Live Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers @ London O2 Arena

When most bands return to the live circuit after releasing a new album they will base their entire set around it, with smatterings of the classics. Red Hot Chili Peppers, though, are not most bands. Their set at the impressive O2 arena included just four songs from the band’s tenth studio album, I’m WIth You, which was surprising considering the tour was in support of the new album. 


The four-piece, including the most recent replacement for John Frusciante, Josh Klinghoffer, kicked things off with an explosive version of ‘Monarchy Of Roses’, the first song on I’m With You. They followed it up with the punchy, funky groove of ‘Dani California’ from 2006’s double album, Stadium Arcadium.

Stadium Arcadium was revisited as many times as the band’s new effort, with ‘Tell Me Baby’, the beautiful ‘Hard To Concentrate’ and the epic ‘Wet Sand’ all demonstrating the quality of the Chili’s back catalogue. Klinghoffer, who had previously toured with RHCP for the Stadium Arcadium tour before taking over from Frusciante, showed that he was more than comfortable filling this predecessor’s shoes, putting his own distinctive stamp on many of Frusciante’s legendary solos. 

Album Review: Florence and the Machine - Ceremonials

Florence Welch, aka Florence and the Machine, was one of the breakthrough acts of 2010 even though her debut album Lungs was actually released halfway through 2009. Lungs didn’t go completely under the radar when it was released - it was number two in the UK chart for five consecutive weeks - but it didn’t quite take off like it did at the start of the new year when it reached number one. 

The second rise of the album, this time to the peak, was undoubtedly helped by the constant reoccurrence of Florence and the Machine songs in a host of films and T.V programs. ‘Dog Days Are Over’, ‘Kiss With A Fist’ and ‘You Got the Love’ were, among others, pretty much everywhere. Consequently, the album spent a total of sixty-five consecutive weeks in the top forty. So, it’s fair to say that the expectation was high for Florence’s second album, entitled Ceremonials.

The album kicks off with the sparse piano of ‘Only If For A Night’, as that delectable voice chimes in for the first time. It is a straightforward combination between Florence’s enticing vocals and the piano, but one that is incredibly effective. The album’s first official single, ‘Shake It Out’, is a colossal song that starts with an organ that forms the basis of song, before exploding into an irresistibly addictive chorus of “Shake it up, shake it up, woaaah / And it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back so shake him off”.