Flea, bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, performed with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis in LA on Wednesday. Together the three performed “We No Who UR” by The Bad Seeds.
Flea joined Cave and Ellis for the second encore of the night, helping them play the opening track from The Bad Seeds’ 2012 album, ‘Push The Sky Away’. This was the song’s debut on the couple’s current tour for their acclaimed 2021 album CARNAGE, and the first time the song has been played in seven years.
The bassist added his own style to the track before embracing Cave and Ellis at the end of the song. Here you can see the performance:
After the concert, Ellis shared a photo with Flea on Instagram and wrote, “So wonderful to have you on stage with me and Nick at The Shrine in Los Angeles tonight. Can feel the soul pouring out of you on stage.”
It is not the first time that Ellis and Flea are on stage together. In 2014 they even played a whole concert together in Paris. Cave, on the other hand, arguably has a slightly more difficult relationship with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Nick Cave reportedly slammed the band in a 2004 review of STADIUM ARCADIUM for The Guardian. “I’m always near a stereo and I’m like, ‘What the hell is this junk?'” Cave reportedly said. “And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” However, it seems Flea didn’t take this criticism to heart.
Two years later, Flea wrote of the incident on RHCP’s official website: “For a second this hurt my feelings because I love Nick Cave. I have all his recordings. I don’t care if Nick Cave hates my band because his music means everything to me because he’s one of my favorite songwriters, singers and musicians of all time. I love all Bad Seeds incarnations. But it only hurt my feelings for a second because my love is bigger than all that shit and if he thinks my band is lame, that’s fine.”
Warren Ellis and Nick Cave are currently touring the US as a duo, following up on their 2021 album CARNAGE. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are releasing their new album UNLIMITED LOVE this year.