AUSTIN, Texas — In 2019, 10 years after leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers to explore solo projects and electronic music, guitarist John Frusciante rejoined the band. The Chili Peppers’ first studio album with Frusciante in 16 years, “Unlimited Love,” was released in April of this year.
On Sunday of both weekends of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, the band’s long legacy returned to a point that built the foundation of where they are today, with the same lineup that brought fans “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” and “Mother’s Milk.” But the band also has the strength of coming back to this point after years of growth, separation, individual solo projects and musical experimentation.
The band opened on the American Express stage on Sunday of ACL Weekend 2 with an intro jam, stripping back the spectacle of the big-stage festival show and highlighting the long-lasting chemistry of Frusciante, singer Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith.
But there was one problem – the audience couldn’t hear them, and the band didn’t seem to notice. It seemed like nothing was coming out of the stage’s sound system, leaving the faint sound of whatever was coming directly off the stage or the stage monitors.
The problem persisted for several minutes as the crowd chanted, “Turn it up!” When the sound system finally cut in, the crowd cheered but had already missed most of the band’s intro.
PHOTOS: ACL Fest 2022, Weekend 2
In-and-out volume issues carried on through the first songs before seemingly getting fixed. The set started with “Around the World” off the band’s 1999 album “Californication,” followed by funky alt-rock jam “Dani California” and 2002’s “Universally Speaking.”
Kiedis told fans that “Universally Speaking” is a song about ex-girlfriend Yohanna Logan, who the singer said has now put down roots in Austin.
It was also a special night for bassist Flea, who was celebrating his 60th birthday. He thanked Paramore for wishing him a happy birthday earlier and told fans holding happy birthday signs he had been crying “tears of joy” for two days.
At Weekend 1, the band – the final act of the weekend and slotted until 10 p.m. – finished a half-hour early and before the fireworks that close out the end of the festival. This weekend, the band played until 9:45 p.m., perhaps owing to several jam sessions between songs. The fireworks again went off above an empty stage.
Short set or not, the Chili Peppers finished quick and strong with their biggest hits – after “Californication” and “Give It Away,” there was a brief break before an encore performance of “Soul to Squeeze” and “By the Way.”
And with that, Austin wrapped up another successful year of ACL, now truly back in full swing following the interruptions and cancelations of the pandemic.