In lieu of an actual review (this is basically a 1992-1993 show, from the killer segues to the fun instrument-switching antics to Trey ripping up every solo to - lest we forget - not exactly the longest jams in the band's live catalog, so if 92-93 isn't your bag, I'd direct your attention back to the Shoreline show), I'll present you with a few thoughts and observations from the live experience:

1. Saw Bill Walton right by the barrier between the floor and the backstage a half hour before showtime. Sadly, he wandered off before I could tell him how great the '76-'77 Blazers were.

2. The place was PACKED tonight. Very few open seats, just about all of them in the very tippy-top of the upper bowl. Given that this was actually the largest venue of the West Coast leg, that makes some sense.

3. Obviously very chuffed they played Martian Monster - if they're going to discard all but a few Halloween songs (as with every non-Wingsuit set), I'm glad MM stuck around. It sounded fantastic, too.

4. Trey DESTROYED the Heavy Things solo. Absolutely murdered it. Walls of the Cave was a nasty shredfest, too. Oh, and just in case you needed to know, he tore up Number Line, too. If you're gonna go Type I, go Type I with style.

5. No Men in No Man's Land is not going anywhere.

6. If you're not going to play big jams (and note that both Carini and Tweezer had very fine interplay), play great segues instead. Carini -> Tweezer -> My Friend, My Friend are all great segues.

7. Man, does this band have a good handle on Roggae, or what?

8. Slave is *wonderful* live. I get it more now.

9. I went to go get a soda during setbreak, and next to the register I saw a note about set times, with the show to end at 11:30 PM. When the band walked off stage, I looked at my phone and saw it was 11:09. So either the encore was going to be 2-3 songs in the "worst"-case scenario, or Fluffhead/YEM in the best-case scenario. And we got one heck of a big YEM - one that peaked *twice* (Mike and Trey should switch instruments more often if we get that kind of raging peak) and matched up nicely with Vegas' exceptional version. Now that's how you close a show!

10. I'm thinking of a "darn good Phish shows" coin. One side has the Shoreline show on it. The other one has last night's. 2015 continues to roll on.

Disclaimer: This is my first Phish review. I was not there. I wrote the review in real time while listening to the show this morning. I do not play instruments and do not write for a living and my grammar sucks. But man, this was fun.

Saturday nights show blasts off with a trick and treat opener with Martian Monster. Page really lets it go with the effects on this one while Trey provides some tasty licks before this one really blasts off. Great song, great opener. Expectations are running high for Phish's first Saturday night gig of the summer.

Songs ends, Gordon's base rumbles, then the band kicks into a first set Disease. Pleasant surprise for a song that's usually reserved for the 3rd quarter. This Disease doesn't linger too long. They keep it pretty uplifting, short, and to the point. They take it dark for a second till Trey provides the light. You didn't think they would go type 2, on song 2 did you?

After some discussion among the band they opt for "Waiting All Night". After a botched beginning, the boys provide their first ballad of the show. Though I enjoy this song, I would have used this opportunity to grab a cold one and take a breather from the one two punch that was just served up. Trey and Page feed off each other until the song reaches a peaceful ending.

After a few seconds of silence you can hear Trey faintly strumming what seems to be one of their more poppy tunes. After Trey counts off, the band busts out into Heavy Things. Page provides a nice solo while Gordon finds a nice groove. Trey takes his turn as the lead before this quick hit comes to an end.

They could have taken this first set in a lot of directions at this point. They decide to keep it souped up for Saturday and explode into Axilla. If song doesn't get the blood flowing you should check your pulse. Phish nails it, the crowd loves it, what's next?

My guess is that they would break out some funk right about now. Then you hear Gordon's opening bass licks for a song of their new album, 555. Coming from Jersey, we always get a kick when taking the thruway to see Phish at SPAC, that the toll cost $5.55. Coincidence, I think not. Pretty standard 555, besides a little flub during the ending.

Quickly after its ending, they go into Limb by Limb. This Limb starts off smooth and gives a little extra mustard at the end. Well perceived by Cali crowd and it's always nice to hear a first set Limb with a little off to see the wizard tease.

Yamar is next up and it is a pleasant surprise. After reminiscing about his good ol' Pa, Leo is given the strict instructions to "play it". He keeps this solo very tropical and Fishman adds a nice touch to the ending.

