Phish Goes Old-School Route For Riviera Maya 2023 Welcome Set — Recap, Setlist & The Skinny

2023 marks Phish‘s 40th-anniversary year and after commemorating the milestone on New Year's Eve at Madison Square Garden, the band resumed the celebration last night in Mexico. The quartet began their sixth Phish: Riviera Maya destination event on Thursday with a two-hour “welcome set” on the beach at Moon Palace Cancún that was heavy on songs from the ’90s.

Phish has a history of unexpected openers to start their runs in Mexico and continued the trend by kicking off the event with “Harry Hood.” The beloved song last began a show way back on December 2, 2003 in Boston at a concert held on the band’s 20th anniversary. Nearly every version of the song from the past few years saw the quartet transition into a dark, minor key within the jam but Phish played it straight with a quick and tight “Harry Hood” to get the destination event underway.

More conventional placements followed as “The Moma Dance” filled the two-slot and “Back On The Train” was played third. While the former was kept concise, the latter saw guitarist Trey Anastasio utilize a variety of effects before leaning into his solo with a clean tone as keyboardist Page McConnell echoed the leads on piano. The impressive interplay between the pair laid the groundwork for a breezy transition into “My Friend, My Friend.”

“Thanks everybody, welcome! So nice to be here,” Anastasio exclaimed after the Rift classic. “Sand” then became the first song played at all six installments of Phish: Riviera Maya. The ensemble slickly slid into a pretty, atypical motif that saw Trey hint at “Your Pet Cat” as the rhythm section of bassist Mike Gordon and drummer Jon Fishman provided a funky, in-the-pocket groove. Staples “Sample In a Jar,” “Ya Mar” and “Roggae” kept the old-school start to the show going.

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

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Last night’s “welcome set” rolled on with “Cars Trucks Buses,” an instrumental penned by McConnell that had never been performed south of the border. “Blaze On” then became the first song debuted in the 21st Century played at Phish: Riviera Maya 2023 and one of only two for the night. Anastasio sang “we’ll be dancing on the beach” instead of the normal “dancing in the fields” lyric to the delight of the audience. Phish patiently painted outside the lines for an egalitarian improvisation. Trey ultimately led his bandmates on a soaring build to a euphoric peak.

The brief and bold climax oozed into “Twist.” Gordon utilized a synth tone in guiding the jam that ensued featuring fiery, blues-laced riffs from Anastasio. The four-piece went on to deliver “Bouncing Around The Room,” which coming into the night was the most frequently played song in their history yet to appear in Mexico. Alternately, the “Free” that closed the set was the sixth performed over the course of six Phish: Riviera Maya destination events. Phish capped the night with a high-energy “46 Days” encore.

Phish continues Phish: Riviera Maya 2023 with full two-set shows tonight, tomorrow and on Sunday. The finale has an early 5 p.m. ET start time after nights two and three are expected to start at 7:30 p.m. ET. Watch the action from Mexico by purchasing a livestream via LivePhish.com. The band will then embark on a brief West Coast run in April and their recently announced 2023 Summer Tour. Registration for a Phish Ticketing lottery closes on Monday, February 27 at 12 p.m. ET. General on-sales begin on Friday, March 3 through Ticketmaster and other outlets.

See fan-shot footage of last night’s best jams below:

Phish From The Road Photos

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