Flea launches first solo tour with performance in Chicago
Flea debuted his new live ensemble, the Honora band, at Thalia Hall on Thursday night, marking the start of the musician’s first solo tour.
The performance featured Flea on trumpet, bass, and vocals alongside a group of jazz musicians including saxophonist and keyboardist Josh Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Deantoni Parks. The setlist included the live debut of nearly every track from Flea’s new solo album, Honora, as well as two unreleased originals, “Good Night Darius” and “Shred of Hope.”
The show concluded with a performance of “Lovelovelove” from his 2012 EP, Helen Burns.
“Watching Flea, routinely ranked among the finest rock bassists in history, challenge himself with a different kind of instrument and defer to his new peers seemed rather extraordinary,” the Chicago Tribune wrote of the performance. “It showed a strain of boundless curiosity that guards against staleness.”
Honora, released this spring via Nonesuch Records, is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s first full-length solo LP. The album debuted as the No. 1 new jazz album worldwide. The Los Angeles Times described the record as “a dynamic listening experience that documents the progressive skill and heart of a musical multi-tasker like no other.”
The tour is scheduled to continue through May with sold-out dates in North America and Europe. Flea is also slated to perform at the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival this summer.
The bassist and trumpeter has recently appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” and “Morning Edition” to discuss the new project, which he noted he has aspired to make for the past 35 years.
