Over the weekend, John Frusciante played his first gig with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in over a decade, as part of a memorial for aspiring film producer Andrew Burkle, hosted by the Tony Hawk Foundation.
Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis, Flea and Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins - who stepped in for an absent Chad Smith - played a three-song set, comprising Give It Away, I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges) and Gang of Four’s Not Great Men, likely a tribute to the band’s guitarist Andy Gill, who passed away earlier this month.
The show also played host to another surprising reunion, as Frusciante joined forces with ex-RHCP electric guitar player Dave Navarro for Jane’s Addiction classic Mountain Song, during a four-song stint by the LA alt-rockers.
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You can see a compilation of fan-shot footage above, which shows Frusciante in fine form, with his ’62 Strat-into-Marshall Silver Jubilee pairing positively shining.
Frusciante last performed with the Chili Peppers at the UK's Leeds Festival back in 2007, although he didn't officially leave the band until two years later.
RHCP announced the guitarist's Frusciante in December last year, which resulted in the ousting of Josh Klinghoffer, who later reflected, “It’s absolutely John’s place to be in that band.
“If John coming back had happened five years ago, it would have been hard for me, temporally, to weigh against what they had.
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“Now, after 10 years, two tours, and almost three albums of writing, I'm really proud of what I did with them. I feel like we did create something.
“John and Flea have a musical language. I'll never be able to contend with the history him and John had.”
The band’s first full shows are slated for May, with a run of festival dates in the US stopping at Hangout Music Festival, Bottlerock and Boston Calling.
