TORONTO - Nobody can accuse the Red Hot Chili Peppers of not being in touch with the youth of today.

"I heard a 7-year-old boy in the hallway singing this song, so this goes out to him," vocalist Anthony Kiedis said last night at the Air Canada Centre as the band launched into Scar Tissue.

Actually, some of the fans in attendance might have developed scar tissue during the blistering two-hour set.

The never-shy and always-sweaty veteran group provided evidence that sometimes getting blasted with Pepper spray flush in the face is a good thing.

At the end of the afore-mentioned Scar Tissue, guitarist John Frusciante wailed away in such an impressive fashion that a smile came to Kiedis' face. Kiedis then turned to drummer Chad Smith and gave a small shrug, as if to say, "Looks like it's going to be one of those nights."

It was one of those nights, in a good way.

Each of the four Chilis has his own visual personality: Kiedis in shin-high slacker shorts and tank top; Frusciante in 1970s guitar-god leisure suit; Will Ferrell-look-alike Smith in delivery-man garb with backwards baseball cap; and bassist Flea in a skin-tight patterned body stocking.

(Just for safety's sake, if it wasn't a body stocking, then Flea should take advantage of Canada's universal health care and see a doctor before the band returns to the ACC stage tonight.)

The combined energy of the four Red Hot Chili Peppers really is unparalleled among modern rock acts.

The Chilis played most of the better-known songs from their catalogue -- Under The Bridge, Give It Away, and one of the true highlights of the evening, the sultry but powerful Californication. But it speaks to the strength of the band's recent double-CD, Stadium Arcadium, that the songs from that album -- Dani California, Snow (Hey Oh), Tell Me Baby, etc. -- were as well-received as the classic tracks.

There were some non-traditional moments courtesy of Frusciante, too.

He displayed his rarely showcased but attractive voice with a version of Simon & Garfunkel's For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her, then in the encore added shortened versions of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday and Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

"Thank you for coming out and supporting live music," Flea said just before the final song of the main set, By The Way.

By the way, Flea, if all live music were as good as this, support would not be an issue.

Opening-act The Mars Volta performed a 40-minute, acid-rock, backs-to-the-audience jam in an it's-still-1969 kind of way.

The approach is not for everyone, obviously, but the crazy kids do it with feeling.