They keep the show rolling with a first set Fuego, a song, again, usually reserved for the second set. I brought up our trip to SPAC previously and who could forget the Fuego / SPAC 14' jam. Highlight of the weekend for me. Ao needless to say I am pretty anxious to see how they would approach it this time around. I feel like Trey kept coming back to playing the melody and never really let this song take off. Two second set titans butted heads in the first set and Disease was the clear champion. The ending was pretty cool with Page playing what sounded like the ending of Coil or the beginning of Reign over Me, but it was actually a flawless segue into Walls of the Cave. A great Saturday night choice. Sing a long lyrics, rock and roll power cords, and an explosive ending. Perfect song choice to end this wild first set adventure.

We all take a short break to return to newest member of the funkaholics, "No man in No mans Land". My personal favorite of the new tunes to date. Kicking off the second set with a new tune shows they mean business. This song really shows that Phish still has IT. After some hard jamming to start, a brief return to the chorus, the boys decide to let this one fly. It's not long before you get the "this is why I love Phish" feeling. They go back into the catchy chorus one more time and even explore a brief but spacey ending before Carini rears his lumpy head.

Carini has been a great jam vehicle for them over the last couple of years and this one seems to be keeping up the trend. Beautiful beginning to the jam with Trey and Page exchanging licks before Tweezer crashes the party and kicks Carini to the curb. I was kinda surprised how fast they exited Carini and found some thing Phishy about this Tweezer.

As my ears were perked up, they started the jam very slow, building up the tempo smooth and methodically. The boys really start to take this one to a beautiful place before Trey cuts it short and let's his friends, his friends into the party. No Phishy gimmicks with this Tweezer. I also felt they should have stayed with Tweezer a bit longer, it was showing some real potential.

My friend, My Friend sticks to the script. They play the composed section flawlessly and just when you think they are going to give you the last Myfe with a little laugh, they sugue into the slow tune of the second half, Roggae. After each of them sing their piece they let this airy tune breathe a bit. As each of the members play a little and listen a little, this song soon finds a comfortable place. Probably a point in the show where you look at your buddy and give them the "I am happy to be here and so are they" look. I love Roggae, love its placement here and love that the band really delivers. Get ready 4th quarter, cause like it or not, here we come.

Phish decides to go for a feel good song with Backwards Down the Number Line. My wife and I had a line to this song read out loud during our wedding ceremony.

"Laughing all these many years
We pushed through hardships tasted tears
Made a promise one to keep
I can still recite it in my sleep"

So regardless of what the majority thinks, this song has special meaning to me and always manages to put a smile on my face. The jam portion is what you would expect...positive, energetic, and happy, happy all my friends. The ending even has a little side of hot sauce before coming to a close with Trey opting for some self reflecting time with Slave to the Traffic Light.

This slave starts to slowly build, Trey starts to make his face, then we are off to no mans land. Trey builds the tension allowing the rest of them to fill the gaps before taking this slave into a eye closing, hair raising, goose bumping ,perfect peak. Slave never disappoints and this one ain't the exception. The three power cords with Trey thanking the crowd lets us know that this set has come to a close. Maybe if we cheer loud they will play one more song.

So this encore begs the question, do you enjoy yourself? Can you still have fun? Phish answered these questions and more when the opening cords to the ultimate encore rang though and You Enjoy Myself decided to give this show the explanation point it needed. The beginning was perfect. The trippy part has a very serious dark tone to it. Fishing keeping the beat and Trey letting the darkness poke through until all the sudden the light comes through with Page letting them know their are clearer seas ahead. This part was played exceptionally well before they pass the reigns to Mike for his solo. He keeps it crunchy before the power cords come back and we are off into the land of milk and honey. The build up is fantastic and Trey absolutly nails "The Note". You know the one the makes your eyebrows go up and head tilt back. Yea, that one. Pure craziness ensues before the boys let out a big scream, then BOY the funk breaks out and everyone's got Saturday night fever. Page kicks off the jam with a solo that the crowd is gobbling up. As the jam quiets down Gordon starts slapping his bass while Trey is following suit. Page joins in, with Fishman not far behind and we have arrived at IT. Powerful playing with a purpose. Things start to get a little hot and heavy before this song absolutely explodes. A definite must hear. Gordon lays down the funk while Fishman is complimenting it some (more) cowbell. Page is raging, Trey is patient and this sucker comes to a close with my frenzy feet still moving. The vocal jam allows for the boys to get silly one last time before the curtains close on this magnificent Saturday show.

