Red Hot Chili Peppers concert review: Veteran rockers bring their California love to sold-out Pittsburgh show

The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ love of California cannot be underestimated — with some Internet estimates putting a reference to the Golden State in about 20% of their songs.

That was on full display Tuesday night in a sold-out show at the Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, where the California funk-rock legends visited as a part of their Unlimited Love tour.

Drummer Chad Smith has the Dodgers’ giant “LA” logo on his bass drum and appeared to be wearing a backwards Dodgers hat. And bassist Flea brought out a purple bass guitar with a huge Lakers logo late in the show.

And would their show be complete if “Dani California” or “Californication” weren’t played?

Yet, after an intro jam among Smith, Flea and guitarist John Frusciante, the Chili Peppers started with “Around the World,” which includes singer Anthony Kiedis’ shoutout to the Keystone State: “Born in the north and sworn to entertain ya, ‘cause I’m down for the state of Pennsylvania.”

With a massive digital screen full of psychedelic, lava lamp-esque visuals and flashing strobe lights behind them, the Chili Peppers played an energetic set not often seen among the sexagenarian set. (Kiedis and Flea are 61 and Smith is 62, while Frusciante checks in at only 54.)

Kiedis, wearing a medical boot on his left foot and a wrap on his right knee, still danced in circles around the stage. As Flea crossed the stage at the start of the night, he did a handstand walk with his loose yoga skirt falling down over his head. And Smith was pounding the drums all night, tossing beat-up sticks into the crowd on at least two occasions. And Flea, who gave Pittsburgh props for supplying Andy Warhol to the world, and Kiedis were both shirtless within 30 minutes — how often is that seen in this age group of bands?

.@ChiliPeppers at @Pav_StarLake pic.twitter.com/ko9TZ1zLsp

— Mike Palm (@MikePalmMedia) July 3, 2024

Flea’s bass lines were front and center, definitely more prominent than most bands, but that’s part of the band’s appeal. With Flea and Smith locked into a groove, Frusciante was able to dive into blazing solos on songs like “Black Summer” and “Eddie,” their tribute to the late guitarist Eddie Van Halen. At times, the sound was a little muddy, making it hard to make out Kiedis’ vocals, which seemed fine otherwise.

Highlights included “Soul to Squeeze,” which started mellow, built to a release and then settled back down, and a powerful “By the Way,” which ended the regular set. After a few minutes for an encore break, they returned for the somber “I Could Have Lied” before ending on a higher note with “Give It Away.”

For a band that’s been going strong for 42 years, they’ve accumulated quite a collection of hits. Unfortunately, a lot of them, including their biggest hit, “Under the Bridge,” didn’t make the setlist for Tuesday’s show. Other notable omissions included “Scar Tissue,” “Can’t Stop,” “Snow ((Hey Oh)),” “Suck My Kiss” and “Me and My Friends.”

Instead of those songs, among the replacements were 2022’s “Carry Me Home,” which was played for the first time this year, plus Frusciante’s brief solo cover of David Bowie’s “Kooks.”

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Domi and JD Beck, an instrumental jazz duo with a French keyboardist and American drummer, acknowledged several times they were out of place opening the show.

“I know we’re not who you were expecting,” Beck said.

Other eclectic openers on this tour included rapper Ice Cube, Japanese all-female punk band Otoboke Beaver and rapper Ken Carson, while Kid Cudi and Irontom were originally slated to open here when the tour was announced.