Inside Music with Katie Hasty

Watch: Red Hot Chili Peppers do a 'Rain Dance' on the roof for official video

Venice, Calif. got a free show

By Katie Hasty Wednesday, Aug 17, 2011 4:51 PM

Red Hot Chili Peppers

U2 did it for "Where the Streets Have No Name." The Beatles promoted a whole album with it. Now, Red Hot Chili Peppers have taken their turn in a tradition of performing songs on a rooftop for a partly unsuspecting audience.

The official music video for "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" features the rock troupe on a roof, a crowd building below them on the streets of Venice, Calif. The short show took place in the early evening on July 30, just two weeks ago; it was cut and directed by Mark Klasfeld.

Flea thankfully wears pants and a wild hair color. I love a man in tails, too, which Anthony Kiedis sports for a while before shedding in favor of a frequently bare chest. The facial hair, while hip, is still a little creepy.

The music to the clip is the album/studio version, not of the actual live performance. This is all in promotion of RHCP's next "I'm With You," due Aug. 30. The group is plotting a live concert event for 450 movie theaters on the day of release, footage broadcast live from their gig in Cologne, Germany.