(Writer: Cody Lantz)

Phish hit the stage Saturday night for the third and final show of their Riviera Maya destination event in Mexico. After bust-outs and big jams the previous two nights, Phish took a different approach to close out the weekend with some stellar playing, ending with an epic six song encore.

The Vermonters opened the first set with “The Curtain With”. A fitting choice on the final night with the “we follow the lines going south” lyrics. The song’s composed section was played at a slightly slower tempo than it normally is, which made for a beautiful rendition. Up next was “Punch You in the Eye”, also featuring relevant lyrics about the “ocean”, “palm trees”, and “seagulls”. Guitarist Trey Anastasio then began the Big Boat track “Blaze On” which saw some decent jamming before transitioning nicely into a strong version of “Destiny Unbound”. The once rare Mike Gordon tune seems to be getting a lot more action these days. Afterwards it was keyboardist Page McConnell’s turn to lead the band through his song “Most Events Aren’t Planned”. The Chairman of the Boards sure has my vote for MVP of this run. An always welcomed “Divided Sky” was up next followed by a fierce take on “Steam”. The quartet then fired up “Chalk Dust Torture” to bring the set to a rocking close.

Phish began the second set with the fiery and energetic instrumental “First Tube”. There was a slight mishap during the song as Trey briefly fell on stage. But no worries here folks, Big Red got right back up and continued the rest of the set. After “First Tube” came a “Mike’s Song” > “Weekapaug Groove” sequence, which was paired together for the first time without an interlude since 07/17/98. A standard take on “Fuego” followed before the band started up “Tweezer”. This “Tweezer” saw the quartet patiently dive into the first real deep jam of the set which then transitioned into “Carini”, showcasing great interplay between all members. After a brief return to the “Tweezer” riff the band segued into “Ghost”, only to transition perfectly after a few minutes into “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”. The Kasvot Växt trackclosed out the second set.

The Vermonters returned to the stage and delivered a six song encore to end the final show in Mexico. Up first was a short take on “Simple” followed by “Martian Monster”. The Chilling Thrilling Sounds of a Haunted House track featured “Spanish Moon”, “Death Don’t Hurt Very Long”, and “Sanity” quotes, before leading into the first full take on “Kung” since 12/29/16. Next was Mike Gordon’s “Big Black Furry Creature From Mars” which gave way to “Sleeping Monkey”. A “Tweezer Reprise” brought the encore and evening to its conclusion.

Setlist:

Set 1:
The Curtain With > Punch You in the Eye > Blaze On > Destiny Unbound, Most Events
Aren’t Planned > Divided Sky, Steam, Chalk Dust Torture
Set 2:
First Tube > Mike’s Song > Weekapaug Groove, Fuego > Tweezer > Carini > Ghost > Say
It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
Encore:
Simple > Martian Monster > Kung > Big Black Furry Creature From Mars, Sleeping
Monkey > Tweezer Reprise