John Frusciante played with Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time in 13 years during a memorial concert honoring filmmaker Andrew Burkle on Saturday.
Singer Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, and guitarist Frusciante played a brief three-song set consisting of their own hit “Give It Away” alongside covers of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and Gang of Four’s “Not Great Men”. The latter came in tribute to Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, who produced Chili Peppers’ first studio album. Gill passed away last week at the age of 64.
Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction played drums for Chili Peppers, as Chad Smith was absent for the performance. Frusciante also stuck around on stage to join Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro for a few songs.
Watch fan-captured footage of the reunion below.
Earlier this year, Chili Peppers announced that Frusciante would be rejoining the band after more than a decade away. (Guitarist Josh Kinghoffer was subsequently dismissed from the band, a decision which he described as a “pretty simple” one.)
Chili Peppers’ first proper concerts with Frusciante in tow will come in May when the band headlines a trio of festivals, specifically: the Gulf Shores’ Hangout, Boston Calling, and BottleRock in Napa Valley. The band is also known to be working on a new album. Get tickets to their upcoming dates here.
Thank you to the Burkle family for including us in your celebration of Andrew. His passion for life was contagious & his spirit lives on through our work at @THF.
A good example of Andrew’s magnetism was on display when this all-star lineup came together to play Iggy Pop #acbrox pic.twitter.com/8F3WjGT8K7— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) February 9, 2020
From Dave Navarro's Instagram pic.twitter.com/iT8DNzxPh5
— RHCP Live (@redhot_live) February 8, 2020
GIVE IT AWAY com John Frusciante pic.twitter.com/lf0MPDqfWY
— RHCP Brasil (@RHCPbr) February 9, 2020
