16. Red Hot Chili Peppers

THE O2 ARENA

7 NOVEMBER 2011

It feels like we stumbled into the Chili Peppers’ rehearsal room, where they’re just jamming and we are peeking through a cracked door. Chad clanging through the funk-heavy opener of Monarchy of Roses like he’s revving up a rusty engine and Flea gyrating like a man who is plugged directly into his amp, thumb-thumping through “Scar Tissue” and “Under the Bridge” whilst they crack knob gags between songs.

It’s laid-back chaos, and they’re loving it, which means all twenty thousand of us are right there, bouncing around like it’s a California beach party despite it being a chilly November night in London.

We get a drum solo, a bass solo, a handful of short-lived guitar solos; everyone’s having a go. Anthony’s prowling the stage, eyes wide and looking like he might jump into the crowd at any second. By the time we get to “Don’t Forget Me” and “Give It Away”, the entire stadium’s heaving up and down, with Flea’s bass hanging so low he’s practically scraping knuckles along the floor. In the end, what we got wasn’t just a show, it was propulsive chaos.