That's the thing with RHCP, you eithe rlove them live or you hate them. I love them myself, have only been to a few bad shows and the rest have been awesome. It's all a matter of opinion really. It can also depend on the venue, some places just suck for live performances. But I'm right and you're wrong...j/k.
The new album is good, not really stronger than Californication or By The Way, just a lot more songs. I've listened to it a couple dozen times straight through. Each disc can stand on their own and would be good albums if they were separate. As a double disc it works very well but can get kind of repetitive after some time. I do like it a lot, and the songs are good. Snow ((Hey Oh)) is good, as well as Stadium Arcadium.
It's a good album, but far from my favorite double disc. That is only reserved for another band...