John - The Orensanz Centre -New York City 15th March 2001

Nicole's Review

John Frusciante - March 15, 2001- Angel Orensanz Foundation, 9:00pm

This is going to be a long review kids so stay with me, you won't regret it. I arrived at the venue around 3:00pm with my best friend Maria. There were about four others that were already there, lined up on the opposite side of the street. One of his people, Lisa, had called John and told him that she was waiting outside for him to arrive. John arrived in a black limousine around 3:45pm wearing a light blue pea coat, a red scarf, and a red hat. He waved as he went inside with his little roller suitcase. He rehearsed from about 4:00pm to 5:30pm. They left the front doors of the venue open so we could see him practicing Runaway and Secret Side. It was clear as day. A few others and me talked to the limo driver and he didn't even know John's name! He asked us if he was famous or not, which was pretty funny. He also told us where John was staying that night, ha. John came outside around 5:30pm and there were more people standing against the fence by then. He calmly walked to the limo with Louis, and then I screamed, "HI JOHN" (in a sarcastic tone). He waved and took off. They opened the doors around 8:00pm as everyone that wasn't there early tried to push their way to the front of the mob. Maria ran inside and secured our front spots. Three feet from the table with John's drinks, towel, and songbook on! We were so close; it was unbelievable. So after an hour of waiting around John finally came out in a fuzzy sweater, black patent shoes, and tan pants. The lights shined brightly on him and everyone cheered loudly. He sat down and immediately went into a beautiful Been Insane, with a screeching 'pain' at the end. He tested the echo for a minute and then went into So Would Have I (?). Everyone sang to Going Inside, it was a great intense version. "This song is about somebody I love that I definitely don't know, it's a song I wrote a couple of years ago, its about two people I love very much and now I know one of them, but I didn't at the time I wrote this song, I'd met them before though, people who are going to be playing music as good as John Lennon 5 years from now." Then he went into I Will Always Be Beat Down. Get this, he sand "sold a hole to a disaster" - Untitled #11. "Hey Dave, I need more of the original signal and less of the echo. Wanna another downer?" Then he played Fallout, and more requests were screamed at him. "Hey nobody after asks me to do those. I'm not going to do anything if you don't shut up, and this is a song you absolutely do not know. I don't think you guys care. I think you'd rather hear my music, right? This is the first song I wrote when I rejoined the Chili Peppers 3 years ago," then he played Wanna Begin Again. Someone screamed "Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire!" - John goes, "It is?" and played it and then went into Representing. The only thing that John seemed pissed about was the constant requests begin screamed at him, let the man play what he wants! Someone behind me requested Oustside Space, and John goes, "That's an interesting request, I can't remember how it goes, it's a good song though." My friend Dave that I met was dying to hear a Bowie tune, when he yelled Bowie John goes, "Bowie? China Girl?" The he tested out the echo again, "I wasn't planning on doing this song." Then some girl on the side of the stage suggested playing Happy Birthday to John, who led to everyone singing 'Happy Birthday to John'. John put his elbows on his knees and just smiled into the audience for a good while. His face lit up, he was so appreciative. "Thank You." Modern Love was so excellent, I felt like it was modern Bowie right in front of me. "You wanna order drinks?" Begins to play Jugband Blues, "I cant hear my lead vocal at all, and I can hear my echo, give me some of my lead vocal," then, like the wise ass that I am, I go "What other Syd songs do you know?" John's head darted over to me as if I was the only one in the crowd, "Oh you don't wanna hear Jugband Blues? I don't have to play it, fuck." "This is the person from musical history that I feel most like, in common with, I feel like, he's my, like in modern terminology he's like my bro." He, of course, played it despite my remark. I was bouncing up and down, it rocked! "Notice the more songs that I play that you don't know, the less you applaud" "Am I in tune? This is one of my newest songs." Then John played a song I couldn't recognize; maybe someone else will post it and the lyrics someday.

