The first three minutes were a skilful babble of noise, unrecognisable but nevertheless impressive, before hitting their stride with Around the World.
Lead singer Anthony Kiedis then addressed the crowd, extolling "the sights, the sounds, the smells of Dunedin. I love Dunedin".
"All politicians have to wear clown suits to work. That's my only law," Kiedis said.
The band's newer songs received a mixed reaction but the change in atmosphere was palpable when they returned to some of their biggest hits.
About 30 minutes into the set Kiedis asked for Flea's mic to be turned up, amid possible issues with the indoor arena's acoustics.
The crowd of about 28,000 seemed to be on good behaviour, though there were a few vocal discrepancies in the ticket line as several people arrived to discover their tickets bought online were through apparently dubious vendors and had to shell out a few extra dollars for the official entry fee.
Earlier, Post Malone greeted Dunedin in all his greasy glory, playing a number of his biggest hits as well as a few new songs that he informed the crowd he was nervous to perform.
Rockstar, Sunflower, and Congratulations reverberated throughout the stadium, making it apparent the words were well established in the minds of many Dunedin fans.
An overwhelmed cell network has also caused a few headaches for concertgoers.
The roadies achieved cheers and whistles as they prepared the equipment for the main event as the atmosphere sat at a somewhat controlled level of tension.
Rumours of someone using audience members as a urinal made their way through the crowd before a man was led away by police in handcuffs.
