4 dirty birds

for much of the '90s i was consumed with the red hot chili peppers. music, art, correspondence, notebooks, etc. i'd find some way to incorporate them into every aspect of my life. i'd even given serious thought into getting the sprocket tattooed on my wrist. that's how much i loved them.

i remember the first time i saw them in concert. march of 1992. our high school rewarded honor students with cash and prizes, the renaissance program it was called. this year they got 30 or so tickets to the peppers. ohhhh, to win one. that was my ultimate goal that year. luckily i scored one (see my half ticket stub above) along with most, if not all of my close friends.

from here on out the details are sorta sketchy. i remember having to travel to what was once east berlin. to a small club, packed to the gills with people. a majority of us ended up on the second floor on the right hand side of the stage. incredibly close. rollins band opened...no recollection of them at all. fishbone also played and rocked. the main thing i remember with them was the reverb machine they used. finally the peppers took the stage. anthony wearing silver shorts, shirtless, his hair whipping around. they put on one of the best shows i'd ever seen. full of energy. it was amazing. it just clinched my love for them.

why the homage? last night aaron and i went to champaign and i got to relive why i love this band. it's been almost 15 years and it's almost as if time had stood still. they absolutely rocked. they probably have more fans today then they did years ago. my only complaint...they played 4 older songs...(if you have to ask, me and my friends, soul to squeeze and give it away)...i would have loved to hear more.

i'll post pictures and some video tomorrow. if anyone has details they'd like to add about the concert...please do so! i have a very bad memory so i'd love the help.