Californication Tour
The Californication Tour was a global concert tour by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, undertaken from mid-1999 to 2000 to promote their seventh studio album, Californication, released on June 8, 1999.[1] This tour marked the first major outing following guitarist John Frusciante's return to the band in 1998 after overcoming drug addiction, contributing to a revitalized sound and heightened commercial success.[1] Spanning 135 performances across 120 cities in 24 countries, the tour showcased the band's evolution toward stadium-filling rock with funk and alternative influences, featuring setlists heavy on tracks from Californication alongside classics like "Give It Away" and "Under the Bridge."[1] Notable appearances included headlining festivals such as Woodstock '99 on July 25, 1999, where they performed to large crowds amid the event's chaotic atmosphere, and international stops at Reading Festival and Big Day Out.[2] The tour solidified the Peppers' status as one of the era's top live acts, with Frusciante's intricate guitar work enhancing their energetic performances and helping propel album sales exceeding 15 million copies worldwide.[1]Background
Album Release and Band Reunion
The Red Hot Chili Peppers had been on hiatus following the 1995 release of One Hot Minute, their sole album featuring guitarist Dave Navarro, whose tenure emphasized a heavier funk-metal direction amid band members' personal struggles, including addiction issues.[3] John Frusciante, the band's original guitarist who left during the 1992 Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour due to escalating heroin addiction, achieved sobriety after a near-fatal period of homelessness and hallucinations in 1997, entering rehabilitation and emerging clean by early 1998.[4] Frusciante rejoined the group that year at bassist Flea's urging, marking his reintegration after six years away and enabling a stylistic pivot back toward the melodic, guitar-driven rock of their earlier work.[5][6] With Frusciante's return solidified, the band recorded Californication from December 1998 to March 1999 under producer Rick Rubin at Cello Studios in Hollywood.[7] The album was released on June 8, 1999, by Warner Bros. Records, debuting at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and receiving critical praise for its introspective lyrics and refined sound.[7][3] Commercially, Californication sold over 16 million copies worldwide, establishing it as the band's best-selling studio album and creating substantial public demand for a supporting tour.[8][9] This success directly stemmed from the reunion's creative renewal, contrasting the underwhelming reception of One Hot Minute, which had sold fewer than 3 million copies in the U.S.[8]Tour Conception and Preparation
The conception of the Californication Tour stemmed from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' reunion with guitarist John Frusciante in 1998, culminating in the album Californication's release on June 8, 1999, which provided the creative and commercial foundation for extensive live promotion.[10] The tour's planning prioritized capitalizing on the album's success and the band's revitalized stability, with initial strategies focusing on U.S.-based arena shows and festival bookings to rebuild audience connection after years of lineup instability and Frusciante's 1992 departure amid drug issues.[11] Frusciante's preparations centered on adapting his studio-recorded guitar tones—achieved with Marshall JTM-45 and Super Bass amplifiers alongside a 1962 Fender Stratocaster—for the demands of live amplification, incorporating pedals like the Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion and FZ-3 Fuzz to maintain clarity and dynamics in larger venues.[12] This technical focus addressed challenges from his limited gear post-rehabilitation and house fire, ensuring tonal consistency between album tracks and performances.[13] Rehearsals preceding the tour underscored the positive impact of Frusciante's sobriety since 1997, fostering disciplined band cohesion and precise execution that contrasted sharply with the heroin-fueled disruptions and erratic energy of earlier tours like the 1991-1992 Blood Sugar Sex Magik outing.[6] This sobriety-driven preparation enabled structured set development and reduced onstage unpredictability, setting the stage for the tour's extension into international legs.[10]Tour Itinerary
1999 North American and Festival Appearances
The 1999 North American appearances for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication Tour began in May with promotional shows in intimate venues, transitioning to larger amphitheaters and festivals throughout the summer. This initial phase featured 25 documented performances across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, emphasizing club-level intimacy before escalating to major outdoor events.[14] Early dates included theater and club gigs such as May 15 at Roseland Theatre in Portland, Oregon; May 16 at Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington; and May 20 at First Avenue Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, often as part of the rebranded Teen Tolerance Tour following the Columbine incident.[14] [15] These were followed by festival slots, including May 22 at Q101 Jamboree in Chicago, Illinois; May 23 at Pointfest in Maryland Heights, Missouri; May 29 at HFStival in Baltimore, Maryland; and May 30 at WBCN River Rave in Mansfield, Massachusetts.[14] June brought further festival headline sets, notably June 18 at Shoreline Amphitheatre during the Big Friggin' Day Festival in Mountain View, California, and June 19 at KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, California. Additional standalone shows occurred, such as June 25 at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The phase culminated in high-profile festivals like July 25 at Woodstock '99 in Rome, New York, where the band closed the event at Griffiss Air Force Base. Scattered appearances continued, including July 22 on Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada, and later-year events such as October 11 at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City and December arena residencies in California venues like Cox Arena in San Diego (December 26), Cow Palace in Daly City (December 28), ARCO Arena in Sacramento (December 29), and Great Western Forum in Inglewood (December 31).[14] [16] This segment established the tour's empirical scale through diverse venue types, from capacities under 1,000 in clubs to tens of thousands at festivals, laying groundwork for subsequent expansions while prioritizing regional buildup in the U.S. and adjacent markets.[14]2000-2001 International and Extension Legs
