Red Hot Chili Peppers send Quebec City fans into absolute frenzy

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Festival d’été de Québec, 16 juillet 2016, Scène Bell des plaines d’Abraham. Crédit photo: Renaud Philippe.

A red hot night, ’stache and all

By Michael Bourguignon

By the time Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage roughly 15 seconds ahead of schedule on Saturday’s penultimate night of the Festival d’été de Québec, the crowd had already waited long enough.

All it took was the sight of beloved bassist Flea skulking across the stage, plucking and thumbing in his inimitable way, to throw the audience into an absolute frenzy, moments before an equally enthusiastic explosion greeted lead singer Anthony Keidis.

This was Red Hot Chili Peppers at the hottest it’s been since its heyday, and the capacity crowd on the Plains of Abraham seemed to savour every morsel the band offered up.

Song after song gained full approval, as did Flea’s occasional between-song riffs and brief bass solos, a welcome change from the stock “We love you (insert name of city here)” banter. In fact, Keidis seemed content to defer to Flea for much of the evening, as the bassist served as the band’s mouthpiece between songs. Even to trained ears, though, it wasn’t always easy to decipher the message behind the thick Australian accent.

If the band seemed to push Flea forward at times, it’s no doubt because the man otherwise known as Michael Peter Balzary is listed somewhere or other as the world’s best bassist year after year. Might as well play to your strengths and do what you do best.

It’s kind of like having Jimi Hendrix in your guitar section: for gosh sakes, give him a chance to shine every now and again, and the crowd will lap it up, as was the case on the Plains. RHCP clearly recognizes the asset they have in this guy, and they’re smart enough to use him to full advantage.

Aside from putting their best Flea forward, the band also took care to give the folks all the way at the back of the Plains something to appreciate in the form of beautifully textured, often red graphics on the big screens.

Californication, Scar Tissue and all the requisite hits were performed with aplomb, enthusiasm, and a high level of energy that the band was able to sustain from start to finish. Could multivitamins be hidden inside that manly mustache Anthony Keidis has taken to wearing?

I promised I probably wouldn’t do this, so I leave it to the band’s legions of fans to explain, defend or deride what the hell that thing is on Anthony’s upper lip.

Keidis still seems to have the physique of a younger and beefier version of Iggy Pop, as he always has, but his tragic choice of facial hair makes him look like an unholy cross between Super Mario and Ron Jeremy, which is just plain disturbing.

No matter. On this night, Red Hot Chili Peppers set the stage on fire with great music that the crowd probably could not have loved more. Keidis even came out at the encore walking on his hands, perhaps wanting to show that he’s also all that, knowing that Flea’s bewildering talents were about to be showcased yet again.

No sense letting one of the rhythm players get all the adulation.
Not content to be outdone or to completely abandon the spotlight, Keidis effortlessly took back the crowd as he warbled Give it away, give it away, give it away now in the final tune of the night, capping off an evening of great fun, great tunes and an overall great performance.

July Talk
Opening act July Talk, a Toronto-based alt-rock outfit, was a pleasant surprise and a worthwhile diversion before the main show. Watching lead singer Leah Fay gingerly walk the gate between the stage and the crowd as if it were a tightrope, well, from our vantage point, she may as well have been walking on water. Turns out she can sing too.
It was the kind of opening act you would hope for to warm up the crowd for the extravaganza to come. It was no doubt a daunting task, but one taken on and executed to perfection. Definitely an up-and-coming band to watch.

Red Hot Chili Peppers. Festival d’été de Québec. 16 juillet 2016.
Scène Bell des plaines d’Abraham. Crédit photo: Francis Gagnon.

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300 SHOWS – 10 STAGES – 11 DAYS OF MUSIC
July 7 to 17, 2016

For the complete festival schedule, visit www.infofestival.com

93k in the park to hear ‘dark’ #quebechttps://t.co/i9sXj7BZTp pic.twitter.com/PAcxW6NNjm

— Red Hot ChiliPeppers (@ChiliPeppers) July 17, 2016

Juste wow! @ChiliPeppers, scène Bell, plaine d’Abraham! #FEQ © Francis Gagnon pic.twitter.com/GAxztkpzcy

— Festival d’été de Qc (@FestivalEteQc) July 17, 2016