KEY POINTS:
Vector Arena was put to the test at the weekend, hosting its first sell-out show, for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. More than 12,000 people showed up for Saturday night's gig, including some lucky fans who managed to pick up last-minute door sales.
The concert marked a triumphant return to New Zealand for the Chili Peppers, who last frequented our shores in 2002, playing to a crowd of 20,000 at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland.
Tickets to both Saturday and Sunday nights' shows sold out in just 20 minutes, when they went on sale last month. Following a brief jam session, the band opened their two-hour set with 2002's Can't Stop and last year's hit Dani California.
Herald entertainment writer Rebecca Barry declared the concert a mixed bag, veering "between pure, funk-driven exhilaration and tired, joyless rote-playing".
- Flash NZ Herald
