Scorching the Surface : Red Hot Chili Peppers Show Flash but Just a Dash of Substance

The cigarette lighters came out in the audience at the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ concert at the Forum on Thursday when the band played 1991’s “Under the Bridge” and the more recent “My Friends.” The gesture was inevitable. Those two “sensitive” songs pushed the longtime novelty alternative band into mainstream fame.

But it was no coincidence that the most poignant moments of the veteran Angeleno quartet’s 90-minute set were not those songs, but brief quotes and allusions to other people’s material--a flourish of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” before “Backwoods” and a passage from Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done” after “My Friends.”

Sensitivity has never been the Chili Peppers’ strong suit. The most compelling musical interludes of the evening unfolded when they stuck with what they do best, plumbing the deep, funky grooves of such trademark tunes as the recent “Warped” and “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” while thrashing around the stage in beefy, tattooed splendor.

More than a decade ago, the Peppers were one of the earliest bands to experiment with a volatile blend of funk, metal and punk, which they used to fuel songs ranging from the whimsical (“Yertle the Turtle”) to, more often, the lascivious (“Sexy Mexican Maid”). And Thursday, when they locked into a groove--fueled by Flea’s prodigious bass and Anthony Kiedis’ manic, hair-flinging presence--it was a powerhouse performance.

Former Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, who joined the Peppers last year, brought out the trippier elements of the music, enriching some of the band’s classic touches. They prefaced their opening number, “Give It Away,” with the rumbling chant from “Freaky Styley,” the title track of their 1985 sophomore effort, and unfurled the lovely faux-sitar-tinged introduction of “Behind the Sun” before segueing into the hard-hitting grind of “Suck My Kiss.” And Flea added a dash of vitriol when he took over vocals for “Pea.”

Still, despite the lighter-inducing moments, there was a frustrating lack of substance to the show. The novelty elements of the band’s music and persona are no longer novel, and neither is its mass success.

Opening for the Chili Peppers were a 10-piece funk party unit, Weapon of Choice, and the Toadies, whose music, like the headliner’s, is also charged with attitude--though one that is much scruffier and more sardonic.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based Toadies, whose last Los Angeles appearances were at the much smaller Mayan and Whisky, generated more than enough stage presence to fill the Forum as they worked through a taut and gritty set that included new material and fiery renditions of their radio hit, “Possum Kingdom,” as well as “I Come From the Water” and “I Burn,” all from their current album, “Rubberneck.”