“I’m With You”, the tenth studio album from the Red Hot Chili Peppers was released at the end of last month and hit number one in virtually all of the national album charts. With Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Dates already announced throughout Europe and another epic world tour planned, it’s going to be another busy period for the band.

I’m With You sees John Klinghofer on guitar after Frusciante’s second departure from the band. This reshuffle gives I’m With You a slightly dirtier sound than previous albums with a healthy dose of crunch distortion on the guitar. Many of the tracks are still punctuated by Anthony Keidis’ trademark staccato spoken word style but I’m With You takes a step back from that definitive, archetypal Red Hot Chilli Peppers sound.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers have, somewhat surprisingly to most, been going for 28 years now and are truly one of the legends of rock ‘n’ roll. I caught them at Reading festival in 2007 and they’re definitely a band you have to see live with their intricate bass lines and enormous stage presence. Previous Red Hot Chili Peppers tours have been renowned for their stamina with the band’s “3 weeks on, 2 weeks off” tactic and with this current tour projected to last from 2011 to 2013, I’m guessing it will be the same.

The band have already been playing warmup dates since July 27th 2011 through Japan, Europe and America and are set to officially start the tour’s first European leg on October the 7th. Be sure to visit this page for an up-to-date list of Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Dates as the band make their way across the globe.

A preview of what to expect was offered to fans on August the 30th where over 900 cinemas around the world showed a 90 minute long live recording of the band performing the whole of I’m With You in order. The performance, recorded in Cologne, Germany, saw The Flea playing piano in ‘Happiness Loves Company’ after recently studying music theory at the University of Southern California. He feels that his newfound knowledge has added a new dimension to his music and has plans to reveal an instrumental solo album in the future.

They’ve clearly still got it if they can fill the O2 arena in London three nights running and this is definitely one of those bands you simply have to see.

With the release of Arctic Monkey’s fourth album ‘Suck It and See’, tickets will go on sale tomorrow for a UK tour. ‘Suck It and See’ shows Arctic Monkeys reverting somewhat to the sound of their debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ with a more upbeat, stripped back feel. However, I still feel it lacks the everyman-relatable stories we listened to in tracks like ‘From The Ritz To The Rubble’ or ‘Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured’ that made that album such a success.

28 October – Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
29 October – O2 Arena, London
1 November – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
2 November –MEN Arena, Manchester
4 November – LG Arena, Birmingham
5 November – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
6 November – AECC, Aberdeen
8 November – SECC Hall 4, Glasgow
9 November – Echo Arena, Liverpool Tickets

Tickets go on sale 17th June 2011 at 09:00.

For US readers, Arctic Monkeys already have a few dates lined up in August and will also be playing at Lollapalooza.

With the release of Friendly Fires’ second album Pala last week, the trio have certainly got a lot on their plate over the next couple of months. There’s word of a music video in the pipeline that’s currently being edited and the band are currently touring North America with a UK tour lined up for November.

The first single from the album ‘Live Those Days Tonight‘ will have a universal appeal and is just downright danceable, even more so than their earlier material. Pala brings us at times a really unusual blend between indie rock, 70s disco and even a tropical sound in places.

Competition to win 1 of 1000 limited edition vinyls of the Friendly Fires cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Strangelove’ here.

Tickets went on sale for the UK tour yesterday and there’re still plenty available. Definitely one of the best live bands out there and well worth seeing. The North American tour is currently in progress up until the 10th of June and you can still find tickets if you know where to look.

Thu 10 Nov – Bristol, O2 Academy
Fri 11 Nov – Birmingham, O2 Academy
Sat 12 Nov – Southampton, Guildhall
Mon 14 Nov – Nottingham, Rock City
Tue 15 Nov – Newcastle, O2 Academy
Thu 17 Nov – Manchester, O2 Apollo
Fri 18 Nov – Glasgow, Barrowlands
Sat 19 Nov – Leeds, O2 Academy
Mon 21 Nov – Cambridge, Corn Exchange
Tue 22 Nov – Lincoln, Engine Shed
Fri 25 Nov – London, Brixton Academy