming out of the post-punk indie rock revival of the 2000s alongside bands like The Black Keys, The White Stripes, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Strokes are the epitome of the era with a garage rock feel that is sadly becoming a lost art these days. As I watched their set, another member of the media whispered, “there’s just something different about bands from New York City, isn’t there?” I couldn’t help but agree more. The Strokes seem of a different breed as they ran through a set that touched on their entire career with selections from their first album, 2001’s Is This It, to their latest offering, 2020’s The New Abnormal, which garnered them a Grammy Award for best rock album in 2021.
Their stage setup was minimal with some changing colored lights and a bit of imagery on the giant LED screen which allowed the primary focus to remain on the music as it should. The Strokes are lucky to still have their original lineup intact with Julian Casablancas leading the way on lead vocals with his soulful, Lou Reed-esque delivery over the grungy riffs of guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. The driving force behind their sound is the super solid rhythm section of Nikolai Fraiture on bass and Fabrizio Moretti on drums. The Strokes’ performance was stellar with a solid wall of sound reverberating throughout the venue. Whether playing in an enormous stadium, your local rock club, or even in a neighbor’s garage, The Strokes are amazingly The Strokes and it really doesn’t get better than that.
“The world I love, the trains I hop
To be part of the wave, can’t stop
Come and tell me when it’s time to…”
Yes, it’s time, time for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to take the stage and set this stadium afire. Drummer Chad Smith was the first to head out, giving a wave before taking his spot behind his giant kit with a huge gong behind him. Next to arrive was the showman of the group, the one and only Flea on bass guitar with guitarist John Frusciante joining them for an introductory jam that had the stadium rocking. After a few minutes, lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis would make his appearance and the band kicked off their set with “Can’t Stop” from their 2002 album By The Way.
Without getting into a song-by-song review, here are some of my takeaways from the evening.
Sound
Sometimes the sound quality is not the greatest at a show of this size, but tonight that was clearly not the case. The Chili Peppers sounded phenomenal and the band was spot on musically and vocally. The mix was perfection, not something easy to achieve in a space as vast as Bank of America Stadium. Whether you were in the front of the pit or in the upper seating deck, the quality of the band’s sound was flawless.
Band Performance
From the thundering wallops of Chad Smith’s drums to the grooving lines of Flea’s bass guitar, the band was amazing, playing song after song without missing a beat. Lead vocalist Anthony Keidis has definitely been keeping in shape vocally as he resonated over the crowd whether rapping and trilling his tongue on “Give It Away” or soothing us with sweet soul on the dreamy “Californication.” Having John Frusciante back in the fold on guitar is a tremendous boost. Frusciante is not the same without the Chili Peppers and the Chili Peppers are simply not the same without him.
Stage
Because this is a stadium tour, the stage is obviously huge and the highlight of the Chili Pepper’s setup is an enormous LED screen that to me resembled a waterfall as it ran from the top of the stage, rolling behind the band, and ending at the bottom front of the stage. This was the center of the visual show with fantastic, psychedelic-type images rolling across the screens and changing with each song. Add in the typical giant screens on each side so that everyone can get a closer view of the band and a bevy of lights and lasers and I give the stage a big thumbs up. It’s not overwhelming but just enough to capture the essence of the music.
Flea
It’s not easy to bounce around on stage all night and Flea still makes it look easy. He is a constant whirl of motion as he jumps, slides, and skids all over the stage, all while posing with his bass and slinging it around like an extra appendage. The highlight of this Flea-a-palooza was a walking handstand across the stage later in the set. And to answer everyone’s burning question, yes he was wearing underwear. Kudos to Flea for being able to continue to perform with this level of energy and excitement still.
Set List
Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking. The band can’t possibly play every hit and everyone’s favorite song. In other words, you can’t please everyone but there were a few surprises here, to say the least. We got four songs from both their latest release Unlimited Love and 1999’s Californication but only two from their break-out album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Yes, I was more than a little bummed to not hear “Suck My Kiss” but also ecstatic to hear “I Could Have Lied.” The real shocker was not hearing “Under The Bridge” which was being rotated during this tour. I mean, come on, thousands upon thousands of fans had to make their way “under the bridge downtown” to enter the stadium so this should have been a no-brainer.
Connection
This is the one aspect of the show that I felt was a bit underwhelming. The connection between the audience and the band just didn’t seem to be there for this show. I kept waiting for “the moment” to happen when we would all go on that wonderful musical ride together but it never did. The expected explosion of energy during “Give It Away” never really happened. Yes, people were singing and on their feet but there seemed to me to be lacking something, the “it” factor if you will. To me, that would have put this concert over the top.
“Keep you warm won’t let you shiver
His heart is never gonna wither
Come on, everybody, time to deliver…”
After closing the show with “Give It Away,” the Chili Peppers returned for a two-song encore, ending the evening with “By The Way.” The band sounded phenomenal and there is no question that this was a good show, but the ending was definitely understated. Perhaps, that was the band’s intention but judging by those sitting around me, they were expecting more. There were looks of surprise and maybe a bit of disbelief with a man right in front of me insisting that there should be more. Perhaps next time? Did the Chili Peppers deliver? In many ways, a thousand percent, yes they did. In other ways, maybe not. There’s only one way to find out, get to one of their shows and decide for yourself.
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