There are more similarities between Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Rolling Stones than what is immediately apparent. Whilst their music might be quite different, the groups’ respective histories of hellraising, energetic frontmen, and in-house guitar heroes draw them closer than one would expect.
Given that they are also two of the most prominent bands of all time, inspiring several different generations to pick up an instrument, it makes sense that the two acts should converge at some point. At the end of 1994, after Red Hot Chili Peppers worked on what would become the divisive One Hot Minute, they closed out the year with a duo of shows opening for The Rolling Stones.
However, despite the life-affirming nature of opening for one of the world’s most famous bands, it was not an experience that Red Hot Chili Peppers looked back on fondly. Their frontman, Anthony Kiedis, has been particularly vocal about why it wasn’t as an enjoyable moment as people would think.
In the years that followed, he recalled that being the opening act for the British band “isn’t a great job” before explaining that their fans are only there to see them and not the support. Furthermore, he claimed that the whole apparatus was configured for The Rolling Stones, meaning that Red Hot Chili Peppers felt really out of place.
Kiedis told Interview in 2011: “Opening for them isn’t a great job. Their show is about them, and it’s set up for them. We had issues with sound and lighting, and we were relegated to a very small postage stamp of the stage—you know, like, ‘Okay, you guys can’t go left or right of here, and don’t step on Mick’s imported teak wood dance floor. That’s a no-no.’ So you’re kind of playing when people are filing in with their merchandise and programs and they’re not really paying attention.”
He continued: “You’re pouring your heart into this performance you believe in and people are kind of waiting around to hear ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’. So, no fault of The Rolling Stones, it just isn’t really a great gig, and it wasn’t a great one for us because we really believed in what we were doing, and the audience just wasn’t there for us.”
Kiedis did stop himself from criticising The Rolling Stones themselves, though, and maintained that they have had a significant impact on music. He said: “I have really loved discovering the history of them and how incredibly meaningful they were to the world, and still are in a really bizarre way.”