Following the initial North American leg, the Red Hot Chili Peppers shifted focus to international markets in 2000, commencing with a series of dates in Oceania. The band performed in Australia starting February 6, 2000, in Perth, followed by additional shows including the Big Day Out festival.[17] This expansion included stops in Asia and Europe, with summer festival appearances such as August 14 at Vasilyevsky Spusk in Moscow, Russia; August 18 at Wiesen Festival in Austria; and August 20 at Bizarre Festival in Cologne, Germany.[1] The tour concluded its primary international phase on September 22, 2000, encompassing 135 performances across 120 cities in 24 countries during the 1999-2000 period.[1] Extensions into 2001 featured select festival and stadium shows, adapting to overseas demand while incorporating breaks amid preparations for new material. Key Latin American dates included January 21 at Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, drawing over 200,000 attendees across the event, and January 24 at Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[18] A U.S. performance occurred on March 1 at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.[19] European commitments persisted into late summer 2001, highlighted by the August 25 appearance at Slane Festival in Slane Castle, Ireland, where the band delivered a set including tracks from Californication alongside earlier material.[20] These extension legs, comprising approximately 11 additional concerts scattered through benefits and major events, brought the overall tour total to over 150 shows, reflecting sustained global interest post-album release.[21] The transcontinental scheduling, involving frequent long-haul flights and time zone adjustments, inherently posed logistical challenges for maintaining performance vigor relative to the more localized 1999 itinerary, though the band adapted through structured recovery periods between dates.Musical Content
Typical Setlists
The Californication Tour setlists typically opened with "Around the World," the energetic lead single from the album, immediately followed by the high-octane classic "Give It Away" from Blood Sugar Sex Magik, establishing a dynamic blend of new and established material.[22][23] Early portions of the main set consistently featured "Scar Tissue," another Californication track, often positioned within the first five songs to showcase the band's evolving melodic style.[1] This structure reflected a deliberate emphasis on the album's introspective hits while maintaining crowd engagement through proven staples. Performances averaged 20 to 25 songs per concert, with roughly 10 to 15 drawn from Californication, including staples like "Otherside," "Californication," "Parallel Universe," and "Right on Time," which appeared in over 120 documented shows each.[1][21] The remaining slots filled with pre-1999 hits such as "Under the Bridge" (played in 123 instances), "Suck My Kiss," and "Higher Ground," ensuring a balance that highlighted the tour's promotional focus without alienating longtime fans.[1] Regional differences emerged empirically, with U.S. dates incorporating more funk-infused encores like "Me and My Friends" (performed 125 times, predominantly in North American legs) compared to streamlined closers in European shows.[24][1] A representative setlist from mid-tour dates, aggregated across verified 2000-2001 performances, included:- Around the World
- Give It Away
- Scar Tissue
- Otherside
- If You Have to Ask
- Californication
- Suck My Kiss
- Under the Bridge
- Right on Time
- Parallel Universe
- Easily
- I Could Have Lied
- Porcelain
- Me and My Friends (encore opener)
- Higher Ground
Song Selection and Variations
During the Californication Tour, the Red Hot Chili Peppers incorporated several rarities and deep cuts from their early catalog, providing variety beyond the predominant focus on the Californication album and prior hits. Tracks like "Savior" from the 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan were revived selectively, appearing in 8 performances, often as a nod to the band's formative funk-punk roots amid the tour's more polished alternative rock sound.[1] Similarly, "Freaky Styley," the title track from their 1985 sophomore album, was played 6 times, emphasizing high-energy improvisation that contrasted with the setlist staples.[1] Other deep cuts marked their final appearances in the band's live repertoire for extended periods. "Backwoods" and "Green Heaven," both from the 1984 The Red Hot Chili Peppers debut, were performed only 3 times each, with these instances serving as the last live renditions until much later revivals in subsequent decades.[1] [25] The cover of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" was featured in select shows, such as on April 6, 2000, in Roanoke, Virginia, and August 13, 2000, at Jones Beach Theater, representing the song's concluding live outings during this era and highlighting the band's occasional forays into external influences for audience engagement.[26] [27] Covers and teases further diversified the selections, including a tease of The Clash's "London Calling" during the June 5, 2000, performance at Compaq Center in Houston, Texas, which infused punk urgency into the proceedings without a full rendition.[28] These variations, drawn from archival setlist data, underscore the tour's balance of fan-favorite consistency with sporadic archival pulls, fostering a sense of unpredictability in an otherwise structured itinerary.[1]| Rarity/Deep Cut | Number of Plays | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Savior | 8 | Selective revival from The Uplift Mofo Party Plan[1] |
| Freaky Styley | 6 | Title track from 1985 album, emphasizing improvisation[1] |
| Backwoods | 3 | Final plays from debut album[1] |
| Green Heaven | 3 | Final plays from debut album[1] [25] |