This review does not have the benefit of downloading and listening to the show again on fresh ears, just my experience and what I heard of the songs last night live....

The Forum: Very cool venue, parking prices (~25) is the only negative I can say, but hey - It's LA. Easy in and out of the lot and venue, no complaints at all... but hey, I've heard a lot about those ceiling lights that look like stars... where are those? I don't see anything special about the ceiling... what the hell?!? More about that later.

1st set: 46 Days opened with fire out of the gate, instant energy boost to a crowd that was much larger than many people on .net were expecting in LA. Tube most people saw coming('on a freeway to LA'), but no one is going to complain about that, standard Tube, nothing wrong with that. Train Song seemed to just suck some of the now building energy right out of the room, not sure what happened, just was not well received... and then Ghost hit. Did I pass out and wake up in the middle of the second set?? A 4th song of the night Ghost? I loved this song placement, and wish it went deeper than it did, but still a really fun Ghost, got the place moving again. Sparkle was Sparkle, like it, love it, hate it, you know what you are going to get... but it is fun and fast and everyone had a good time bouncing around to it. Sample came next and now everyone was having a blast. Really nice sample, Trey seemed to hit is all perfect, just like he would hit Divided Sky. Sky was amazing. Bliss is the only word for a nailed Divided Sky, and that is what we got last night, I was wrong to assume it would be my highlight for the 1st set. The Line: What can I say about the Line. I enjoy it, but don't love it... I have NEVER seen a mass exit to the bathroom before on this scale. It was to the point that it seemed disrespectful to the band. As if to pay the crowd back for making them heard The Line, they bust into a nasty version of It's Ice. PAGE CRUSHED IT. Is there anything anyone else can do at this point in the tour to take tour MVP away from Page? I don't think so. This version, at least watching it last night was amazing, Page got up, I got down! KDF: I love that they took this song out of the opening slot, standard KDF, lots of fun. Bathtub Gin was amazing. They will credit this song with a 'Low Rider tease,' but tease is a bit of an understatement, they pretty much went full on into low rider for a minute. Crowd went crazy, awesome way to end the set.

Set 2: I like 555 a lot, but I don't like the placement as a set opener. Not enough energy to set the pace for a big set. Mike drops bombs in the version as should be expected from 555, it is a very solid version despite its placement. #Line: Most people were disappointed to hear it, but they put a little extra mustard on the Allman brothers style jam and by the end it had everyone dancing. After 2 songs, not sure where this set is going... I have been critical of how often they start second set with DWD, but when it hit last night, it announced the start of 2nd set. 555 and #Line were set 1.5, now set two hit, and it hit hard! Nasty version of DWD! Halfway through the song, right at the perfect moment, CK5 won the night and hit us with a blast of the twinkling stars in the ceiling of the Forum! What a moment. They light up the whole room, but instead of seeing everyone dancing to this epic DWD, I looked down to see everyone staring at these lights with HUGE smiles, it really was a special moment, and I hope a Utube video might emerge that will do it any justice. Amazing. Fuego: Maybe it was just impossible to follow the act of that DWD, but Vlad didn't quite impale me. Solid enough, nothing noteworthy. Same could be said for Twist, a ton of fun, as Twist always is, nothing to write home about. Bouncing: I love the placement. You know it is time to slow the set down, Velvet? Nope! Bouncing! I love this song, and I like seeing it in 2nd set, very well played. I enjoyed it quite a bit. DB: I love this Bowie. I love them all, but this seemed like it had something extra on the back end. It went to a lot of different places musically ( as the song is designed to do). Really good version. They follow it up with Character Zero to wrap up a real mixed bag of a 2nd set.

Encore: HOOD! This Hood was huge. It was not rushed at all, had all four band members hitting it hard and together. I couldn't help but think of 'HollyHood' in LA last summer. This jam didn't get to that scale, but where as HollyHood was a re-visit to Tahoe Tweezer, this Hood was all its own. Again CK5 hit us with the star lights, with the band in a really cool subdued ambient jam, all the stage light were off, such a cool effect. Figured a big Hood like that would be a stand alone Encore, but Grind closed out the night, very well sung harmonies. Always fun to the the barbershop Phish.

Highlights: The star lights! I think many bands would have overused the effect, but CK5 nailed it. They made for two really special moments that I will never forget. If Phish ever goes back to the Forum, GO! There is no way to describe the effect that those lights had on my experience at this show. Musical highlights include It's Ice, Gin, DWD (must hear), Bowie, and Hood. Nothing groundbreaking about this show. The big songs went big, no song ventured into uncharted territory, nothing went 20+ mins, all that said 4/5 stars for some really special moments, some big jams, and a great venue.