After kicking off 2025 by opening Phish: Riveria Maya on Wednesday and laying down a historic “Piper” on Thursday, Phish returned to the white sands of the Moon Palace Resort in Quintana Roo, Cancún, Mexico for the penultimate show of its annual destination event. Saturday’s concert saw Phish go deep on regular heavy-hitters “Wolfman’s Brother” and “Fuego”, and take popular bathroom-break song “Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1” out for a surprising ride.
A playful “Cars Trucks Buses” opened the show as Trey Anastasio got his fingers nimble by hopping across the fretboard with short but sweet notes. I never met a “Moma Dance” I didn’t like, and Saturday’s version gave Anastasio a chance to work out his low-octave pedal, which combined with some bulbous and adventurous bass playing from Mike Gordon to give the jam the rich, dark texture of a Hershey’s bar.
Phish — “Cars Trucks Buses” [Pro-Shot] — 1/31/25
The “Wolfman’s Brother” was a little shaky on entry with multiple flubbed lyrics from Trey, who grinned through them all. By a few minutes into the jam, all was forgotten as atonal experiments gave way to satisfying major chord crescendos—and there were still another 12 minutes to go. A few minutes later, the band locked into a grinding prog-rock progression indistinguishable from the first half of the jam. By the end, Phish had settled on a churning jam characterized by darting notes from Trey, keyboardist Page McConnell pulling double duty on Rhodes and synths, Mike continuing out-front bass playing leaving no fret unexplored, and drummer Jon Fishman throttling the tempo until Trey eventually brought them all back to the main riff. The “Wolfman’s Brother” set a high bar on Friday night, only for the pairing of “Fuego” and “Beneath A Sea of Stars” to take a running start and go for the gold.
Between those two focal points, Phish rounded out the first set with a well-played “Maze” that further shook off the “Wolfman’s” flubs, a sweet “Lonely Trip”, and an always-explosive “Possum”. The pensive, gentle opening of “Oblivion” broke setbreak’s stirring silence, though—even after ten minutes of instrumental jamming—this version never quite took off but nevertheless was a fun bounce highlighted by Page’s toy-like synths. The night’s biggest surprise followed with the first “Slightless Escape” since October 8th, 2023 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and third overall. The Ghosts of the Forest crossover track picked up the steam that “Oblivion” never got, with the modest jam taking its crescendo into the cascading “Prince Caspian” that followed.
Phish — “Oblivion” [Pro-Shot] — 1/31/25
Midway through the second set, the foreboding grand piano introduction and snarling guitar riff ushered in what would prove to be one of the show’s focal points, “Fuego”. The plodding “Oblivion” and truncated “Sightless Escape” jams all led to this, as all Phish’s gears were oiled and ready to take “Fuego” for an impressive 23 minutes. Ten minutes in, Page formed a slapback groove on his grand piano that could have been ridden out for a good ten more minutes in the “Cow Funk” days, but Trey instead lit a fuse with soaring upper-neck leads to which Fishman could only respond with eruptions of snares and cymbals. After several minutes of peaks on top of peaks, the band settled in and turned the back half of the jam into a deep, dark voyage through space, with Page’s synth and Rhodes keyboard lighting the way. Combining the best elements of deep-pocket funk grooves and spacey improvisation, “Fuego” was the standout of the evening and one of Riviera Maya’s top performances, required listening for when the dust (or sand) settles.
After such a triumphant jam, everyone couldn’t help but be a little disappointed at the opening chords of “Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1”. Those doubts were soon put to rest, however, as this version of the Ghosts of the Forest regular opened up into the third-longest take in Phish history at 14 minutes, behind The Greek Theatre in 2023 and the band’s second-ever take on the song from Mohegan Sun Arena in 2019. While the “Fuego” jam fluctuated from roaring to laid-back, “Stars” was sensitive, delicate, and intentional. A perfect jam for staring up at the sea of stars over the Yucatán Peninsula and another welcome surprise from the band which continues to challenge its most incorrigible fans by taking less-popular songs out for deep and captivating jams.
Phish — “Beneath A Sea Of Stars Part 1” — 1/31/25
[Video: lauren’s videos]
In a shocking role reversal, the “Chalkdust Torture” that followed BaSoS P1 became the cool-down song at an efficient six minutes. Finally, the Chairman of the Boards closed out the second set with “Most Events Aren’t Planned” for the Vida Blue track’s fifth performance in six months. Back for the encore, Phish dropped “Saw It Again” in the encore slot for the third show in a row, solidifying a welcome new positioning for the chaotic rocker before perennial closer “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” did what it does and finished off the penultimate night on the beach.
Phish finishes its Riviera Maya event tonight, February 1st. You can stream the remaining night of Phish’s 2025 Riviera Maya getaway via LivePhish. Purchase your livestream here. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a LivePhish affiliate. Ordering a webcast or purchasing a LivePhish+ subscription via the links on this page helps support our work covering Phish and the live music world as a whole. Thanks for reading!]
After Mexico, Trey Anastasio will head out on a lengthy solo acoustic spring tour before linking back up with Fishman, Gordon, and McConnell for Phish’s eight-date West Coast spring tour.
Phish — “Maze”, “Lonely Trip” — 1/31/25
[Video: lauren’s videos]
Phish — “Most Events Aren’t Planned” — 1/31/25
[Video: lauren’s videos]
Phish — “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” — 1/31/25
[Video: lauren’s videos]
Setlist [via phish.net]: Phish | Moon Palace | Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico | 1/31/25
Set One: Cars Trucks Buses, The Moma Dance, Sigma Oasis, Tube, Wolfman’s Brother, Maze, Lonely Trip, Possum
Set Two: Oblivion, Sightless Escape, Prince Caspian > Fuego, Beneath a Sea of Stars Part 1, Chalk Dust Torture, Most Events Aren’t Planned
Encore: Saw It Again > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.
Wolfman’s Brother contained Mike’s Song teases.