Red Hot Chili Peppers

Last night we took the boys to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the O2. It is a long time since we had seen a band that we hadn't seen previously but I think that they are one of those bands that any self respecting rock fan should be able to tick as 'seen' on their gig bucket list!


I had been dreading the long journey to the venue and had been agonising over which wheelchair to take; the indoor wheelchair with bone shaking, back jarring potential or the comfy off road chair which is very difficult to drive, having not used it for probably 2 months. There are numerous other factors for and against both wheelchairs which I won't bore you with but I decided on the bone shaker.

The journey through rush hour traffic took over 2 hours and wasn't helped by the Tomtom which was hell bent on shaving seconds off the route by taking "shortcuts" down speed humped residential streets! I appreciate that for someone with no knowledge of the area they have no option but to follow the instructions but it drives me nuts. And worse still is that an entire generation is growing up without the faintest clue how to get anywhere beyond their local shops. I am not advocating that people should have conversation boring levels of knowledge ("if I were you geoffrey I would take the B5479 to avoid the dog leg junction on the B5476 near Buttocks Hole") but knowing the M11 won't get you from London to Cardiff very quickly is quite useful if your sat nav is having a mad moment.

Anyway, having left early we arrived in plenty of time and thanks to the traffic speed and Tracy's navigation around pot holes it wasn't too uncomfortable. Tracy's brother had again managed to get us into the VIP parking area which is right next to the venue, helping me greatly. I am going to write to O2 asking why disabled parking isn't situated here instead of within the main car park (resulting in it still being several hundred yards from the arena)

The band came on at around 9 and we were grateful for the boys being issued ear defenders because despite being at the back of the arena, it was LOUD. In the circumstances, not being able to get wheelchair spaces at the front (you are only allowed one accompanying guest or carer, another point for my letter ) was probably fortuitous. I guess my concerns about the travelling had prevented me looking forward to the gig but within a few minutes I was enjoying the music as much as the relief of having got there! They played tracks from the new album and plenty of older hits (all fully clothed; I had told the boys about their previous stage attire comprising of nothing other than a strategically placed sock)

They sounded fantastic and hopefully illustrated to Daniel that bass players don't necessarily have to be in the shadow of an egocentric lead guitarist. The Chili's bassist, Flea is claimed to be one of the world's best and its easy to see why. He is apparently also an accomplished trumpet player, so Daniel may be on to something!



They played for an hour and a half which I think is a little lightweight but it was still a great gig, although Anthony Kiedis really should rethink his Phil Oakey meets Hitler look. Jake and Daniel seem to enjoy most of it but Luke was less enthusiastic, hopefully they will have good memories of it.

The trip back was under an hour and although far from comfortable, it was bearable and I will hopefully be a little less stressed about our two remaining gigs; Deep Purple in 2 weeks and Manic Street Preachers just before Christmas. We are particularly looking forward to the Manics as it is a one off show celebrating 25 years since their debut single and they will play all 38 singles over 3 hours. And we have wangled wheelchair spaces at the front of the arena!