Last Tuesday night the Red Hot Chili Peppers lit up the outdoor stage at the RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater in Ridgefield, Washington, just across the Oregon border from Portland. The evening felt electric from the outset, with fans filling the venue and buzzing around with anticipation as the ominous looking clouds eventually held off from dropping any rain and left everyone with a delightful evening of weather for the performance. 

The group kicked things off with an introductory jam right after the legendary bassist Flea demonstrated his handstand skills to the crowd and before vocalist Anthony Kiedis joined the rest of the crew for a pumped-up Dani California. Drummer Chad Smith and Flea continued to build on each other’s energy, with the latter often hopping around the entire stage and both of them grinning, clearly enjoying playing off of each other on the stage. 

The opening notes of the iconic Scar Tissue came next and the crowd joined the band in swaying back and forth while Anthony Kiedis did his best to move around the stage while still wearing an orthopedic walking boot from a recent injury. The setlist throughout the night was a healthy mix of career-spanning classics—Soul to Squeeze, Suck My Kiss, and Californication—and newer material like Aquatic Mouth Dance, Black Summer, and Eddie before the band ended the main set with an emotive version of By The Way. 

After a quick break the group returned for a short encore, starting with I Could Have Lied before ending the night with a high-energy rendition of Give It Away. It’s been awhile since the Chili Peppers had come to town and the crowd definitely let the appreciation for the appearance come through in their participation throughout the night.