"I've never done it live, this is the first song I ever wrote that I felt like the lyrics were my own style, I'd been writing lyrics for 10 years at that point, but this is the first song that I felt like the lyrics were where I found myself as a song writer." -played Untitled #12, best version that could have ever been played. Someone requested My Smile is a Rifle, and John didn't hesitate to play it. During this song, it was like I was being lifted off the ground. "Am I in tune? Is it all right, do I sound O.K.?" Then he played some song I don't know. Damn, I wish I knew. With No One was a great song, his new stuff is just so refreshing and original, I can pick out a new tune faster than I can pick up the soap. "I'm going to do a song of my favorite band, they're called, they were scheduled to play in New York, but they never actually played here, anyway they are called Joy Division." New Fades Dawn --THIS SONG FUCKIN ROCKED, and when John was playing it you could tell he was just in his glory. "That song was inspired by Fugazi, I've never done it live." Wind Up Space; what a voice! "I can't play that song I don't remember it." Someone requested Enter a Uh and John looked at him, said, "I wrote that song in New York," starts to play it, "I don't remember it, I was on drugs, I really don't remember it, I'm sorry." At this point on my boot there are too many people screaming and it's really frustrating that I can't hear John three feet away from me, regardless, lets move on. EVERYONE still with me? Then he played Freedom. His energy during the song was so off the wall. "You guys caught me on a very happy day, one of the happiest days of my life," then he played Perfect Day right into Runaway by Del Shannon, sheer genius. I got all choked up, call me a sap. "By the way you can get fucked up on stuff you by at the health food store. I'm telling you." Then someone screams 'John how are you?' "I fell in love today so I'm all good." -right into Mascara. One of my all-time favorites. MISSED SONG, I think it was Saturation. "Are you glad to be here?"-right into Someone's-"Actually I'm going to introduce this song before I play it, um, this song is dedicated to a very good friend of mine named Gene, who is a spirit who is possessing a person who is a very good friend of mine who is asleep. And we've talked many times and she told me about what its like in other dimensions, like places you'll go after you die, your actually there right now, you know, there is places you go after you die and your already there and your already living that life simultaneously with this. They're in a kind of time zone, where they, there, there everytime at once. And were all in this short period of time people who are spirits live in everytime zone because they don't have a sense of time. Consequentially, cause, they can't write songs, they can't do drugs, they can't have sex, they can't do all these thing we do cause we have time. You don't realize that it's time; it's not your flesh, or anything like that. Your very lucky to have time you should appreciate it while you have it cause your not going to have it after you die." His most inspirational words had to be before Someone's. "Only because we're playing in a cathedral, does anyone know who Nico is? Turn my guitar up Dave."-into Secret Side, John was like the man on the cross, if you catch my drift. "Any requests?" Someone requested Moments Have You, John goes, "I don't have the lyrics memorized." Too much screaming at this point, again, annoyed the piss out of me. He began to play Ten To Blood Butter Voodoo starting with the wrong lyrics, then he laughed and started over. Someone requested Nigger Song, John replied "That's another one I wrote in New York, I don't know how to play it." The bitch behind me finally got her request of The First Season, although throughout the whole show she was calling the song Season's, dumb bitch. He stopped midway cause he broke a string, "I'm sorry I have to stop, I can't play that song with a broken string." Then that asshole yelled, 'Fuck Anthony Kiedis!' John looked at him with a pissy face and thought to himself, "Fuck Anthony Kiedis? If it wasn't for Anthony Kiedis I wouldn't have written any of these songs I've written in the last 2 years." "Forget about Anthony Kiedis. I'd going to play one of my newest songs. This is a song, it's written to everyone."-we'll call it Anyway You Want. "By the way, one more song. And those final minutes are going to be spent with me thinking." (thinks) (begins to play something and stops) ROCK AND ROLL SUICIDE!

After the show, I met John and talked to him for 5 minutes, it was something I'll never forget. Most people cleared out after the show cause the roadies were telling people too, but I knew that John would sign autos and take pictures. I saw Louis standing on the stage watching over John so I waited my turn to talk to the man himself. I was thinking about telling him how much he meant to me but I got all choked up and just handed him a picture I drew with the TROWFTD CD. He goes, "What do you want me to do with this sign it?" I go, "NO, keep that, it's for you, and sign this." John says, "Here Louis, take this, I can't sign this, I lost my marker, Louis I need another marker." Louis took my picture and goes, "I'll interpret it for him." We all laughed. So John turns back to me and goes, "Whose is this?" I was like, "It's MINE!" So he signed it and then I handed him a Kristen Vigard CD that I searched forever for, "I looked for this CD forever and I finally found it one day, I love it." John: "Oh yea, I haven't seen this in a while, I actually recorded other songs with the bass player that was never put onto CD…It's really good stuff, yea, unfortunately he died" Me: "Oh, I'm sorry. Is she still recording? I love this CD, it's incredible stuff."
John: "Yea, actually she's here tonight, right over there (points to the side stage)."
Me: "Oh, wow, really?" John: "Yea, that's cool you have that CD." I said thank you to John and he said it back to me. I took a picture with him and walked away, said thank you again I think. There is some things John said to me that I forgot cause it was such a surreal moment in my life. It was one of the best days of my life and I'll never be so happy again; I could tell in his eyes he was just as happy.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions then please email me at daysleeper42@cs.com. I will be posting lots of pictures and possibly a video sometime early next week. ENJOY!