The Forum in Los Angeles is truly an historic sports venue, home to the Lakers back in their multi-championship years. It also hosted innumerable concerts, though frankly it wasn’t a very good place to see a show. The sound system left a lot to be desired, as I remember well from seeing Elton John there in the early ’80s.
Recently the Forum was purchased by the Madison Square Garden Company, which devoted $100 million to a renovation, designed to transform the building into a more state-of-the-art concert venue, with the slogan “The Forum is BACK!.” And in a big, grand, “showtime” gesture, the reopening is being marked by topping the Forum with the world’s biggest vinyl record. It’s constructed of 25 tons of material, 15,000 LED lights, a mile of aluminum track, and over five ACRES of printed vinyl, all comprising an enormous Hotel California album. The Eagles will be the first act to grace the new Forum in a series of six shows, starting on Wednesday night. This gigantic record, 407 feet in diameter, will actually SPIN on top of the building! I really wish I was flying into LAX this week, because apparently the lettering on the record can clearly be seen from incoming planes.
Here’s a video of the making of the record, an impressive achievement. Bravo, Fabulous Forum!