The Weeknd, BANKS, Travis $cott turn The Forum into Madness; Lana Del Rey guest appearance

The Weeknd, BANKS, Travis $cott turn The Forum into Madness; Lana Del Rey guest appearance
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 11, 2015

Is there anyone in music who’s had a bigger 2015 than The Weeknd?

Wednesday night’s show at The Forum – the second of two sold-out shows on The Madness Tour at the 17,500 capacity venue – was further evidence that the answer to that question is no.

With a nearly two-hour set, The Weeknd – aka Abel Tesfaye – proved his merit and vocal prowess. Perhaps the highlight of the hit-filled set was the shocking surprise in the form of a Lana del Rey appearance at the end of his set to perform their track “Prisoner” from his critically-acclaimed 2015 record Beauty Behind the Madness.

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U2 kicks off five-night Forum stay with a bang

U2 kicks off five-night Forum stay with a bang
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 27, 2015

When U2’s latest album Songs of Innocence was released and gifted to all Apple users for free without asking, the band took a bit of a PR hit. On Tuesday, Bono and Co. proved that it didn’t have a negative effect on their drawing power nor their claim as one of the best arena rock bands in the world as they kicked off the first of five nights at The Forum.

Beginning things with their single “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone),” U2 played a good number of songs from their first album in five years. The response was pretty enthusiastic, with people singing the words to some of the songs that haven’t even hit the radio.

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Foo Fighters make live rock n roll history with four-hour set joined by legendary rock stars at The Forum

Foo Fighters make live rock history with four-hour set joined by legendary rock stars at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 11, 2015


It is hard to guess how the Foo Fighters could ever top what they did last night at The Forum to celebrate lead man Dave Grohl’s birthday. Billed as Dave’s birthday bash, the show that was announced Thursday saw nearly a dozen special guests show up and play with the Foo Fighters. They played nearly four hours and totaled 31 songs (view the entire set list at the bottom of the page), an unbelievable show that will be hard to top for the best of 2015 – and we are just in January.

Things kicked off with Paul Stanley of KISS joining them for “Detroit Rock City” and “Do You Love Me.” Slash and Tenacious D came out to help with Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” as balloons rained down on the stage (scroll down to watch the videos).

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Foo Fighters announce show Saturday Jan. 10 at The Forum

Foo Fighters announce show Saturday Jan. 10 at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 7, 2015

The Foo Fighters have announced that they will be playing a charity show on Jan. 10 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Arguably the No. 1 American rock band going right now, the Foo Fighters have some September dates lined up at the Honda Center and The Forum as part of their Sonic Highways world tour, but will be playing a special show this Saturday. Tickets are $50 + fees (totaling $65.30) on Ticketmaster and are on sale at 7 PM PT on Jan. 7, with some of the proceeds going to the Rock School Fund.

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Fleetwood Mac rock The Forum like it's 1979

Fleetwood Mac rock The Forum like it's 1979
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 29, 2014

In order to see Fleetwood Mac at The Forum on Friday night, I had to give up my New Year’s Eve so that someone else would cover my shift on short notice at my full-time job. After seeing them play nearly three hours on the first of two nights at The Forum, I can say that I made the right choice and that I have zero regrets.

This was the first time since the original lineup played in Los Angeles together in years. Mick Fleetwood (drums), John McVie (bass), Stevie Nicks (vocals), Lindsey Buckingham (lead guitar), and — for the first time since 1998, Christine McVie on the keyboards. They had some help by a talented group of backup musicians, but this was who everyone came to see and they didn’t fail to deliver.

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Justin Timberlake provides a cure for the Mondays with exhilarating performance at The Forum

Justin Timberlake provides a cure for the Mondays with exhilarating performance at The Forum
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 25, 2014


The last week of November is one that is usually looked forward to by a large majority of Americans. Thanksgiving is just a few days away, which means for most students, a full week off from school and for most adults, a shortened work week. For anyone that was still not satisfied, Justin Timberlake’s performance at The Forum in Inglewood took care of their case of the Mondays.

Let me preface this show review by saying Timberlake isn’t my usual cup of tea. I’ve had the good fortune of seeing a large volume of live music this year. Most fall into the “shows” category. Some are large enough to be considered “concerts”, but Monday night, Timberlake showed me what it was like to turn a night of live music into an “event”.

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The Black Keys at The Forum: Living up to being one of America's biggest rock bands

The Black Keys at The Forum: Living up to being one of America's biggest rock bands
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
November 7, 2014

If there is one major realization I made Thursday night at The Forum in Inglewood, it’s that The Black Keys are in the running for America’s most popular rock band.

As Thursday was an important day politically, it felt as though these Akron, Ohio-bred rockers were on the campaign trail themselves. After seeing them blow through an impressive sold-out set at one of Southern California’s larger indoor venues, one could certainly make the case that they are in the hunt. In fact, outside of the Foo Fighters, I can’t think of a single American rock band that is as wide appealing as Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney.

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Marquez and Alvarado looking to earn Pacquiao fight on Saturday

Marquez and Alvarado looking to earn Pacquiao fight on Saturday

Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
May 15, 2014


Saturday night, boxing returns to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., as future first ballot Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez squares off with Mike Alvarado in a welterweight bout that could very well determine the next opponent to Manny Pacquiao later this year.

Marquez got his start in the States at the old Forum, racking up victories as an obscure but talented technically sound Mexican fighter. It wasn’t until his controversial draw with Pacquiao a decade ago that Marquez began earning the respect of casual observers.

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