Red Hot Chili Peppers M.E.N. Arena Manchester England November 14th 2011 Videos Photos Setlist

The Red Hot Chili Peppers played their first of two back to back concerts at the M.E.N. Arena (Manchester Evening News Arena) in Manchester, England on November 14th, 2011. The M.E.N. Arena is the largest indoor arena in Europe with a capacity of 21,000, just ahead of the 20,000 of the O2 Arena in London, which RHCP played three concerts at recently.

See below and in our related Forum Topic for Videos, Photos, Setlist and Reviews from the show.

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Setlist
01. Monarchy Of Roses, 02. Dani California, 03. Charlie, 04. Look Around, 05. Otherside, 06. If You Have To Ask, 07. Can’t Stop, 08. The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie, 09. Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 10. Me And My Friends, 11. Factory Of Faith, 12. Under The Bridge, 13. Higher Ground, 14. Californication, 15. By The Way ENCORE 16. Chad & Mauro Refosco Jam, 17. Sir Psycho Sexy, 18. They’re Red Hot, 19. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, 20. Give It Away, 21. End Jam

CityLife Review – By Pete Bainbridge

Anthony Kiedis is sporting a moustache but it’s not for Movember, apparently. The Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman takes the stage with all the pomp you would expect to lead a band with his new look, a new guitarist, and a new album, and thousands of fans want to know if, pushing 50-years-old, they’ve not lost their spark.

RHCP kick off proceedings with Monarchy of Roses, the latest single from new album I’m With You. It’s a decent warm up, but the crowd goes berserk when the four-piece lurched into 2006 hit Dani California.

Anthony Kiedis lasts an impressive two songs before stripping off his jacket and t-shirt, which is two more than bassist Flea who came onstage sporting only long shorts and purple hair.

After Charlie and new song Look Around the Californians are in full flow. It’s been a bit tough for new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, almost twenty years younger than his band members at 32. The “new boy”, who officially took the Stratocaster from ex-guitarist John Frusciante in 2009, has been an easy target for music critics – primarily because he’s not John Frusciante.

There’s no doubt he’s extremely talented, and at the M.E.N Arena, Josh Klinghoffer flailed around the stage and nailed all the notes with ease, but you can’t help feeling he’s not grown into his role yet.

And the new songs from I’m With You – co-written by the new guitarist – don’t always stand toe-to-toe with the older songs. While Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie was far better in live performance than on the album, Factory of Faith lacked a musical core, and fell a little flat.

The gig’s highlights, at least for the audience, appeared to be during the classic and melancholic numbers. Thousands of voices joined Kiedis for Otherside, Californication and Under the Bridge, which were thrown into the setlist at different points.

Many of the crowd were not even born when songs like Blood Sugar Sex Magic and Me and My Friends came out, but knew the lyrics word for word.

The happiest man in the room seemed to be sublime drummer Chad Smith, who was last to leave after the encore, which included Sir Psycho Sexy, They’re Red Hot, and a searing finale of Give It Away.

The music press have been keen to slate the Chili’s recent UK shows, but at the end of the day, the crowd’s reaction is the best barometer, and it’s clear that the Red Hot Chili Peppers can still perform live better than almost anyone out there.

Also, check out RHCP Fan Alison Staples’ cool review of the show which includes photos and videos.

Videos

Factory of Faith