Red Not Chili Peppers return to The Castle Theatre for the first time since 2022

The San Diego tribute to the Frusciante-era Chili Peppers is back in Bloomington on Thursday, Feb. 18, with Lips Speak Louder opening.

Somewhere in Bloomington–Normal there's a copy of *Blood Sugar Sex Magik* that has been played until the grooves went gray. Its owner has a date to circle: Red Not Chili Peppers play The Castle Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2027, with Lips Speak Louder opening. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

It's the band's first local show since Sept. 29, 2022, when they played the same room. The date was announced Oct. 15, and tickets are on sale through OpenDate. The Castle Theatre holds about 700.

Red Not Chili Peppers are a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute, and a particular kind of one. The band started from a Craigslist ad in San Diego in 2009, and its home base is Ocean Beach. Its focus is the John Frusciante era, and *Blood Sugar Sex Magik* is, in the band's own description, its heart and soul. That year they were also nominated for Best Tribute Band at the 2010 San Diego Music Awards.

What sets them apart is how much they play. The band says it aims for 20 to 30 songs a show, and often performs albums in full. The goal, as they describe it, is to capture the spirit of the original band rather than copy it note for note.

The goal is the spirit of the Chili Peppers, not a note-for-note copy.

That approach has taken them a long way from Ocean Beach. They have played in Brazil, Mexico and Japan, and band manager Paul Moffat has described them as the only nationally touring tribute act to the original Chili Peppers. It hasn't been a stable ride, either: a 2021 feature counted seven different drummers, seven guitarists and eight singers over the years. The band name has outlasted every lineup, which is fitting for a tribute act.

For Bloomington–Normal, the appeal is easy to explain. The real Chili Peppers play stadiums. A tribute playing a long set of the songs people actually want to hear, in a 700-capacity room downtown, is a different and more personal experience, and their return to The Castle Theatre suggests the 2022 show went over well.

Lips Speak Louder opens, so get there in time for the full bill.

A Thursday in mid-February is about as dead as the local calendar gets, which makes a night of "Under the Bridge," "Give It Away" and whatever else the band decides to play a welcome break. If you're the person with the worn-out copy of *Blood Sugar*, you already know you're going. Tickets are on sale now.

Bring your socks. You know which ones.

Sources: Red Not Chili Peppers – San Diego Reader (sandiegoreader.com); Tribute Band Red NOT Chili Peppers Announce Concert at Rialto – Logjam Presents (logjampresents.com); Tribute Band Red Not Chili Peppers Announce Concert at The ELM – Logjam Presents (logjampresents.com); Press Pass: Red Not Chili Peppers – Falls Church News-Press (fcnp.com); Red Not Chili Peppers at Capt Hiram's Sandbar – Sebastian Daily (sebastiandaily.com); Red Not Chili Peppers at The Castle Theatre – JamBase (jambase.com)