This show has something for everybody. A crazy opener, two jam songs in the first set, a new song explored, and an encore guaranteed to leave you smiling. I hope you enjoyed this review as much as I liked writing it. My intent is all for your delight

The Scene: Made it over to the Forum around 6:30, so I missed the .net meetup (again!), but someday I will make it to see all of you great phans. Shakedown was cool, hung out with some vendors and snagged a Fall 2014 t-shirt with the California Bear on the front. I was surprised at how full the lot was, a big difference from last year.
Was on the floor in front of Mike for the first set of this one, right next to Bill Walton for most the second set, then snuck right behind the stage for the YEM encore and snapped some amazing photos.

The Good: For a show that would count Number Line as one of the main highlights, you may scratch your head at why such strong reviews, but there was some serious heat throughout.
Martian Monster: I was Halloween in Vegas and will maintain that was the best Martian likely to ever be played, but this one really got the crowd moving to kick it off.
DWD: No time wasted in this one, straight to the point and a little uplifting groove to continue the momentum.
Heavy Things: This one is a keeper. Trey had a strong solo here and the rest of the set took off from there.
Axilla: Head banging fun!
555: Funkdafied!
Limb: This was awesome, reggae dance party eruption in the Forum. I looked around and was floored by the sea of groovy appreciation.
Ya Mar: I loved this song selection to keep the vibe going. Solid take and some fun antics from Trey and Mike (windmill kicks on the floor)
Fuego: Nice lead up into>
Walls of the Cave: This was the first time in a while I've seen the head banging Trey that we all know and love. This version absolutely smoked and was the clear highlight of the first set for me. Wow!

The entire second set. Every note is worth a listen, but standout versions of No Men, Number Line, and the Slave/YEM combo to close the show was beautifully played. Tremendous peak in the YEM and the crowd went ballistic during the Trey/Mike "duel" (if you could call it that).

The Bad: Some over zealous security were annoying, but the worst was the spun out blonde chick next to me throwing glowsticks directly at Mike, and hitting him square in the neck with one during Walls (and subsequently high fiving her friends like it some sort of accomplishment) I laid into her, only to be intercepted by her boyfriend (who looked like Odd Job from James Bond) telling me "Its her first show, relax dude" as if that's any reason to forgive her for being an idiot. I made my peace with him after he apparently told her to stop, only to see her fire another glow stick (big one this time, not one of those small numbers) which hit Mike in the foot. I stared into his eyes and said "I hope this show is her last" and walked away fuming. Friends, don't let shit like this happen and let it go. Its not funny or cool to throw things at the band, ever, Noob or not.

Finally: This was a smoking hot show full of the sharp, precision playing of yesteryear (someone pointed out 92-93, which sounds about right). Come for the first set Martian and Walls and stay for the entire second set. Thanks Phish!

I'm not the only one who had this impression. I've never seen a second set like that. Ever. It was all Type I, and nothing really left song form. Maybe the set opening new song, but until I know it better, it's hard to say if that got type II or not.
They had the entire audience in rapt attention. Over and over throughout the set, they went to near silence. Carini quickly and smoothly sequed into the quietest Tweezer I've ever heard. (The "Uncle Ebenezer" part was pin drop quiet) Trey and Mike had this quiet stand alone duet staring at each other. Then they went to My Friend. It seemed like it was going to be very songy, and not jammy. That was true. We were watching them discover/choose the direction of subtle interplay among themselves as the path of the show.
The Roggae was incredible. It was a straight forward type I Roggae, and it was incredible. Quiet, introspective, detailed and magnificent. The set closing Slave was more of the same. More of this pin drop quiet awesomeness.
And Mike was driving. He is the greatest rock and roll bass player on the planet.
It was like seeing this band I'm so familiar with, just exude the confidence to not have to be a powerful space shuttle launch to be great on stage.
I have never seen them do a second set like that. The dichotomy of Shoreline to LA is mind boggling.
I cannot wait for Magnaball / Dick's.

They were really having fun up there tonight and there was so much great energy bottled up inside of the Forum. Trey was definitely picking up the good vibes and giving them right back to us jumping up and down with his on point skills. They brought it with every single song tonight.

