Phish Show Review - 10/24/21 Los Angeles, CA
Finally getting around to reviewing the third and final show I saw on Phish’s Fall 2021 tour. Check out my posts on 10/22 Phoenix and 10/23 Chula Vista for more!
After two incredible shows in Phoenix and Chula Vista, my dad and I arrived at the Forum in Los Angeles ready for a Sunday show. There was a ton on the table, but foremost on everyone’s minds was Tweezer. Having been played only three times so far in 2021 and not yet on fall tour, we were all reasonably sure that it was coming in LA.
Taking our seats in the front row of the 200 section with a perfect view of the stage, we were amped as the lights went down and the band lit into the second-ever version of Lonely Trip tune A Wave of Hope. While not a Phish staple, it’s a good rocking song to ease the crowd into the night. The energy was palpable in the venue already but absolutely skyrocketed as the opening arpeggios to You Enjoy Myself rang out. The first version to appear in the first set NOT as an opener or closer since 8/31/12, YEM was taken for its first real Type II excursion of the modern era. Drifting out of the typical jam on a warm bed of Page’s Fender Rhodes and entering a nice major-key space for a few minutes before returning nicely to the song proper, the Forum YEM elicited an incredible amount of energy from the crowd that would remain throughout the show. After an incredible synth bass solo from Mike and a short vocal jam, Trey dropped right into The Moma Dance. A trend for the night, Moma’s jam went Type II and was left unfinished as the band found Simple. Without missing a beat, they dropped right into a funky groove jam that Trey began singing Waiting All Night over. While this normally would have been considered a ripcord (and still might be by some), I quite enjoyed the groovy alternate version of this song and I hope it comes back! From there, the first set concluded with more blazing renditions of Maze, Fee, Steam, and Run Like an Antelope.
At setbreak, we were able to make our way down to the floor just to the left of Kuroda and the soundboard – my first time seeing Phish from this vantage point and my first time getting to watch Kuroda himself work in real time (side note: his absolute poker face the whole set as he worked his lighting magic was a sight to behold)!
Opening with the jazzy Page composition Cars Trucks Buses, the band got warmed up and stretched their legs before ripping directly into the Tweezer we could all feel coming. While this version and subsequent set would take a different path to the big 30+ minute Tweezers of the summer, it was pure Sunday show energy and the energy in the room was explosive. When Trey began singing the lyrics to L.A. Woman over the jam (first time played since 12/30/03), the crowd responded with massive cheers. Keeping the driving momentum through the Doors cover and back into a brief Tweezer jam, the band eventually landed on the A minor vamp of Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S. While I was a bit disappointed at the mid-set call of this normally inside-the-box rocker, I was excited as the band took it on its first Type II excursion ever.
The rest of the set became a journey of improvisation using songs as stopping points along the way. A serene moment in What’s the Use led to an incredible run of songs that all felt longer than their runtime. Tweezer jam > Birds of a Feather -> Chalk Dust Torture -> Boogie On Reggae Woman > Carini -> Mr. Completely > Tweezer Reprise is a hell of a second set and while it may look like a bad case of TreyDHD on paper, each song had bright moments of jamming in their relatively short runtimes.
After the a capella number Grind, Trey started up Bathtub Gin. Given the trend of jammed encores during fall tour, the band blew past curfew with a deep and atypical groove but was forced to end it prematurely from what I assume was threats from the venue.
While 10/24 may have lacked the massive jam of the previous two nights, Phish came to the Forum for a show of pure Sunday energy. Lifting the arena with blazing song after blazing song, the band continued the incredible streak of the tour that would not let up through Santa Barbara and Vegas over the succeeding week.
The three Phish shows I saw in October 2021 were among the best concerts I’ve ever attended, and I continue to be so grateful that the band we love is playing at such a high level so far into their career. Only a month or so until I get to see my first MSG shows and first NYE and I couldn’t be more excited!!