Red Hot Chilli Peppers, I’m with You Tour @ Knebworth.

Knebworth itself is a great venue for gigs with wonderful grounds.The elevation all around the stage ensures everyone has a great view. 

First up were Sheffield’s Reverend & the Makers and they really seemed to relish playing on such a big stage, front man Jon McClure uses the space to his advantage as he works the crowd and his band. Overall a very polished set which the crowd really enjoyed.

Next up were Indie kings The Wombats, and again they are a band on the up and at the top of their form. Kicking off with ‘Our Perfect Disease’ the band quickly set the pace for their set with the wonderful ‘Kill the Director’. The trio from Liverpool really are going places and today’s inclusion on the line up shows how much they are thought of by their peers, they finish off with a bit of irony by playing ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division’ – is that even possible?

Dizzee Rascall is met with a massive cheer as he saunters on stage as only Dizzee can, working the crowd is his speciality and as he bombs through his set the crowd just get worked up more and more. ‘Road Rage’, ‘Heavy’ and ‘Dance Wiv Me’ are special, but the best is saved till last and as the opening notes of ‘Bonkers’ fills the arena, the crowd do indeed just go BONKERS… What a way to warm up a crowd.   

As the rain starts to fall the group that we have all been waiting for appear on stage and unleash the mighty ‘Monarchy of Roses’, just as we thought it couldn’t get any better ‘Around the World’ is quickly followed by ‘Dani California’. As the opening bars of ‘Can’t Stop’ fill our ears our eyes are drawn to Flea on bass he is the ultimate entertainer, he verges on manic which is just fantastic to watch. Antony Kiedis dances around the stage like a mad man but as ‘Under the Bridge’ starts he seems to stop and take the huge crowd under his wing and helps them sing along. A wonderful cover of Stevie Wonders ‘Higher Ground’, a stunning rendition of ‘Californication’ leads into ‘Factory of Faith’ from last year’s album I’m With You. ‘By The Way’ is yet another mass sing-a-long and leads to the band departing the stage, with the crowd wanting more they return to play a few more classics before finally ending with ‘Give it Away’.

What a show all the bands put on! It is just a shame the weather had such a part to play later on in the evening, we took shelter under a canopy of a refreshment van which proved ideal for us, it was after all a great view, dry, a bit of warmth and hot chocolate on tap!

Article by Rachel & Stef Wasylciw