Martian Monster was a nice funky way to get things rolling and DWD fit pretty good after it with some scorching guitar work. Waiting All Night slowed things down a bit and then Heavy Things kept the same vibe, But killer Trey solo in Heavy Things. The rest of the first set was excellent with Walls of the Cave taking the best song of the 1st set trophy. During Ya Mar Trey and Mike layed on their backs and shook their feet in the air when Page started going off. And, Everybody gets a Fuego!

Second set was amazing! No Mans Land was a very cool opener and seems like it didn't take long to get this song in 2nd set shape. We all knew they were probably going do drop Carini and/ or Tweezer tonight but they pulled out a Carini -> Tweezer that is for real. Nothing too deep, but enough to keep the dancefest going. The crowd went nuts during a superb My Friend and kept things rolling with a fitting Roggae. I thought Number Line was better than average, and Trey certainly pulled his weight to get there on every single song tonight. Slave was played brilliantly and saw Trey step up big time once more.

YEM encore speaks for itself. Couldn't have been a better ending to a very fun and fantastic show.

Another killer show in a row, this tour is getting better and better at every stop. I don't want to type because my wrist hurting, so I am going to talk more about the whole show and not go song by song.

This show is similar to both nights and bend, in that there was not many big jams, but a lot more quality small ones. The only difference is, these jams are more polished. The first set features a 12 minute DwD and and a CRAZY funky Martian Monster. Waiting All Night was a good one, but the highlight of the set for me was Walls of the Cave. Trey absolutely nails this solo, which is an absolute balls to the wall shred fest. I didn;t listen to first 2 songs of the second set, so I can't say much about them. Although this setlist flows very well I think the highlight was every from Roggae on. Trey just rips on every one of these solo's, these are all just really moving solo's.

Encore: YEM can never go wrong. This is a polished version with an impressive and funky jam segment as well as an inspired vocal jam. I will note that the crowd absolutely EXPLODED and made much of the jam extremely muddy sounding even on the SBD version. It's still listenable, just a little irritating.

The past two shows I've noticed that Trey has really stepped up his game with Type 1 solo's. Trey's solo's on songs like Slave, Maze and Reba have been MUCH better. I think that Trey is staring to lean on these as apposed to longer jams, and I really like it. Even listening back to the 7/13/14 Slave, trey doesn't have nearly as much confidence as he did on this one.

Utter disbelief at the (only) 4.14 rating on this one.
Yes I was in attendence. Yes I was feelin it.
Amazing 1st set - in fact at setbreak the crowd I was around seemed as if we all coulda went home happy after the WALLS, after the LIMB, even after the Martian->Disease.
But then there is 2nd set.
Perfect No Mans->Carini->Tweezer->My Friend - segues were on point.
No huge jams - just huge bliss.
Roggae was the emotional release, then another with Number Line, and of course yet another with Slave.
YEM was just fun fun fun.

Only low point was Yamar for me as seemed just out of sync between band members.

This one is a keeper and not a sleeper.
Rest of Tour was of course almost more incredible (my fav was Blossom - check out the Ghost for Trey channeling Jimi...)

My 2 cents

It should be noted that, during The YEM shenanigans, after the Trey/Mike two headed guitar monster (which, incidentally, reminded me a great deal of the '97 Virginia Beach Multibeast), and while Trey was back messing around on Fish's kit, Mike joined Page in Keyboard world and played some organ while Page attempted (considerable less effectively) to thump on Mike's bass. The end.

No Man's has infinite potential, and, when realized - and realized again and again - we'll be treated to some truly inspired sets. As it was, how great to see Carini ripped for Tweezer (and such a cool and thoughtful rendition at that). I was really interested to see where the set would lead; the segue into MFMF was as excellent as it was surprising. Back in the day I used to love the tune as a show opener. MM* took that spot here - more on that in a bit. This Friend was unfamiliar - the friend of a friend. A slow and patient intro; it works so well with the ideas which preceded it. At the same time, the song has enough history that you're left with a residual, if not visceral, bite. Such cool effects; it was like hearing the tune submerged underwater. And how best to carry on the set? Roggae the absolute perfect choice. Trey's playing is just so, so 'right.'

BDTNL.

