The trio of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iggy Pop and King Princess almost created a festival feeling in front of around 45,000 fans on Friday evening in Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium. Three different and yet very similar artists. The men in the group liked to be naked and on the ground. Hits were plentiful too.
The Californian funk rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers last visited us seven years ago – twice at the time. After an acclaimed, but not necessarily flawless show at Nova Rock, there was a reunion in the packed Wiener Stadthalle in autumn. A lot has happened in the meantime that made the Peppers thrive as a stadium band in Germany for the first time. In 2019, cult guitarist John Frusciante joined the band for the third time because he had had enough of his weird electronic experiments. His longtime replacement Josh Klinghoffer was promptly and relatively unromantically expelled from the field. As a fan, he carried the decision with composure, at least to the outside world. In addition, the band released two albums in 2022 with “Unlimited Love” and “Return Of The Dream Canteen”, which worked their way up to the top of the charts worldwide. Great career ahead Around 45,000 fans have gathered in sweaty summer temperatures at the beginning of the second major heat wave with a slight cloud lift but before that a splendid opening act. The American Mikaela Mullaney Straus aka King Princess opens the evening with LGBTQ pop meandering between mainstream and indie areas, which not only made a positive impression on Harry Styles, but she has also appeared in the opening act for Florence + The Machine or Shawn Mendes brought in. With songs like “Cursed”, “I Hate Myself, I Want To Party” or the concluding catchy tune “1950”, with which she made her breakthrough five years ago, she convinces, albeit to a small audience. That such a set fits perfectly into a club like the Viennese WUK or the Arena – for free. Hopefully there will be an indoor reunion soon. Music fans will actually be delighted with two headliners on this tour, because after a short conversion phase, punk grandfather Iggy Pop enters the stage, once again proudly presents his leathery, bare upper body and delivers despite chronic hip problems Awesome performance, which of course doesn’t skimp on highlights. The black jacket lasted at least five seconds on the most distinctive torso in rock history. The Stooges classic “Raw Power” lives up to its name at every second, “The Passenger” and “Lust For Life” get the numerous attendees going and with the immortal classic “I Wanna Be Your Dog” he has the few too younger and less knowledgeable fans under its spell.Iggy is like good wineSurprising highlight: the devotedly crisp “Frenzy”. Again and again the legend rolls on the floor, spits on them or nonchalantly kicks the mic stand towards the drummer. Iggy is visibly enjoying the already well-filled stadium backdrop at this time, until, after a brilliant three-quarters of an hour, he poundes his chest like a gorilla and once again pours out a good portion of testosterone, which somehow doesn’t fit him and the rest of the audience at all bustle fits. After his brilliant performance in the Vienna Konzerthaus almost a year ago, it is clear – Iggy ages like good wine and at 76 is at the top of his live qualities. A brass section and a perfectly coordinated band also ensure this. A good half hour later, the Red Hot Chili Peppers start the set straight away with an instrumental jam. Only after about ten minutes does singer Anthony Kiedis enter the stage, initially still in a mesh shirt, and – it’s not the first time he’s been on tour – is visibly injured. The left leg is in a knee-high orthosis, the right knee is also in a splint. As if that wasn’t enough, the front man was thrown on his butt during the first few minutes while dancing, but fortunately the spontaneous accident went unnoticed and the otherwise top fit and physically hardened 60-year-old didn’t let anything happen in the following 100 minutes note of this slight glitch. But the band takes a bit of wind themselves, because after the hit-heavy start with “Around The World” and “Snow ((Hey Oh))” the Peppers really fall into the experimental. Hendrix tattooed Flea for the bass solo, guitarist John Frusciante, eternally adolescent in a comic T-shirt and shorts, is even allowed to sing briefly in between (ouch) and the always cheerful Chad Smith does it on his drum throne complete with the band logo human rhythm putty. Over time, you get used to the psychedelic, wacky visuals that shine from the pompous video wall, even if the point of the whole thing isn’t really apparent. The Peppers don’t bother with announcements or storytelling during their set, but rather let the music speak for itself. This becomes a test of patience, especially in the middle part of the show. “Throw Away Your Television,” the solo Iggy Pop cover “Neighborhood Threat,” and “Reach Out” ripple along. Time for toilet visits and beer refills for a slim seven euros. But then the surprise – the rarely played “Soul To Squeeze”, known from the hit comedy “Coneheads” and not heard on any regular album by the Californians, suddenly gets going again with a fine rhythm Oval and slowly leads to a strong end phase. The famous “Californication” hasn’t worn off yet, the relatively new hit single “Black Summer” proves that the Peppers are still relevant today and “By The Way” has thousands of mobile phones going up to record along. But there is no trace of “Under The Bridge” or “Can’t Stop”. Such hits would certainly have loosened up the tough intermediate phase. The concluding “Give It Away” doesn’t slip Kiedis’ lips as quickly as it did 30 years ago, but it still proves that it’s a worthy signature song. The Peppers will no longer be the best live band in the world in this life – but lifeblood and passion made up for some shortcomings.
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