May 2nd was the night. The night I would finally get to see Anthony Kiedis live and in person. The man has charisma, as do the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There is just something about them that ‘ burns’ as Kerouac would say.
My buddy Alison and I are connoisseurs of music. Or so we like to think anyway. Maybe I should rephrase that, we like our wine with music. Going to a great show is a good excuse to get together and enjoy a couple of glasses of wine some laughs and of course fantastic music. On May 2nd we did exactly that.
We are becoming quiet adept these days at shows, getting to know our way around the Bell Center like a couple of roadies. We wish! So we arrived on time, I of course have to get my merch and Al heads for the wine kiosk.
We eventually find our seats, which are not bad, in the reds close to the stage. The place is full, the seats below us are empty and we have tagged them for later if nobody shows. The closer to the stage the better it is for us. The opening band is the Sleigh Bells. A band I had seen on Saturday Night Live recently. The band consists of a girl and two guys. That is the band, not a lot of people to fill up a football length stage at the Bell Center. We sat, we listened and as the Sleigh Bells jingled on the arena became increasingly loud.
I looked around and suddenly realized we were engulfed in a sea of so much peach fuzz and creamy complexions that I began to feel old. That has never happened to me before at a show; old is the furthest thing from my mind when I am at a concert.
We had a gang of boys behind us who brought bubbles and were blowing them mostly in my hair although some bubbles did manage to escape the back of my head. They then pulled out beach balls, was I in the wrong venue? Was this the Beach Boy Concert? No, I was in the right place. They were having fun, my friend Al said to me “awww Marth remember when we were young like that, it has to be their first concert.” Well, maybe it was but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be witness to such a personal and virginal moment in a young pubescent life.
At 9pm which I thought was rather late to start a show…. again perhaps a sign of my age the Chili Peppers hit the stage. Wow, what a slick productions they had. I was in awe of the energy and stamina of these guys. All musicians that play to these immense crowds and capture our hearts are to me heroes in many ways.
The band played on amidst a very knowledgeable group of kids who knew unfortunately for me every single word of every single song. I could hardly hear the band. Again I am not blaming here I am just saying. Apart from the 17,000 screaming fans one voice rang out from behind me. A young man who obviously was the Chili Peppers number one fan because through the whole show all I could hear was “OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD.” Does orgasmic come to mind? Because this young guy definitely lost his “Concert Virginity” that night!
Al and I decided next show we go to we are getting floor seats front row and to hell with the cost. Those reds are good seats but you can’t dance up there amongst the crowd. There is no room to maneuver especially if you are knee deep in peach fuzz and creamy complexions. We’ll leave those seats for the virgins.
Photo Credits
Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Pinkpop Festival in 2006 – Wikimedia Creative Commons
Martha Farley says
Thanks Paul….it’s always an experience going to see these amazing bands! It’s pretty incredible how our kids listen to what we liked…..well my kids do anyway.
Paul Cozens says
Thanks for the review, within the piece. Very well written, gave me an interesting insight into a show, a culture, a time of man.I was thinking of attending that concert but missed it.