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The city of Montreal is buzzing as the Montreal Canadiens have gotten off to a good start in the NHL playoffs. While the Habs may be getting the headlines, there are still a lot of other options all over the city. Those with a musical itch that needed to be scratched found themselves at the Théâtre Beanfield. Flea was in town with an all-star backing group of jazz musicians.
One of rock n’ roll’s greatest characters, Flea, just released his very first solo album, Honora. It is an effort that allows this Chili Pepper to explore his other love, jazz. He calmly hit the stage and took a seat, but this is Flea. The mischievous smile is never that far away, and before the night was over, he was bouncing around shirtless on the stage.
Flea opened the concert with “Goodnight Darius” and immediately let loose a “How about those Canadiens!” They had just scored a goal before Flea, and his band had hit the stage to a roaring wave of “olés.” Front and center, Flea spent the evening alternating between his bass, trumpet and some wild dance moves. There was no stopping him.
Some awesome musical talent joined Flea on stage. Josh Johnson was on keyboard and saxophone. Anna Butterss on bass, “the rhythm of the world,” Deantoni Parks on drums and the incomparable Jeff Parker on guitar. This was a jazz supergroup for the ages, and it was an honour to be standing mere feet before them.
“Traffic Lights” followed with some interpretive dance moves thrown into the mix. “There’s lots of crappiness in the world right now,” he told the crowd. “It’s nice to spend this moment here with you all.”
When he wasn’t dancing, we got some video footage of Flea walking around a field or playing on the beach with some dogs. It helped add to the personal feel of the whole evening.
We didn’t just get to hear live versions of the recorded songs. This was an extended jam session with some masters of the genre. The band is so good that Flea isn’t even the best bass player in the band. Moreover, he even admitted to having asked Butterss to give him some bass lessons in the past. This was a group of very talented friends having some fun jamming out on stage.
“Thanks for listening, thanks for caring and thanks for being here.” No Flea, it is we who need to thank you and your band. It was emphatically an unforgettable night of music.
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