Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith used a recent night off in Melbourne to play one of his smallest shows in recent memory. On Wednesday, 8th February, Smith joined the weekly Cherry Jam open mic night at beloved city venue Cherry Bar, performing in front of just 17 audience members.
Footage from the venue shows Smith joined by local musicians AC Dan and Josh May as they performed covers of AC/DC’s ‘If You Want Blood’ and ‘Up To My Neck In You’. According to a social media post from Cherry Bar, Smith was granted one free drink card for his musical contributions to the evening.
Chad Smith performed a pair of AC/DC covers at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar:
The evening was a special one for Adhesion drummer Seth O’Donnell, who took to social media to share an image with Smith and express his excitement at getting to perform in front of the famous drummer.
“Got to play drums in front of my idol @chadsmithofficial from the @chilipeppers, then he played them with my sticks (and broke them), and then I got to hang with him,” O’Donnell wrote on Instagram.
Smith’s tendency to turn up in unexpected places is well-documented, with the drummer spotted busking in London in 2016, and even performing with Brisbane’s Golden Age Of Ballooning during Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2019 tour of the country. The band recently concluded their 2023 Australian tour – we covered the tour’s opening night.
Further Reading
Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone Review: Strange Bedfellows Bring the House Down at Tour Opener
Red Hot Chili Peppers: 10 Essential Tracks
Chad Smith, Matt Cameron Regret Participating In “Misleading” Taylor Hawkins Article
