![]() The foursome, augmented by an auxiliary musician positioned at the back of the stage, often gathered around Smith's drums, playing facing one other, rather than out toward the crowd. Kiedis pulled his shirt up over his face like an overexcited child - good thing for all those holes in it - while Flea, who took the stage shirtless, in a long skirt and with Los Angeles Lakers socks on, jumped high in the air, spun in circles and spoke several languages through his bass guitar. He's currently sporting a Tom Selleck mustache and a haircut like Moe's from the Three Stooges, which he manages to pull off with the help of his perennial California surfer bod and a performance energy that never flags. Kiedis, who somehow turns 60 later this year, darted around the stage in a blue mesh T-shirt, black shorts with a lightning streak across them and blue Nike socks pulled up to his calves. The band kicked off Sunday with a roaring five-minute jam that acted as a ramp-up to high-octane opener "Around the World." That spun into "Dani California" and the soaring "Universally Speaking," all songs from the high water mark of Frusciante's second tenure with the group. Others have come and gone, but the Chili Peppers are at their strongest when Frusciante is in the mix, and his re-joining the group in 2019 after a 10-year absence - this is his third stint as a Chili Pepper - is the creative launchpad that allowed them to tour stadiums this time around, ostensibly backing this year's "Unlimited Love" album but really celebrating the return of the group to its most successful (and soulful) incarnation. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have always been a love story, and that love story flows between those four musicians. There were no tracks underneath the band and no nets to fall back on, as the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers powered through a 17-song set that highlighted the core dynamic of the group, and the connection that bonds Kiedis, Flea, Smith and guitarist John Frusciante. ![]() Those local hugs were sprinkled throughout the nearly two-hour performance, a loose and imperfect show, those imperfections the result of live musicians playing live music. Flea also waxed about recording 1985's "Freaky Styley" in Detroit with producer George Clinton, while Kiedis mentioned the band's first Detroit concert at the no-longer-standing Latin Quarter. The Detroit appreciation even extended to Sparky Anderson, who got a shout-out at the show, as Flea dedicated "Stadium Arcadium's" "Tell Me Baby" to the late Detroit Tigers skipper. It's unbelievable," he said, pointing out the Olde English D tattoo on his arm. "It means the world to a little kid growing up not too far from here to come play this amazing stadium. Smith had even more to say at the show's close. It's an underappreciated facet of one of the most California-synonymous bands of all-time that half its roster hails from the Mitten State, and the homecoming love was in the air all night long: "Thank you Michigan!" bassist Flea said early in the evening. ![]() Smith's mom was not the only Red Hot Chili mama at the show Margaret "Peggy" Nobel, the mother of Grand Rapids-born singer Anthony Kiedis, was also watching from side stage. She waved to the fans who roared and cheered back, a fitting close for the biggest concert Smith and his Chili Peppers cohorts have ever played in the Motor City, in front of 34,000 fans at the Detroit Tigers' home. With the stadium's houselights up and his bandmates already offstage, Smith ran to the side area and brought his mother, who uses a wheelchair and was clutching one of her son's drumsticks across her chest, out to the center of the stage. Sunday night's Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at Comerica Park ended on an emotional note, with Bloomfield Hills-raised Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith thanking the audience and bringing his 95-year-old "all time f-ing rocker" mother, Joan Smith, out in front of the crowd. View Gallery: Red Hot Chili Peppers play Comerica Park
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