Things Are a Little Slow This Morning...
...because last night, my friend Lesley Dalton took me to see the
Red Hot Chili Peppers play at Irving Plaza. You popular music fans out there will understand that this is a bit like seeing U2 play in your high school gym—it's very rare to see a band that good and that popular play a place so small.
I imagine the show will be written up in the Times on Wednesday, but here are my thoughts. I am still recovering, so they may not be coherent.
1) These guys rock. Part of the power of their performance, as is the case with so many great bands, is knowing that they lived the life of rock stars—drugs, debauchery, etc.—and that they're still alive is something of a miracle. One has the sense that they are playing on borrowed time, which does add depth to the performance. The band is clean now, and that's a good thing. But they could tell some stories...and in their songs, they do.
2)
Flea is out of control. That man scares me.
3) John Frusciante is really one of the great guitar players in rock. V. glad he didn't die. Let's hope he's off heroin forever.
4) That lovely Ralph Lauren model was in the crowd...you know the one....
5) Thanks to the man behind me who offered to share his joint. I haven't done that in a long time—a long, long time—but it was thoughtful of you to offer.
6) The
new stuff from Stadium Arcadium? Really good. But you just can't get any better than a rocking performance of "
Give It Away." (Hum it once—you won't be able to stop.)
7) I know it's uncool...but it is pretty great to be able to take a picture with your cellphone.
8) One quibble: Guys, that was a little loud. It's ten hours later, and my ears are still ringing.
9) Has anyone else noticed that the drummer looks like Will Ferrell?
10) I met Lesley back when she worked for
a Republican congressman who wanted to abolish the Federal Reserve and take the country back to the gold standard. Now she works at Warner Music, lives on the lower East Side, and goes to Red Hot Chili Pepper concerts. Does that say something about the direction our culture is going? Or is it just inevitable Washington burnout?
11) No, they did not play "Under the Bridge," and yes, Lesley, I do owe you a beer for that. On the other hand, if you could get a copy of that picture with me and the Space Needle guy, I'd appreciate it.
12) For someone who's never connected with American Idol, and always wonders how you can see a concert where the musicians don't play and the singer isn't really singing, it's enormously affirming to see a live band play so well—and to see a crowd of fans who really appreciate it. I saw Madonna a few years back, and distinctly remember a moment where she was writhing on the ground, mouth closed, and the vocals continued unabated. Depressing. But the Chili Peppers—intensely physical, spontaneous, energetic, exhausting, intense, and powerful.
13) In short, pretty great.
