Physical Graffiti
February 1990, Spin magazine (USA)
thanks to Caroline for typing it out
click the thumbnail to see the scans
Part funk slap, part punk mosh, part celebration and part remembrance of a lost friend, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ party continues to grow in size. On tour, it’s a party out of bounds.
The Riverside Ballroom, Green Bay, Wisconsin. November 26, 1989:
The Red Hot Chili Peppers stroll quietly into the ballroom and sneak a look around. THe crowd is fairly small, strangely restless, buzzing and hurting for relief from the sexual frustrations of a Midwestern farm town winter. Perfect For the first time on the Mother’s Milk tour, the Chilis decide to give them the sock.
Backstage, tour manager Mark Johnson produces a fresh pack of white tube socks. The Chilis rush from the cold dressing room into the friendly, swarming heat of the auditorium wearing tennis shoes, hats and the socks stretched over their cocks - a costume they save these days for stifled places like Green Bay.
The Chilis rear back and launch into “Out in L.A,” the traditional show-opoener of a band thick with rituals. The crowd erupts in an assgrabbing frenzy. Too-sexy, 19-year-old guitarist John Frusciante lays back, stretching his washboard stomach, his shoulders hunched, the Jimmy Page smirk on his lips. Singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea are simply a blur, a pair of martial arts contenders gone mad, Flea’s eyes glowing green and his tightly-wrapped skull shining.
Given the intensity of the onstage fray, the Chili Peppers are only tempting fate. Eventually, one of those socks has to fly off. Well into the set, jazz horn virtuoso and childhood homeboy Keith Chapman Barry - known only as Tree - joins the Peppers onstage. During his sax solo Tree’s sock almost immediately falls off - but, a true Chili, he “rocks out with his cock out” and finishes the song. There is no way to salvage the crowd. Boys are doffing their shirts. Virgins are crying. Guitar roadie and backup singer Robbie Allen darts onstage and “does a helicopter with his dick” right in the spotlight. We have, indeed, come a long way since Jim Morrison.
Drummer Chad Smith: “We fuckin’ rock the show, but Green Bay starts to feel a little uplight. We get backstage, and the promoter goes, ‘Yo, you guys better get out of here, ’cause the rent-a-cops called the police.’ And they’re comin’ to fuckin’ get us, so we run on the bus and Anthony’s in there - he’s got outsanding warrants from this Fairfax, Virginia show [another indecent exposure rap, at George Madison University], so he’s saying, ‘I’m not in the band, tell them I’m not in the band.’ We’re all like, ‘Fuck !’ ’cause we don’t want to get busted.”
The band makes some quick arrangements to escape in somebody’s jeep. As they’re slipping away from the bus, the ballroom rent-a-cops tell the boys that they’re required to wait for the police to arrive. So they back off from the jeep and wander nonchalantly back into the building, with Anthony lagging behind. Anthony sees the others edging away and begins a wholehearted conversation with the rent-a-cops about the situation - sacrifying himself so his pals can get away.
Chad: “We opened up, go through the back door, and I see this open, dark baseball field behind the place. I just fuckin’ hike up my pants and -”MMMNEEAYEAGH !’ - we’re fuckin’ ALL of us hightailin’ it across this field to freedom. We’re runnin’ our asses off, the long bomb of doom, a couple hundred yards at least.”
Anthony strolls out the back door and takes a few steps toward the bus and the rent-a-cops throw him on his face in the dirt. They pin him down in some wrestling holds, saying that they’re busting him for indecent exposure. When the police do arrive they’re more impressed with having seen the Chili Peppers on MTV, and let him go.
Chad: “I had told this kid with a car, ‘Meet us at McDonald’s,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll get you out of here.’ So we’re walking through Green Bay and the getaway car pulls up, we all slide in, and he takes the long-way around to avoid everyone. The cool thing was that we ended up at this guy’s house, playing Nintendo.”
Meanwhile, the kids inside the Riverside Ballroom are still looking for their clothes.
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