Everything’s Right: Phish Wraps Riviera Maya Destination Event – Night 4 Recap, Setlist & The Skinny

Sunday night Phish wrapped up their four-night stint at the Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico, capping a raucous extended weekend filled with 69 different songs, including energy-forward versions of old and newer tunes, a handful of deeply exploratory jams, costume changes, and a bust out or two.

Under the sun, with a breeze coming off the Caribbean Sea (which, after previous days’ red flag warnings, was finally open to attendees who wanted to splash around during the show), the band opened the final show with “Sigma Oasis,” the title track off their most recent studio album, released early in the pandemic, April 2020.

Next up, drummer Jon Fishman’s tittering hi-hat cymbals ushered the beginning of staple “David Bowie,” before funk delivery vehicle “Wolfman’s Brother,” saw the band hit their stride, with guitarist Trey Anastasio teasing Freddie King’s “San-Ho-Zay.” At 11:40, “Wolfie’s” was the second-longest song of the first set.

And during that time, the energy levels seemed to cohere and elevate, which set the stage for a raucous “Tube.” Trey changed the lyric from “fun” to “sun,” much to the delight of those in the audience soaking up vitamin D. “Tube” delved into some deliciously nasty synthing from keyboardist Page McConnell complimented by Trey’s modulated effects before going straight into an equally funky “Prince Caspian.”

Next up was bassist Mike Gordon‘s tune, “Mull,” which covered some interesting ground, despite being just under eight minutes; it seems like a solid candidate for *much* deeper exploration at some point. The exit from the “Mull” jam was the perfect entry point for a solid version of “Ghost” – its 200th live performance.

Despite Trey skipping the first verse, instead starting with “I saw Satan on the beach trying to catch a ray,” and as the sun dipped below the horizon and Page played the band off the stage, “The Squirming Coil” was perfectly placed to close out the first set.

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

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For the first time since Telluride in 2010, the band paired “Possum” with “Julius,” in this particular placement, to open the second set. The perpetually perky “Possum” followed by a blistering “Julius” – with standout Page keys and feverish playing from Trey – dropped straight into the opening notes of “You Enjoy Myself.”

Like the “2001” on Saturday night, the band allowed a little space before getting into the meatier parts of the tune. The “YEM” vocal jam featured more typical vocalizations – clicks, ticks, tocks, ups and downs – and some silly turkey gobble-gobble sounds from Trey after the “Boy. Man. God. Shit.” lyrics (IMO Trey really missed an opportunity there for “Chico. Hombre. Dios. Mierda.”). According to Scott Marks’ (@bizarchive), Page was also teasing the theme from “Speed Racer.”

The ripping “YEM,” with a juicy Mike solo that preceded the vocal jam (with more turkey gobbles and giggles), clocked in at just under 21 minutes, and was the longest tune of the night, followed by the subsequent “Everything’s Right” (18:27).

The extended length for the latter allowed for a ripe exploration, which later morphed into a soaring jam, before Trey, somewhat abruptly, veered into the final chorus and moved right along into a dark, textured “Simple” (its 199th live performance).

Trey again seemed to leave his bandmates ever so slightly in the dust as he ripped into a fluid “Backwards Down the Number Line,” the fourth-ever “Simple” > “BDTNL” pairing, most recently last year in Atlantic City. Again, without missing a beat from “BDTNL,” Trey led the band into a rollicking “Suzy Greenberg.” Page had a delightful solo before Fishman’s frenzied “neurologist” section.

The following three-song encore started with “McGrupp and The Watchful Hosemasters,” played only the third time ever in an encore slot, and notably featured Trey and Page bobbing and weaving throughout before the band slipped into a tender “Waste.” This was the second ever “McGrupp” > “Waste” pairing and set the stage for a big, anthemic “Slave to the Traffic Light” to wrap the stellar weekend.

But don’t take my word for it! Subscribe to the LivePhish+ app and listen to this run as well as every other Phish show since 2002 plus exclusive archival releases, side projects, and concert videos. Subscribe and stream ad-free and on-demand.

The band next heads out west in mid-April for eight shows across Washington and California, starting in Seattle at the brand new Climate Pledge Arena before stops at Berkley’s Greek Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The band then heads out on their recently announced 2023 Summer Tour. Registration for a Phish Ticketing lottery closes today, Monday, February 27 at 12 p.m. ET. General on-sales begin on Friday, March 3 through Ticketmaster and other outlets.

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