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:
Set 2:
Encore:
