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Red Hot Chili Peppers: The Ritz, New York

Evelyn McDonnell, Billboard, 2 June 1990

LIKE PUBLIC Enemy, Red Hot Chili Peppers appear to want to do the right thing. It's just that they keep sticking their feet in their mouths — or rather, their hands on their crotches. At this April 27 show, the Chili Peppers' "testosterock" was repeatedly summed up in lead singer Anthony Kiedis' gesture of machismo: hand-dive into fly, then fist-raise into air. It's a move Kiedis copped from male rappers and its symbolism of male bonding (and female exclusion) helps explain the L.A. band's appeal.

Total word count of piece: 302

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