See John Frusciante play first gig with Red Hot Chili Peppers in 12 years

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Frusciante also jammed onstage with former Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro at the private fundraising event

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were reunited with John Frusciante for a private event in Beverly Hills in California on 8 February for a three-song set. The guitarist also joined Jane's Addiction for a performance of Mountain Song that saw him share the stage with one-time Chili Pepper Dave Navarro.

The performance was at a memorial for film producer Andrew Burkle, son of the billionaire venture capitalist Ronald Burkle. He passed away in January, aged 27.

Drummer Chad Smith was absent from the performance and was replaced for the allstar show by Janes Addiction's Stephen Perkins.

The Chili Peppers played:

Give It Away
I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover)
Not Great Men (Gang of Four cover)

The memorial was organised by the Tony Hawk Foundation, a charity organisation focused on improving access to skate parks for young people. Tony Hawk said that Burkle and his family were heavily involved in keeping the foundation going.

Today we celebrated the life of Andrew Burkle. He was a beloved son, friend and brother to the lucky ones that surrounded him. Because of him, @tonyhawkfoundation had landmark fundraising events in Beverly Hills for 10 years in a row and I am forever grateful for his support in our mission. Thank you to the Burkle family for including us in your celebration of Andrew. His passion for life was contagious, and his spirit lives on through our work. A perfect example of Andrew’s magnetism was displayed this afternoon when this all-star lineup came together to perform Iggy Pop and Gang Of Four (and RHCP) songs in his honor. Thank you Andrew, we will miss you beyond words. #acbrox Tony Hawk

A photo posted by @tonyhawk on Feb 8, 2020 at 3:01pm PST

Frusciante's return to the Chili Peppers was announced in December last year with his replacement Josh Klinghoffer stepping aside after recording two studio albums during his ten-year tenure with the Los Angeles band.

Rob Laing
Rob Laing
Guitars Editor, MusicRadar

Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of hi waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear and making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing a Floyd Rose guitar.