Thought this show was pretty darn hot. First set had its moments, but set two took us where we wanted to go. A gnarly Waves > Ruby Waves delivered the goods, Shade cooled us down then right back up in tempo with Chalkdust and just an absurd Gin to close. One of the better Mexico shows for sure. Onto the next!

PHISH, THURSDAY 02/24/2023
MOON PALACE
Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Soundcheck: Jam, All of These Dreams, Brother (incomplete), My Soul

SET 1: Dinner and a Movie: Dinner and Movie was performed for the first time since August 4, 2017 (177 shows). Mike sounds great. Trey plays the beginning at a glacial pace and with a severe lack of confidence.

Loving Cup: Broadway Trey in full effect on these vocals. So bad. Nice back and forth between Page and Trey. Playing is very good in this jam.

A Wave of Hope: Good jam but not great. Something about it though seems lacking in a bit of confidence are all band members on the same page. Mike and Fish being the clear MVP’s. Trey seems scattered in spots.

Stash: Not sure how I feel about this Stash getting SOAMelted, certainly is unique for Stash. Some of it works, some doesn’t. Mike freaking Gordon owns it though, he sounds amazing and is the clear MVP. The more this goes on, the more I really like it. There is some truly mind melting psychedelic qualities at work in here. They definitely took a risk and it paid off as far as I am concerned.

Heavy Things: Standard.

555: Standard. >

Axilla (Part II) – Trey’s solo is a little to heavy on the ‘ol whale for my tastes but Mike once again sounds very cool in here. >

Joy: Standard.

Split Open and Melt: The way Trey stops short in his vocals before the jam is very annoying. That coupled with his Broadway Trey vibrato just makes it all the more awful. Trey employs that backwards sounding guitar stuff early on in this one, it’s cool. This one has what has become standard for this song RE: tons of freakout effects and noise, but the last three or four minutes of this one just explode on your face with some really intense playing from Trey – truly exceptional. Huge fan. Would highly recommend this version.

SET 2: First Tube: Standard.

Waves: This one is very mellow for a good bit – perfect for this setting. Once it finally wakes up, Trey takes it to the woodshed and rips it a good one. Some goofy effects and… >

Ruby Waves: Truly remarkable, this jam is an all timer. Has all of those crazy effects perfect for the psychedelic warriors which eventually moves into a fist pumping, raging beast. Trey shades the hell out of this one in fine fashion. Very impressive, highly recommended.

Shade: Standard.

Chalk Dust Torture: This gets evil right out of the gate, very cool! Doesn’t stay in that space for too long but it’s appreciated. Again, I will say Mike sounds great. Good jam! >

Bathtub Gin: Trey – stop with the vocal NONSENSE. Did it in CDT too. If he isn’t doing that vibrato stuff he is singing way to high – what is wrong with you dude? Thankfully he makes up for it in jam which is absolutely hose city. Outstanding jam! Trey’s ending is a little clunky, like he had to get to the bathroom before he had an accident type ending.

ENCORE: Golgi Apparatus: Standard. > Character Zero: Broadway Trey with embarrassing vocals.

Replay Value/Summary: Stash, Split Open and Melt, Waves > Ruby Waves, Bathtub Gin. Helluva show.

Score: 4.2 out of 5.

This was THE show of the weekend for sure. If you are going to listen to one mexico show then check this out. Fantastic opening set with stash and Melt leading the way. Second set does not disappoint with a one-two punch of Waves/Ruby Waves and then a sweet Gin. I had a fantastic time every night but this was my favorite show of the weekend.

Stellar second night for Mexico 2023. The fellas sound really tightly rehearsed, the energy is high, and the jams are inspired and creative. Massive DAAM bustout feels especially impactful after the COVID streaming series. A Wave of Hope and Stash both got some really sweet jams, and the SOAM set closer was a great blend of musicality and space chaos. Loved the Rocky Mountain Way feel toward the end of that one.

Set 2 was just heat. Bangin' First Tube, excellent Waves > Ruby Waves pairing, and a cool unfinished CDT. Bathtub Gin was phenomenal at this past MSG run and this one just keeps the torch lit. Let's please make this the year of the Gin.

Bet they spent forever in customs cause this show brought the goods.

Jam-heavy dishes though out, with Stash and especially SOAM getting real nasty in the first set. Six-song second set that featured a long-awaited (for me, at least) Waves>Ruby Waves, the latter taking jam of the night. Easily a 4.3+ show.

You get the sense the boys are have Mexico circles on their calendars these days cause the quality of shows there just keeps rising.

Maybe I can finally make it happen next year…

As others have noted, Mexico seems to be like a "working vacation" for the band (and maybe some participants with laptops/remote work scenarios).

That said, there's very little chance of this band playing 4 nights in a row without some heavy juju somewhere. This show seems to be the highlight from a purely musical point of view. Not being there in person, I can't comment on which night(s) had the best vibes, etc. which is of course a limiting factor. But in terms of energy, jams, etc. if you're going to pick one night to listen back to from this run, make it this one.

I am finally in a place in life where I could do these shows if I wanted to, but alas I've chosen to spend thousands of dollars in other ways this year (see you in Telluride for TBF50!) But Mexico/Phish is definitely on my bucket list and eventually (likely next year) I will see what the fuss is about. May we all be so lucky some day!