Soul Shakedown Beach Party: Phish Wraps Riviera Maya Event With Celebratory Finale

Phish: Riviera Maya concluded last night with an early show filled with connected playing, two notable jams to open the second set, and a bust out of “Soul Shakedown Party.”

The band sounded tight for the entire four-show run, benefiting from the earlier dates this year, only a few weeks after their New Year’s Eve run at Madison Square Garden. Heading into night four, the band had played strongly crafted sets with excellent flow and delivered a few noteworthy jams throughout the run.

Taking the stage at 6:36 p.m., guitarist Trey Anastasio announced that they were playing this song for the people dancing in the water and opened with “Bathtub Gin.” This was the song’s 314th time played and over 100 of those performances included extended improvisation. This version led to a nice crescendo with Anastasio playing some fast, repetitive licks then dropping into a classic peak as keyboardist Page McConnell hinted at the chorus on the piano.

Anastasio brought the band home smoothly as the sun set over the beach. At almost 14 minutes this was a good example of something they have done well on this run: performing well-played, slightly extended versions with some connected jamming that stays relatively within the bounds of the song.

A bust out of “Soul Shakedown Party” was next, the last time played in August 2021, 163 shows prior. McConnell showed off those killer pipes and set the tone for the final night of partying on the beach. Anastasio put the effects pedal to good use in this lighthearted reggae jam until bassist Mike Gordon answered with resonating bass melodies that gave the playful song more depth and intrigue. “Martian Monster” followed with some commanding playing from Trey and a band that sounded locked-in and communicative.

Last year in Mexico they played a phenomenal version of “Stash,” so Saturday’s had big shoes to fill. Well-played but contained, this “Stash” was followed by “Farmhouse” making an early arrival this year. Played three times last year, this song is back in rotation more frequently than in the past few years. Anastasio and McConnell locked into some delicate and lovely playing in this version.

A clunky entry into “Reba” was more than made up for with contemplative and emotional playing from the band within the challenging composition. From one challenging song to another, “Golden Age” opened up in the middle of the first set. After the first few minutes of improvisation, the band hinted at the theme, signaling a return to the song. Instead, they pushed through, led by Gordon, who has been playing more melodically and authoritatively since last year.

Drummer Jon Fishman gave the jam a propulsive feeling, allowing Anastasio to solo over it to an exciting peak. They quickly settled back into the melody and ended the song.

Debuting in 1992, “My Friend, My Friend” has had a renaissance lately, inspiring the band in multiple stand-out versions last year. The previous four times this song was played it went over 17 minutes with the last version from New Year’s Eve one second away from the magic 20-minute mark. Without the traditional ending to the song, this tight version closed the set at 8:05 p.m.

Read on after The Skinny for the rest of the recap and more.

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The band returned promptly at 8:30 p.m. with one of their newest songs. “What’s Going Through Your Mind” was played for the fifth time last night and has occupied some prime real estate in its short life; debuting during a Billy Strings sit-in, anchoring a big second set at their Mondegreen festival, stretching out within a strong segment at Dick's Sporting Goods Park and being the conduit for “EDM Phish” during their thrilling New Year’s Eve set.

The song inspires the band and last night’s version was no exception. They launched right into a driving jam, which patiently built to a beautiful peak with long sustain from Anastasio. The band also briefly showed off their new party trick of shifting tone on top of a classic jamming style, in this case slightly distorting sounds over an idyllic bliss jam before the peak. Post-peak, the band repeated the refrain and closed down the song.

Talking Heads’ “Crosseyed & Painless” followed the new tune for the second time. The improvisation was immediately interesting as they layered texture and depth in a dystopian noise jam. McConnell hit the synths and Gordon balanced their lightness with a deep bass line, which led the band into an off-kilter, demented tease of “Funky Town.” The tease broke down and made its way to an impassioned, swirling peak with all four band members pushing it forward equally. Anastasio slammed back into the refrain while McConnell hammered the keys and the rhythm section never quit. A strong 40 minutes of music to open the second set.

“Tweezer” arrived and quickly developed into a lovely, euphoric, groove-oriented jam. During the New Year’s Eve run and in Mexico, the band has more frequently settled into a groove while improvising and playing within the bounds of the forward motion and ease. They rode this pretty “Tweezer” wave for about 18 minutes and landed in “mercy.”

Written by Anastasio, this was the song’s fifth performance and was one of only three songs played last night that wasn’t heard at the band’s New Year’s Eve run in December (“Soul Shakedown Party”, “Martian Monster” and “mercy”). Debuting in the summer of 2023, “mercy” is a great example of the songwriters’ ability to write with sophistication and simplicity.

A fourth-quarter go-to, the cover of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” brought the party vibes back to the beach. A bubbling groove gave the crowd something to dance to during their last night in paradise. “More” from the 2016 album, Big Boat, closed the set.

The band returned for a three-song encore. The emotional “A Life Beyond The Dream” from Anastasio’s Ghosts Of The Forest album was followed by the classic encore song, “First Tube.” The band threw in “Tweezer Reprise” for a celebratory ending to Phish’s eighth run in Mexico.

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