Red Hot Chili Peppers Play ‘Kimmel,’ ‘Fallon’ in Late-Night April Fools Stunt
Red Hot Chili Peppers joined late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon for a bit of April Fools fun Friday, performing on both the Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live — with the help of some TV magic.
Kimmel and Fallon pranked their audiences by swapping places, each hosting the other’s show for the evening. Instead of playing host two two different musical acts, however, the late-night shows opted to double-book the Los Angeles band — resulting in the Chili Peppers playing simultaneously on two different networks.
For Kimmel, the Chili Peppers performed “Black Summer” atop the historic Roosevelt Hotel in a pre-recorded segment filmed Thursday while the band was in Los Angeles to accept their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On the Tonight Show, the band played live from NBC Studios in New York, offering up a rendition of their latest single, “These Are The Ways.” Both tracks appear on the band’s new album, Unlimited Love, which Rolling Stone called a return to the group’s “signature funky-rock beauty.”
In each performance, the Chili Peppers paid subtle tribute to Foo Fighters dummer Taylor Hawkins — who died March 25 at the age of 50 in Bogotá, Colombia — by displaying the name “Taylor” on Chad Smith’s bass drum. As the drummers of two of the most popular rock bands of the 90s and early 00s, Smith and Taylor formed an exceptionally close bond. On Friday, Smith shared a compilation video featuring footage of the two men throughout the years.
“I have to give a shoutout to my brother Taylor Hawkins. I love you Taylor,” Smith said during the Chili Peppers Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony Thursday. “He would laugh and make a smartass comment about this whole thing.”
The Chili Peppers will soon embark on a North American stadium tour in support of Unlimited Love, which kicks off July 23 in Denver before wrapping Sept. 18 in Arlington, Texas.
