‘It’s party time!’: Five thoughts about Rihanna’s second show at the Forum

When all else fails, hump the floor.

That seemed to be Rihanna’s reasoning Wednesday night at the Forum, where the singer had planned to begin her concert — the second of two in Inglewood behind this year’s “Anti” album — astride a suspended catwalk that would’ve carried her from the back of the arena to the stage as she breathed heavily through her songs “Woo” and “Sex with Me.” (At least that’s how Rihanna opened her Forum show Tuesday.)

This time, an apparent technical problem nixed the bit on the catwalk. So instead of floating toward the stage, Rihanna strolled slowly across the floor, a zillion flashing camera phones lighting her every step. And once she reached her position, she just kind of improvised for a few minutes — striking imperious poses, doing some light twerking and eventually dropping to the floor and grinding her crotch against it, Bobby Brown-style.

Nobody seemed to mind the change in plans.

Here are five more thoughts on Wednesday’s concert.

1. The new intro wasn’t the only unexpected moment. There was also a surprise cameo by Drake, who popped out during “Work” to deliver his verse, then stuck around to do parts of his songs “One Dance” and “Jumpman.” Describing Rihanna as “this stunningly beautiful woman,” Drake embraced the singer in a way that couldn’t help but conjure images of their old romance. But Rihanna had other things on her mind. After the famously emotional rapper ran offstage, she told the crowd she didn’t want to see anyone “texting their baby mama or their ex” as a result of Drake’s appearance. “It’s party time!” she said, and that was the cue for a series of thumping dance cuts, including “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been.”

2. With flowing fabrics in a variety of earth tones, the sets and costumes on the “Anti” tour are austere by arena-show standards. But Rihanna isn’t forsaking spectacle. One memorable bit at the Forum involved an enormous sheet of clear plastic hung at the rear of the stage, down which poured some type of foam that piled up behind her band in an ever-expanding blob.

3. As amusing as it was to watch the blob threaten to swallow Rihanna’s two drummers, you were glad the musicians stayed safe, since these guys were doing an exceptional job accompanying the singer wherever the music took her. The shimmering dancehall groove in “Work,” the folky soul of “FourFiveSeconds,” the low-slung psychedelia of her Tame Impala cover “Same Ol’ Mistakes” — Rihanna’s band brought weight and detail to all of it. The musicians even found a new lushness in the harsh “Bitch Better Have My Money,” which here had a soothing Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis vibe.

4. Rihanna’s singing was equally impressive in a stately rendition of “Diamonds”; “FourFiveSeconds,” which ended with a churchy call-and-response bit; and a loose, appealingly ragged run through “Love on the Brain” that demonstrated, not unlike the show’s opening sequence, how comfortable she’s gotten riffing onstage.

5. Indeed, though Wednesday’s show offered plenty of the control and command for which Rihanna is known, it might also have been the friendliest, most relaxed performance I’ve ever seen her give (and that includes her all-smiles drop-in with Calvin Harris last month at Coachella). At one point she said she knew some in the crowd had stolen “Anti” off the Internet. “But that’s cool,” she added, “as long as you listen.”

Twitter: @mikaelwood