There was an air of inevitability around Beck and Phoenix’s Summer Odyssey Tour stop at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on the first Monday of August—so much so that even Beck had to acknowledge it. Before diving into a rendition of the tour’s title song alongside Phoenix, the 53-year-old Los Angeles native thanked the fans in attendance for “making your way through the throngs of Swifties.”
Indeed, Taylor Swift and her legions of fans swarmed through the Forum parking lot on their way to SoFi Stadium, which sits catty-corner from the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers. Some Swifties attempted to enter the Forum Club, only to find out that their preferred performance was a short walk away.
Even after both shows began, the shouts and screams of those Swifties could be heard loud and clear by those walking the Forum’s outer concourse. But inside the Forum, there was, in fact, a spectacular exhibition of sound and light that was not only a worthy rival to the late-announced fourth night of Taylor’s Eras tour tenure in L.A. but also a statement piece for one of the city’s classic venues.
After a dreamy warmup stint from Sir Chloe and a slew of solo songs by Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley, The Postal Service), Phoenix stormed onto the stage for a set replete with its signature indie-pop hits. From an opener of “Lisztomania” to a penultimate play of “1901”, with more recent additions like “Entertainment” and “Alpha Zulu” in between, the boys from France managed to touch on their entire seven-album catalog—including those that came before 2009’s breakout Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, in just over an hour. At one point early on, lead singer Thomas Mars acknowledged the need to keep his personal comments brief so that he and his band could give love to their whole repertoire.
All of those songs—including “Lasso”, “Ti Amo”, “Armistice”, the tour debut of “Everything Is Everything” and “Tonight”—came in front of a three-tiered stage that would’ve been familiar to anyone who attended Phoenix’s Alpha Zulu Tour in 2022. Together, the components formed a three-dimensional backdrop onto which were projected majestic scenes from the Palace of Versailles, celestial splendor, and a deep zoom out/zoom in from Grant Park in Chicago.
The most captivating spectacle of all, though, came at the very end of Phoenix’s set. As the band played “Identical”, Thomas went on an extended romp around the arena. He sauntered through the crowd on the floor, microphone in tow; climbed into the stands to hug and high-five fans; and ultimately returned to the stage by surfing the crowd after stopping midway to stand on a sea of hands.
Such a frenetic-yet-pitch-perfect act would’ve been tough for most artists to follow. Not so for Beck. The L.A. native put on a hometown show that pulled from seemingly all of his eras, of which there have been 14 albums worth to date.
He and his band—who have recorded together for 25 years, but hadn’t toured as a unit in eight—opened (“Devil’s Haircut”) and closed (“Where It’s At”) with tracks from 1996’s Odelay, along with “New Pollution”. Beck’s 1998 release, the funk-filled Midnight Vultures, featured prominently, as well, courtesy of cuts like “Mixed Bizness”, “Nicotine & Gravy”, “Sexx Laws”, and “Debra”.
Tying that lead among albums was 2005’s Guero, with “Black Tambourine”, “Que Onda Guero”, “E-Pro”, and “Girl”, emphasizing Beck’s wholly unique brand of alternative music.
There was plenty of room in his 90-minute set for Beck to explore his other stylistic phases. He pulled no punches with power pop anthems like “Wow” and “Dreams” off of 2017’s Colors.
For more of a classic folk infusion—as opposed to Beck’s genre-smashing folk rap, as heard on “Loser”— there was “The Golden Age” and “Lost Cause” from 2002’s Sea Change. For a dip into his psychedelic rock-infused phase, Beck brought in 2008’s Danger Mouse collab Modern Guilt with “Soul of a Man”, “Gamma Ray”, and “Chemtrails”.
Along the way, Beck’s production made spectacular use of Phoenix’s tripartite stage design. The screens lit up with captivating scenes of Japanese-style neon, black-and-white city streets at night, colorfully graffitied walls, and a room befitting Wassily Kandinsky, among scores of backdrops.
Nearly a decade past its last renovation, and more than five decades since it first opened, The Forum proved that it can still handle clever technical setups like Phoenix’s with aplomb. So, too, did its sound system and revamped interior present every note from every act to every ear with crisp precision.
That much should be expected from the largest music-first venue (albeit formerly a sports-first one) in the global capital of the music industry. It can be easy to forget what marvels can be made by era-enduring artists in The Forum when Eras is right across the street, taking up residence at the still new, still shiny football stadium.
Then again, it was earlier this year that Harry Styles, a global superstar in his own right, completed a 15-night residency during his Love On Tour. Clearly, then, The Forum can accommodate pop royalty.
Even so, it may only be a matter of time before The Forum’s doors close for good. The building already has ample competition from its neighbor, and will soon have another new arena to contend with when the Intuit Dome opens this fall. What’s more, that incoming challenger shares ownership—mega-billionaire Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer—with The Forum.
For now, though, The Forum can and will continue to serve up live music at scale better than any other indoor venue in L.A. And once Taylor moves on, it will become the home to multi-night stints from its own international sensations, Drake and Sam Smith.
Check out a gallery of images from Beck, Phoenix, and Jenny Lewis at the Kia Forum courtesy of photographer Josh Martin along with fan-shot videos from Todd Norris.
Beck – “Loser” – 8/7/23
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