The Red Hot Chili Peppers brought their global Stadium Tour to the NYC area on Wednesday night (8/17), hitting NJ's MetLife Stadium. Energized by the return of guitarist John Frusciante to the fold -- by the end of the year two double albums will have been released -- the Chili Peppers were energized as ever, impressive for a band that's been together and have seen as much as they have for 40 years. Their set opened with a short jam featuring Frusciante, Flea and drummer Chad Smith before letting forth with the hits, which included "Can't Stop," "Scar Tissue," "Californication," "Give it Away," "Dani California," and "Soul to Squeeze." Coming back for an encore of "Under the Bridge" and "By the Way," Flea walked out on stage -- impressively designed and lit, by the way -- doing a handstand.
The Metlife show was a seriously solid triple bill. The Strokes filled their set with classics, and Julian Casablancas cracked jokes, telling the crowd this was a hometown show for them. Thundercat opened and did his best to get the crowd excited during his early set when folks were still on their way into the stadium.