Summer amphitheater season officially kicked off at the Toyota Amphitheater in Wheatland with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on a perfectly balmy Sunday night. And in spite of warnings of heavy traffic from the event organizers, the traffic along the single lane road into the parking lot backed up for miles amongst the farmland, the fans still managed to pack into the sold-out venue in time for the band’s 8:45 set.
Rapper Ken Carson kicked things off for the still-gathering crowd with a gaggle of hardcore fans moshing in the general admission section in front of the stage, but it was clear that the vast majority of the crowd was there for the Chili Peppers. So, when the lights finally dropped and Flea entered the stage, flipping over to walk on his hands, the Wheatland crowd went crazy.
Along with a keyboardist, Flea (bass), Chad Smith (drums), and John Frusciante (guitar) kicked the evening off with a funky jam before being joined by Anthony Kiedis as they went straight into fan favorite “Dani California” with the massive LED screen at the back of the stage lit up in psychedelia.
A brace on his right knee and a cast boot on his left foot didn’t seem to slow Kiedis who bounced around the stage as RHCP leaned heavily on the hits with only two songs from their 2022 release, Return of the Dream Canteen. No complaints from the crowd and “Under the Bridge” and “Give It Away” from Blood Sugar Sex Magik wrapped the encore perfectly, hopefully leaving folks in a pleasant mood for more time sitting in traffic.
KEN CARSON
RHCP SETLIST
Intro Jam
Dani California
Scar Tissue
Aquatic Mouth Dance
Universally Speaking
Otherside
Eddie
Don’t Forget Me
Soul to Squeeze
Right on Time (with The Clash’s “London Calling” intro)
Tippa My Tongue
Suck My Kiss
Tell Me Baby
Californication
Black Summer
By the Way
Under the Bridge
Give It Away
