EDMONTON -- Time to change the name of the band, guys. How about: The Lukewarm Stuffed Bell Peppers?

To give you an idea of how weak the Red Hot Chili Peppers were at Skyreach Centre last night, guitarist John Frusciante's version of Donna Summer's I Feel Love was just about the most exciting part of the show.

He didn't even do the whole thing.

Too bad.

Next time, pull out Hot Stuff, too.

The quartet that played to a full house at Skyreach Centre last night seemed a hollow mockery of what was promised: The Red Hot Chili Peppers! The rock 'n' roll event of the year! First time in Edmonton as superstars!

God knows what madness they'll get up to. Maybe Flea will take off all his clothes and streak through the crowd. Maybe they'll punk out on Stevie Wonder.

Sorry. No madness, no nudity and no Stevie Wonder, at least by press time. I expected junky and funky and instead got soupy and droopy.

The problem wasn't so much that Anthony Kiedis had some major vocal "difficulties" that no amount of manic calisthenics could fix.

From the opening strains of By the Way - one of the band's latest big hits - it was clear things weren't going well for the singer.

In some tunes, it was anybody's guess what key he was singing in.

Maybe the monitors went kerflooey.

And the problem wasn't so much that Flea and drummer Chad Smith - and whatever computerized backup beats they were using - didn't always settle into the easy grooves expected of musicians of this calibre. There were times the band sounded like a mighty engine badly in need of a tune-up.

Flea, a.k.a. Michael Balzary, is of course the bass hero of the rock 'n' roll world, an entertainment extravaganza in his own right.

He proved it at every available opportunity with one thundering slap bass solo after another.

Even that seemed to get old.

The other secret weapon here was Frusciante, whose effortless fretboard fireworks propelled the band and ultimately saved the show from doom. That and Donna Summer.

No, out-of-tune singing and sloppy playing is no problem when you've supposedly got one foot in punk rock as this band does.

If you've got passion, conviction and a genuine love for rocking out, flaws are a sign of character, easily overlooked.

If not, however, the flaws grate on the nerves.

Bad singing especially can be infuriating - not just to the audience, but certainly to fellow band members as well.

At this point, it is my duty to report that none of the 14,000 fans who stood from the first note seemed to notice anything wrong.

This is perfectly understandable.

The very fact that a famous band from an exotic place - well, Los Angeles - would actually show up in little old Edmonton is reason enough to cheer.

We so rarely get visitors beyond our twice-yearly Jann Arden concerts.

A giant, bone-rattling sound system and blinding strobe lights help, too.

Then there's the power of the radio hit.

Pulling off one of the biggest comebacks since Aerosmith with a decidedly light, more melodic sound one could call "radio friendly," the Peppers have quite a few of the sort of songs that generate cheers of grateful recognition.

And they did.

To be fair, they did get tighter as the night wore on, but overall there was one crucial thing missing from the concert: joy.

At least half of the time, these guys simply didn't look like they were having fun. They didn't go over the top. They played it safe, stuck to the plan. They looked like they were merely pretending to be the outrageous funk-rockers they used to be.

Big disappointment.

The opening act put it all into perspective, at least for those who weren't up in the concourse drinking beer throughout Mike Watt's entire noisy set. This bearded punk rock elder statesman kind of sings "off key," too, but that didn't matter in the slightest. He performed like it was his last day on Earth. He and his band, the Secondmen, were terrific. Such glorious cacophony. Take the best and brightest traits of jazz and punk and smash them together under the command of a crazed hillbilly preacher and you have Mike Watt and the Secondmen. I think it speaks volumes that three of the four Chili Peppers sat in with the band. They looked like they were having fun here - and it made all the difference in the world.

JAM! Rating: 2 out of 5