Trey certainly plays well - as usual - the tune simply lacks that bit of mysticism. Some might complain; it could have been Caspian. Some might complain. A chill and dark Timber might have been perfect. But who is to say.

Thankfully there's the Slave.

Truly one of the 'new' sets (with newer and new songs) that really evoked some of the old vibe. Will be so cool if this is the climb towards the new plateau.

*Anything from that set is welcome. But it would be great to see a Cat / one of the other 'stiffer' zombie grooves at some point.

Love the absence of the Reprise; as if we need any more reasons to be excited for the next show.

Martian Monster: great opener. While staying type 1 there is some fun experimentation going on

Down With Disease: never fully breaks off but still a great build and peak

Waiting All Night: pretty song

Heavy Things: both Page and Trey get a solo. Well done

Axilla: standard

555: Mike’s turn

Limb By Limb: follow the yellow brick road tease from Trey. Otherwise pretty normal

Ya Mar: standard

Fuego: nice peak, afterwards goes type 2 with Mike on the drill and Page leading a perfect transition into

Walls Of The Cave: raging closer to end the first set

No Men In No Man’s Land: early version with a sick first jam before getting out there again with some hot Mike and clav action. After a while it gets dissonant and Trey starts

Carini: a brief type 2 excursion that gives joyful vibes before Trey ripchords in favor of

Tweezer: nice mid set performance with immediate type 2 exploration out of the gate and Fish does nothing for a minute while the other 3 play around and when he comes back in it’s great and heavy for a minute before Trey once again ripchords. But don’t let the length fool you, this does a lot in a very short time

My Friend My Friend: played well and a little extra on the end

Roggae: beauty

Backwards Down The Number Line: I hate to be that guy but this placement is kind of a mood killer. This is a solid version though

Slave To The Traffic Light: epic closer. Patience is key and they nail it

You Enjoy Myself: very fun. Trey and Mike guitar bromance and my beloved bass+drums has Trey joining Fish. Awesome way to close the show

Solid night early on in the 2015 summer tour. Relatively standard first set with Fuego adding some nice jamming and the second set through Roggae is fantastic. Jamming in the second set is very good but cut short a couple too many times by Trey, but it’s not too big of a deal. This is a 7.5/10 show. Highlights are Martian Monster, Fuego, NMINML, Carini, Tweezer, Roggae, and YEM

I am embarassed to say that despite being a Phish Phan since the mid-90s this was actually my first show. I know, sounds impossible, how could I have been a real fan without going to shows. I had a college roommate from Tulsa that got me into Phish, and I guess, it was connecting with a new friend (who also happened to be a huge fan) after I relocated from North Cali to the LA area 20 years later, that got me there. Regardless, I'm grateful - what an experience!!!!

As others have mentioned, the Roggae jam was sublime and some of the best live music I've ever heard period. And the YEM encore was just the icing on the cake. But I was blown away by the surprising power and high energy of the opening MM, Disease, and Heavy Things. Very unexpected to come out swinging so hard.

Being just about 20 bodies away from Bill Walton on the floor was pretty cool too. He was easy to spot being head and shoulders above everyone else!

Overall, one of my 2015 highlights and I can't wait for next year's visit to the Forum. I feel like a real phan again!

No Reprise holds this show from getting a 5 Star. I looked directly back at ck5 when they teased the double encore lights on. I'll never forget the sound of the crowd when ck5 turned the lights back on. Utter disappointment but complete joy at the same time. Thank you Phish. I get it now.

