Phish Opens 2-Night Stand At The Forum In Los Angeles – Recap, Photos, Setlist & The Skinny

Following two San Francisco mid-week shows, Phish began their first-ever two-night run at The Forum in Los Angeles. After playing two outdoor spaces and one small indoor venue, Phish’s fifth-ever appearance at The Forum reminded fans how much control lighting designer Chris Kuroda has over larger arenas. His light expertly filled the entirety of the oblong space, as did the band’s sound.

Phish entered the stage to an already electric crowd, and started right in with a hot “Chalk Dust Torture” that carried the energy from San Francisco into Southern California. The room responded enthusiastically to the upbeat tune, and guitarist Trey Anastasio’s solo built to an enthusiastic crescendo. The band then slowed things down for an initially funky “Everything’s Right.” Originally a Trey Anastasio Band tune, the positive, uplifting song hit the spot in light of recent events. The song featured a heartfelt a capella moment, before bassist Mike Gordon introduced driving rhythms to the jam. Trey brought in darker effects, encouraging discordance from the other band members. The surprisingly almost-sinister “Everything’s Right” dove deep before soaring back into the light on keyboardist Page McConnell’s fingers. Throughout the jam, the band moved between dark and light, taking the newer song into previously uncharted territory.

Speeding things up with a bluegrassy “Rift” allowed drummer Jon Fishman to show his fast timekeeping finesse, as Page and Trey volleyed vocals back and forth with ease. Page displayed his ragtime chops with a glistening but short-lived solo. Next, the audience went wild for Trey’s first screaming note of “Wolfman’s Brother.” Anastasio’s singing was highlighted as well, with extended vocalizations that showed just how beneficial a day of rest can be. After a scat section, Page maneuvered the sound into a distorted jam, rooted by Mike’s rhythmic bassline. Trey pulled the band back out of this distortion section with a subtle “I can see clearly now the rain is gone” tease, as Chris Kuroda’s lights moved like water droplets on the ceiling. The band surrendered to a blissful build before returning to the original melody for a Page-centric outro.

“How Many People Are You?” began with a lyric flub from Mike in the first verse and second chorus. The fast-paced jam soon came together as Page led the way on the organ and Jon added extra cymbals and snares to the unusually cheerful-toned jam. After a short pause, Jon opened up “Horn” with intensity. The song featured a heartfelt, yet short solo from Trey. After, Page arpeggiated into a fast-paced “Water In The Sky.” Crystal clear vocal harmonies and sparkling tin-sounding cymbal work from Jon led into an extended Page solo on the higher octaves. After, Phish pulled back for a darker “Twenty Years Later.” After a disjointed return from the chorus into the second verse, the build into the bridge pulled the song back together quickly. The “silent sea” section moved into a deep and dark type two jam, showcasing Trey’s lower notes as well as Mike’s booming depths.

The band held spacey ambience to transition into “Sand,” another poignant sentiment for the troubling times. The jam featured heavy rhythmic work from Mike, as well as Page on synth. As Trey experimented with various effects, the whole band intensified together for a multi-level jam that rose to a three-waved peak to end the first set hot.

The second set picked the flame back up with a “Blaze On” that really started to heat up with Page’s “play it Leo” solo. Trey’s expressive vocals gave way to a distorted solo. An articulate bassline from Mike began to build as Jon brought the rhythm into a Latin groove. Soon, the band receded into an ambient space that permeated across the room in preparation for a powerful “Down With Disease” intro from Mike. This “DWD” was a hard hitting one, and the arena echoed with the sound of the audience singing along. Trey performed a spicy and clean solo, turning to face each side of the audience as he jumped up and down. Mike confidently propelled the song forward, finally letting his lower notes fully fill the space with his signature bombs. The band rode the song to a charged peak, before following Jon into a “Simple” that got the audience grooving right away. The upbeat, lighthearted rhythm sped up after the second verse. Page and Mike shared a gentler moment, before Trey and his petal experimentation brought the jam into a harder sphere. Jon then darkened the rhythm, and Mike responded with his lowest notes once again. Page balanced the sound with a fairydust-like synth tone that brought some sunshine into the song’s depths.

Next, Trey twisted feedback into a dark “Ghost.” The jam built in levels, with Mike consistently moving the groove forward while Trey layered reverberating slices of his higher frets. Jon reacted with almost a samba rhythm, inciting a long internal build with two strong peaks before the song melted back into the original slow “Ghost” groove. A short “Bouncing Around The Room” was welcomed by the crowd, featuring a clean build of layers both vocal and instrumental. Although it took a moment for Trey to find where his guitar fit, once he did, he glittered the air with upper fret excellence, matching Page’s upper octave handiwork.

The jam moved into a “Mike’s Song” that slightly missed the mark in the earlier verses. Thanks to Jon’s rhythms and Mike’s driving bassline, the song fell into place during the jam. Page amplified the mood as he moved from synth to spacey organ. Trey picked up the groove and moved it into a more forward rock-and-roll sounding build under which Mike expertly performed. A fast and propulsive escalation led to a peak where Trey showed some restraint. The band then eased into the emotional “Slave To The Traffic Light,” apropos for a Los Angeles show. Mike supported Trey as his guitar swelled, and Page unfolded his symphonic dexterity for a jam that showed just how far positivity and lightness could build.

The encore consisted of a “Sleeping Monkey” in which the band stopped playing entirely to hear the audience sing the chorus. The “Let it Be” tease from Page at the end of “Monkey” developed into a lively “Weekapaug Groove” to close out the night. A scorching solo from Mike led to a blissful and enthusiastic conclusion to the first night of Phish’s two-night Forum run. Phish returns to the venue on Saturday with a webcast available LivePhish.com.

Want more Phish stats?

Visit JamBase’s The Skinny Hub

More Skinny

Photos by Steph Port

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”806″ gal_title=”20180727 Phish LA Port”]

Phish From The Road Photos

Poster