Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Cosmopolitan – December 31, 2012

Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Cosmopolitan
December 31, 2012

As tempting as it would be to hang out with Kim Kardashian at some upscale club in Las Vegas, seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Cosmopolitan seemed like a great way to usher in the New Year. The Chelsea Ballroom was packed with party revelers and fans alike for an intimate show.

After a three-hour opening DJ set, the crowd exploded like a champagne bottle once the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit the stage. “Monarchy Of Roses” stirred up the mosh pit with Flea deftly bouncing across the stage without missing a note on his bass. Clad in a number thirteen shirt and his trademark OFF! baseball cap, Anthony Kiedis had an equal amount of energy to his bass playing bandmate as he tightly clutched his microphone.

See Also:
*The Black Keys – The Joint – Review 12/30/12
*No Doubt – Gibson Amphitheater – 12/6/12

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While you may hear Red Hot Chili Peppers seemingly every hour on alternative radio, their live show is a showcase in top notch musicianship and shouldn't be missed. Chad Smith made some seismic shifts with a thunderous drum solo before hammering out “Dani California.” Josh Klinghoffer effortlessly slashed out the searing guitar leads for “Can't Stop” and “Otherside.”

The slap and pop of Flea's bass for “Look Around” was simply mesmerizing. Flea was enthusiastic throughout the evening even giving a shout out to the old coach of UNLV basketball Jerry Tarkanian. Klinghoffer and Flea were interlocked for the hypnotic swirl of “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie.”

A jaw dropping funky jam intro transitioned into “Me & My Friends” moments before midnight as Kiedis counted down the final moments of 2012. 2013 was rocking in high gear as the entire crowd sang along at top volume to “Suck My Kiss.” The gliding notes of Klinghoffer's guitar for “Under The Bridge” brought back memories of when the video used to be on constant rotation on MTV in the '90s.

Closing out the set in high gear, “By The Way” seemingly was played at twice the normal pace and steamrolled the audience. Flea walked on his hands around the stage prior to the encore of “Around The World.” Jumping on top of his bass rig for “Give It Away,” Flea could survey the chaos of the mosh pit while Klinghoffer peeled off another impressive guitar solo. Flea put things in perspective at the end of the show by asking everyone to continue to support live music in any form possible. I couldn't agree more as 2013 definitely started on the right note.

Critical Bias: You haven't lived until you've have seen Flea play the bass live.

The Crowd: Lots of tuxedos, glitzy party dresses and some Red Hot Chili Peppers fans.

Overheard In The Crowd: Happy New Year!! Constantly.

Random Notebook Dump: If you enjoy Josh Klinghoffer's guitar playing as much as I do, then check out his band Dot Hacker.

Setlist:
“Monarchy Of Roses”
“Dani California”
“Can't Stop”
“Otherside”
“Look Around”
“Snow ((Hey Oh))”
“Soul To Squeeze”
“The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”
“Me and My Friends”
“Universally Speaking”
“Ethopia”
“Suck My Kiss”
“Under The Bridge”
“By The Way”
“Around The World”
“Give It Away”

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