If you chase Phish you get it. I believe there are 4 superwizards of sound that know how to play their four parts as a single sound and vibration which resonates from their collaboration. The sound seems as if its controlled by a supermind as if the speed of thought is faster than the speed of light and that their four minds are joined in one entity. All controlled by what is seemingly one super mind. They can do that on their backs while air bicycling or on trampolines pedestals or confronted by dangling dancers or right in each others faces and when they take it to that level, the whole audience the fan fire the energy right back into a frenzy.. Seeing the yem in Inglewood was tough b/c I couldn't see through the tears of joy. Watching mike step up and rock the lead gave me goosebumps. So good. A mini Walfredo, or at least that's what I'm calling it, is what I remember next. Playing each others instruments made me laugh better than most comedians and they made it look so easy. So easy that they almost appeared bored, and all the while a raging y.e.m. was being funked out. After Mike took the lead Trey walked up on him and I thought Trey was getting egotistical for a second when he quickly changed guitars while reverse hugging Mike, that is hugging his shoulders from behind and they proceeded to funk out on each others guitars for awhile. At this point I could barely see b/c of joy or hear through my hyena laugh and I was in ecstasy because the music was so on point. At some point during this song mike cranks his amp(finally) and I thought (yes, yes, yes, this is good) with every cell in my body. Holding off to the end allowed all that built up energy during the show to focus being California huge vibrations for long periods of a time may not be the smartest way to reduce manmade triggered earthquakes so I get it but I liked bend because mike played loud the whole time. Back to my point, waiting until the last 10 minutes caused a roar to emerge from the crowd , the back and forth interplay of the woo jam in dwd was revisited briefly and I completely enjoyed writing this from memory, pardon any errors in chronology.

If you chase Phish you get it. I believe there are 4 superwizards of sound that know how to play their four parts as a single sound and vibration which resonates from their collaboration. The sound seems as if its controlled by a supermind as if the speed of thought is faster than the speed of light and that their four minds are joined in one entity. All controlled by what is seemingly one super mind. They can do that on their backs while air bicycling or on trampolines pedestals or confronted by dangling dancers or right in each others faces and when they take it to that level, the whole audience the fan fire the energy right back into a frenzy.. Seeing the yem in Inglewood was tough b/c I couldn't see through the tears of joy. Watching mike step up and rock the lead gave me goosebumps. So good. A mini Walfredo, or at least that's what I'm calling it, is what I remember next. Playing each others instruments made me laugh better than most comedians and they made it look so easy. So easy that they almost appeared bored, and all the while a raging y.e.m. was being funked out. After Mike took the lead Trey walked up on him and I thought Trey was getting egotistical for a second when he quickly changed guitars while reverse hugging Mike, that is hugging his shoulders from behind and they proceeded to funk out on each others guitars for awhile. At this point I could barely see b/c of joy or hear through my hyena laugh and I was in ecstasy because the music was so on point. At some point during this song mike cranks his amp(finally) and I thought (yes, yes, yes, this is good) with every cell in my body. Holding off to the end allowed all that built up energy during the show to focus being California huge vibrations for long periods of a time may not be the smartest way to reduce manmade triggered earthquakes so I get it but I liked bend because mike played loud the whole time. Back to my point, waiting until the last 10 minutes caused a roar to emerge from the crowd , the back and forth interplay of the woo jam in dwd was revisited briefly and I completely enjoyed writing this from memory, pardon any errors in chronology.

Thanks N00b100!

Finally somebody mentions the need for Tweezer -> My Friend!

I only caught the second set on stream and I wish I could have heard the first.

Trey especially is on point after FTW, and the rest of the band is keeping pace. So excited to hear them get even better as the tour rages on.

I'll preface this by reiterating what a at least one other expressed: this band is on fire, and having a sustained peak that rolls along. I wasn't at the Bend shows, but saw half fall tour and New Year's, and at Shoreline they picked up in the same zone they were in in Miami.

The first set didn't seem to cohere to me, but Waiting All Night was as beautiful as I've heard, DWD got short shrift, and the last halves of Limb By Limb and Walls of the Cave were the real deal.

When I went back in at the start of the second set thinking Trey had brought back Dancing In the Streets. During the last half of Backwards Down the Number Line there were moments that brought to mind a spinning top that occasionally levitated in a pirouette. After one of these little flights, the stranger who'd been dancing on my right and I looked at each other and both said "WOW!" in that instant. High fives all around, my friends!

While listening to this stream last night I have to say that I was just beside myself by the energy coming from the place last night. I like what Bend and Shoreline both did with the comparison in the type of shows.

Bend had the killer jams (Twist, Hood) and Shoreline had the nasty segues and songs that never tried to take too much or give too much. The songs in the second set were exactly what were needed to be played. No more or less.

Carini had direction into Tweezer with a great segue and then almost flawlessly Tweezer's 'jam' section peaked and died down into My Friend My Friend. Oh! and the first set Fuego > Walls segue was beautifully set up by Page.

Last year's 7/25 was a segue fest that made it a 'pretty good' show. With the fire 2015 is bringing this year's 7/25 was another excellent show.