Albany Pepsi Arena 2000 Review

Article found April 3, 2018 via this link describing Muse's set as part of the Foo Fighters/Red Hot Chili Peppers tour.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Foo Fighters Muse Pepsi Arena Albany, New York April 3, 2000 Sold Out By T.G. Clown

Well I went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters concert yesterday with my sister. We took the bus there and walked a block to Pepsi Arena. They were selling T-shirts for $25! I wanted to buy one, but I am a college student and I am broke. Anyway, our seating was good and we got a very good view.

The show started at 7:00 p.m. and the opening band, Muse, was okay. However, their sound was squeaky, sharp, and strange. We just covered our ears because the sound was so bad. They were pretty good; the lead singer was really into it. They sounded like Radiohead.

Then the Foo Fighters came on at about 7:45p.m. Their first song was "Monkeywrench" and people cheered. The Foo Fighter's sound was much better, their set was good too. Dave Grohl was yelling and playing with crowd. Oh yeah, Dave said Taylor Hawkins, their drummer, had to have Theraflu before the show because he was sick. He said that Taylor felt like he as on acid. They played well, but I wished that the other guys like Nate Mandell and the new guitarist would move. Their feet were glued to the stage, while Dave was running around like crazy. He even stepped on to some shacked equipment boxes to come closer to the crowds. I think he took a drink from a fan. They did a good job. I was impressed.

The mosh pit was pretty big too. Suddenly Dave took the stage solo and started to sing a Shania Twain song and then went right into "Big Me." Oh yeah, I forgot what song it was, but Dave was singing and then suddenly said, "I saw that bitch!" I assume someone gave him the finger, but I am not sure.

For "My Hero," Chad Smith of the RHCP came out and played drums with Taylor and Dave. For some reason I can't remember anymore. Dave kept on shaking his ass when he was playing "Stacked Actors" and people in the back where like, "Ill!" Their last song "Everlong" was the best and they even had the steam machine on to give it a smoky touch. That was all I can remember. Oh yeah, Dave wore a red buttoned down shirt with a white tie. They played an excellent gig.

They played (not in the right order) 1-Monkeywrench 2-Learn to Fly 3-Cows 4-Breakout 5-My Hero 6-(Some Shania Twain Song) Big Me 7-(New Song) 8-Alone and Easy target 9-This is a Call 10-Stick Around 11-Everlong

Then finally at about 9:15 p.m. the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on and we were going off like crazy, yelling and cheering. John Frusciante came on first along with Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith and Flea. Flea started to play "Around the World" even before John had his guitar on. Then John arched his back parallel to the stage because he is mad flexible. They were rockin' and everyone was singing along. They were experienced and they knew how to play a show. Anthony's voice was charming and got everyone pumped up with his gravity defying leaps. John and Flea were bugging out as they played and they were so into it. Then they started to jam and people weren't sure what they were going to play. Then when we heard the first note we knew it was "Give it Away."

Then John took the stage along with his very own spotlight and sang "Your Pussy's Glued to a Building is on Fire." He had a good voice and everyone mellowed down because it was a sad song. Then they got right into "Scar Tissue' and the crowd cheered. Flea told the people not to mosh because a girl got punched in the head and had to go on a stretcher. Anthony made some comments on it too. He said, "that is someone's sister."

There were televisions on the stage and the lights were great. They sounded great. Anthony took command and he sat on Flea's Amp, took his RHCP shirt off and people cheered. Chad did his thing on the drums and everything was fine. John, Flea, and Chad jammed here and there between songs, keeping everyone's attention. John's guitar sounded like it was crying on "Lovely Man" and Flea was so into it. Then they were trying to play "Otherside," but had to wait a little because John had to look good for that song, and so he went to the side and fixed his hair. While they were playing that song there was a fight between these two cap wearing jocks, right next to us. They were spilling soda and it splattered on my arm and they took it outside. And these girls in the back were singing along all out of tune and I was getting pissed.

Then John told the crowds that the people in the front were getting their heads kicked. As they were playing their set, Chad kept on throwing his drumsticks and they landed near Anthony. Anthony asked Chad if he could keep them and put them in his pocket. Some drumsticks fell into the pit. Suddenly I noticed how short Flea was.

Then the band eventually, slowed down for "I Could Have Lied." I heard people begging for them to play that song on message boards and they did! Then the band burst into "Easily" and I felt that the yellow-orange lights were really effective. I heard people say, "I love that song!" Then they started to play "Californication" and the background vocal blended well with Anthony' voice. It was a very passionate song.

Then suddenly, I couldn't hear what the band was playing because the crowds were cheering so loud. It took me couple of notes to figure out that it was the band's classic, "Under the Bridge." Everyone sang along to it; it was true union. After the crowds favorite, Flea thanked everyone for coming and went right into "Me and My Friends." The white lights really made that song exciting. Then they went in. I heard that Chad mooned people at the end, but I am not sure.

Then we went down near the pit and everyone was cheering for an encore. They were clapping and stomping and finally they came out. They played "Sir Psycho Sexy," but I was really expecting "Soul to Squeeze." Wow! I got a got a good look at the band. Then I noticed these two guys next to me that were around my age, just randomly dancing. Then I looked to my right and saw an old freaky looking guy smoking and dancing with his hippie son. That was weird, but I tried to focus on the band. Their last song was "Power of Equality" it was mad exciting. God these people are for real! They do exist.

Here is the set list 1-Around the World 2-Give it Away 3-Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire (John Frusicante's Song) 4-Scar Tissue 5-Lovely Man 6-If You Have to Ask 7-Otherside 8-Subterranean Homesick Blues 9-I Could Have Lied 10-Warped (jam) 11-Easily 12-I Like Dirt 13-Californication 14-Magic Johnson (jam) 15-London Calling/Right on Time 16-Under the Bridge 17-Me and My Friends (ENCORE) 18-Sir Psycho Sexy 19-Power of Equality

Then to concert ended at about 10:40 p.m. We rushed out to getting away from the pit and it was raining pretty hard. We walked to a bus stop for an 11:15 p.m. bus and there were so many people waiting there in the rain. Then finally the bus came at around 11:10 p.m. and everyone jumped in. The ride took about 20 minutes and the people in the bus were so psyched. That was fun. We all had a good time.

Back to Muse