Saturday Phish at the Forum in Inglewood 2018 Recap

The Phish from Vermont have come and gone from So. Cal.  I got a chance to catch the Saturday night show at the Forum in Inglewood, CA and what a show it was.

Kicking off right about 8pm (maybe a little past) to a near sell-out crowd, Phish came out of the gates with Julius.  Not really my favorite opener but a nice ease into what would be a raging rest of the first set.  Highlights for me from the first set have to be Suzy Greenberg, the most raging Kill Devil Falls I think I’ve ever heard and Bathtub Gin.  Timber, the Josh White cover, was a nice add that I don’t think I’ve ever heard them do before.

Fuego:

Second set came out strong as well with Gotta Jibboo into Fuego followed by Birds of a Feather.  A triple shot of fantastic getting the crowd back into it after set break.  Highlight of the set was up next though as a crowd favorite, Meatstick came out.

Meatstick:

After the excitement of Meatstick, the mood in the room turned a little more weird and then dark as the band went into Soul Planet (never my favorite song) before capping the set off with Wingsuit and Cavern.  The encore was a welcome Sparkle and Character Zero to close out the night and the two night stay at the Forum.

As I walked around the Forum, one thing that certainly stood out this year more than previous visits by the band from Vermont was the amount of “First Time” Phish shows I encountered.  Many from the Grateful Dead fanbase came out to support Phish.  Folks I have never seen at Phish shows found their way to Inglewood to expand their musical experience just a little further and for those I talked to after the show, all had good things to say.

Chris Kuroda, Phish’s lighting grand master, did an amazing job and was, without a doubt the star of the show.  Kuroda’s next level approach to lighting design including moving truss is mind blowing.  His designs are constantly evolving and I always look forward to see what’s next.

 

July 28, 2018

Forum, Inglewood, CA

Set 1:

Julius
Suzy Greenberg
Timber (Josh White cover)
Soul Shakedown Party (Bob Marley & The Wailers cover)
Kill Devil Falls
555
Your Pet Cat
Tide Turns
No Men in No Man’s Land
Bathtub Gin

Set 2:

Gotta Jibboo>
Fuego
Birds of a Feather
Meatstick
Soul Planet (Trey Anastasio song)
Wingsuit
Cavern

Encore:

Sparkle
Character Zero

 

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