Lot Bites got the opportunity to check the Los Angeles music scene this past week and was not left disappointed. Hard Summer Tour, which has several dates across the country with limited rotating selection of artists, had its major show of the tour in LA on Saturday, August 6th, and added some big names like Chromeo, Ratatat, Duck Sauce, Boys Noize, and Skrillex to the line-up.
Being held in Los Angeles Historic State Park proved to be a major issue for festival organizers, with massive lines to get in and at vending, and inconsistent security. After getting your ID checked several times and waiting on long lines to do so, you could buy 1 drink (also the biggest line to get); by 9pm, LAPD had shut down all alcohol service. Yet, people were barely searched on the way in. Also, the park itself was long and narrow, and its size with 4 stages packed in to it meant you could clearly hear the other artists at the other tents.
However, even the lack of organization could not take away from the star-studded line-up they had acquired, and every artist seemed to be on point with their performances. My line-up for the night included Ratatat > Jack Beats > Chromeo > Digitalism > Nero > Skrillex. I was most impressed with Jack Beats, Digitalism, and Skrillex, but every artist put on a stellar show. This was my third time seeing Skrillex, and it was by far my favorite set of his I have seen so far.
The main event of my trip to Los Angeles was getting to see Phish at Hollywood Bowl. Nestled in the Hollywood Hills, the Bowl itself is legendary, and its location in hills with the Hollywood sign in the distance makes it a special place to see any show. But add the music of Phish and the lighting expertise of Chris Kuroda, and the Hollywood Bowl becomes a Phish Bowl if just for one night.
Setlist (phish.net):
Set I- Down With Disease > Cavern > Possum, Cities, Peaches, Kill Devil Falls, Lawn Boy, Tube > Back on the Train, Wilson >Axilla > Split Open, Backwards Down the Number Line
Set II- Carini > Crosseyed and Painless > Twist > Piper > Mike's > Joy > Weekapaug, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover > Hold Your Head Up > Weekapaug, Character Zero, Quinn
Encore: Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan > Julius
The setlist was pretty typical of first leg, opening set I with Down with Disease into an interestingly placed Cavern, and the appearances by Possum, Kill Devil Falls, and Backwards Down The Number Line were almost expected. Set I highlights included a major bust-out of Peaches, a raging Tube, and psychy jam on Split Open and Melt.
Set II started out and remained high energy, until Mike's slowed down into a misplaced Joy, only to be brought back up again with Weekapaug Groove. Making a notable debut was Paul Simon's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, which featured Fishman front on center on vocals and on the front of the stage with a smaller kit. In true Fishman style, the donut-dress clad drummer did his usual lap around the stage during Hold Your Head Up. The jams improved on a whole this set, especially on Crosseyed and Painless and Piper. Also of note: the Julius in the encore.
A solid show with some shining moments at an unforgettable venue, and a perfect end to a west coast vacation.
I wish I had more to say about the lot eats out west, as there were none to be found on lot before the show at Hollywood Bowl. There were bacon-wrapped hot dogs with peppers and onions being sold in abundance by locals post-show, but those were broken up pretty quickly. I heard good things about the food at Outside Lands. Remember, people, let me know about what you ate on Leg 2!
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