YYC Adventures: Chili Peppers and Rebirth BB

Last night I experienced my second time ever witnessing a live performance of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. For my birthday which was last week my dad got tickets so that the two of us could go and see the band. My father and I went to go see the peppers together about six years ago while they were touring for their album Stadium Arcadium. 

Last time when we saw them they mostly played songs of their then album and with so many hits it was a bit of a disappointment. So I was hoping that with their new guitarist that they would play all of the hits that we have all come to know and love. The Red Hot Chili Peppers has always been one of my favorite bands mostly because they are one of the few bands where the base guitarist is better than the guitarist.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are such a strange kind of band that finding a band to open for them is a bit of a challenge. This is mostly because the band itself breaks a lot of boundaries within the genre of Rock, combining the likes of Hip Hop, Jazz and Rock into a new entity. Back in 2006 when they came through Calgary the band that opened for them was “The Mars Volta Project” and experimental metal group. With all of that in mind I was very interested to see who would open up for them this time around.

The Band that wound up opening for the legendary Chili Peppers was a band called Rebirth Brass Band. It is a large brass style ensemble that has a sound that reminds me of what you should expect to hear when you go to Madre Gras. I think these guys would bring the house down in a smaller venue where there was room for some good old fashioned swing dancing.

Check them out

The Peppers brought a lot of enthusiasm to the stage and proved that even after 30 years they still got it. As always flea astounded the audience with his fantastic skill of slapping the base, I cannot think of anyone who can do it better. Every song was led into with an impressive instrumental interlude that showed of the skills of the drummer and flea.

The one down side to this show was even though they seem to have astounding light technicians and a well timed video to go along with everything, they left no room for audience interaction. One thing that I enjoy when going to a live show is how the performers interact with their audience. This is one attribute of showmanship that I found to be distinctly lacking with the Red Hot Chili Peppers show.

However with that being said they put on a fantastic show and there is a reason that I will always consider this band in my top five bands of all time. I hope to see them again in my life time if they are still touring, hopefully they don’t go the way of Mic Jager and the Rolling Stones.

Sincerely Urban Yeti

YYC Adventures - MTrench

Last night I had the pleasure of spending my evening viewing an extremely well done live music performance. A close friend, Wifey and me all went together to go and watch the Marianas Trench concert. Let me start by saying I am not a huge fan of the band, sure I have a bunch of their songs on my iPod so I do actually enjoy listening to their music.

The close friend of mine, Kenneth the Third, is the reason that we went because Wifey and I took him for his birthday. The reason that we decided to do this was twofold firstly the concert took place just over a week after his birthday so it was the perfect time. The second reason that this gift was perfect for Kenneth aside from the fact that he is actually a fan is a little bit of a story.

Two years ago as a group we decided that we were going to take a trip to the stampede because our friend Devo had lived in Calgary most of his life but had never actually gone to the iconic event. While we were deciding on a day to go Kenneth spoke up and said that he would like to go on the day that Marianas Trench was playing and he wanted to see them. We agreed and it was all decided that this would be our plan, little did we know that the weather had other plans for us. While Devo and I were at the top of the drop of Doom we saw lightning strike very close to the grounds and just as our feet hit the ground of the ride the skies opened up and it poured down, then the rain turned to hail the size of golf balls. Instead of running for cover we all played in the rain and I got some of my favorite photos of my friends that day.

Essentially we got rained out of seeing their show then and I felt kind of bad because Kenneth didn’t get to see the show. With that in mind Wifey and I decided that this would be the perfect gift for him as a sort of redemption for the past.

On to my review of the show, like all bands there was an opening act and the act that we caught was Down With Webster (DWW). Before this show I knew maybe only two of their songs but as for an opening act these guys really got the crowd going, their set was filled with audience interaction. DWW reminds me of a modern version of what Limp Biscuit was in the 90’s a rap rock infusion.

After DWW performed their set and there was energy coursing through the crowd the main act hit the stage. The way that I would initially describe my experience was that I was taken aback, I did not expect this kind of performance at all. The entire show had an extremely high production value and was well put together straight through till the end. This is the tour to continue to celebrate the release of Marianas Trench’s third studio album titled “Ever After”.

The show started with plumes of smoke rolling across the stage and a prerecorded video playing on a large screen at the back of the stage. A movie depicting a great quest started playing it was so enticing I thought that it was a trailer for this years’ summer action movie blockbuster. Then out of the floor grows a larger than life ornate box with a crank on the side that is spinning around, a barrage of sound as the box opens at flies Josh Ramsey the lead singer.

The crowd surges as sea of hands ever stretching towards Josh Ramsey as he soars above the audience. The sheer amount of energy put out by this band is why I would classify them as grade A+ level performers. Each and every song had its’ own feel to it and no two songs really ran together, with constant changing costumes and staging. Personally my favorite costume change was when they all pulled a move out of the movie “Risky Business” and all showed up on stage wearing white socks, white dress shirts and tightie Whities.

As a non fanboy for this particular band I do have to say that this show was one of my top favorites that I have seen. I can tell that the members of this band are not only talented musicians but are also very talented entertainers. It has been a long time since I have seen a show with so much gusto and crowd interaction, at one point the lead singer went out into the stands and while singing went to all the fans who were not up front and centre. This band puts a high emphasis on their fans and even had a slide show with pictures of their fans, I saw a familiar face up there as well which makes me know really how much that they care.  

Seeing this show has restored my faith in current performers and it makes me glad to know that someone out there is still willing to perform a rock opera. If you ever get the chance to see this band I highly recommend it because they are well worth it to see.

Sincerely Urban Yeti