Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters Played Portland, Maine, 24 Years Ago

It was a beautiful, mild spring day in Portland, Maine, on May 14, 2000, and fans of both the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters were fired up for what was sure to be one of the highlighted rock concerts of the year. But it turned out to be even more than that.

Maine had many music venues at the time (and still does), but the one thing that was missing at that time was a venue large enough to get some of the big names to come to our state. Somehow, we lucked out with the two of the biggest names in alternative rock co-headlining a show in our state.

The legendary show went down at the Cumberland County Civic Center, now known at the Cross Insurance Arena. As you can imagine, it sold out quick. The Chili Peppers and the Foo Fighters were both riding high on the success of their current albums at the time, "Californication" and "There's Nothing Left to Lose".

Both bands brought their A game for the show, which would be the last of that leg of the tour. Not only did they sound great, but the energy from both bands was on point. Some will say to this day that Chili Peppers were good, but it was the Foo's that stole the show. It was kind of like a big party – a true rock and roll party.

Neither band has returned to the state of Maine since. We had the Foo Fighters scheduled to play the Maine Savings Amphitheater in Bangor back in July of 2022 but the unexpected, tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins resulted in the show's cancellation, and unfortunately, it was never rescheduled.

As a music nerd, I've always held on to my ticket stubs, which sadly are becoming less and less of a thing now with most venues going digital. And yes, that is a $35 ticket right there. Those were the days, huh?

Maine has always been a rock state with large amounts of rock shows over the years, but this is one that is still talked about to this day. Some would say it was one of the best rock concerts to hit Maine over the past quarter century.

Did you miss out? Well, unfortunately we don't have the video to accompany. But speaking of music nerds, one of them snuck some sort of recording device into the venue and recorded the entire Chili Peppers set from that memorable night, which you can listen to below.