Phish | 2020-02-21 | The Moon Palace, Quintana Roo, Mexico [AUD]

The terrible thing about hell is that when you’re there you can’t even hear this new recording of Phish‘s second night at The Grand at Moon Palace Cancun!

For the second night of Phish’s all-inclusive (said in the voice of Michael Scott) resort getaway, fans were repeatedly reminded about the worst parts of the inferno, as Phish inter-spliced their seldom-played tune “Shafty” in-and-out for the entirety of their two sets.

Things started off with another possible nod to the scenery, with the Kasvot Vaxt cover of “Turtle In The Clouds” — throughout the resort there are rock sculptures of turtles around each of the pools. Also I mean, turtles…I like turtles. After a soaring outro solo from Trey, it was time to take the plunge Dante tried to warn us all about, as the band kicked into “Shafty”, a tune that hadn’t been played since Bonnaroo 2012, which was a 302 show gap. The segue shenanigans started with a transition into “Plasma”, then ping-ponging back to “Shafty” and “Plasma” one more time for good measure. The band must have been in good set list spirits because that was then followed-up with “The Lizards”. The tropical rhythm hit everyone like a bomb of exuberant joy, and the breakdown brought a beautifully serene hush to the crowd that felt only that much more magical when contrasted with the sound of crashing waves. From this point on, the fans and band were fully locked-in.

Next-up was one of the jam highlights of the evening, a version of “Bathtub Gin” that Trey dedicated to the great people at CID, who helped put everything together. As Trey put it, “Every single person in here has a hot tub in their room, come on!”…I think that’s pretty cool. This rendition of the classic Phish tune featured another appearance of “Shafty” slithering into the first two minutes of the tune, before a transition into “Blaze On”, which featured another microjam that flowed the crowd energy nicely with another bust-out, this one even bigger than “Shafty”: the first appearance of The Who’s “Sea And Sand”, off their 1979 album “Quadrophenia” and the band’s first live performance of the tune since 1998, a 670 show gap. The set then closed out with a raging “Possum” that upticked the wind so hard it almost knocked the mic stand over. Luckily, I was quicker than mother nature…this time.

The second set started with the newer tune “Sigma Oasis”, which then transitioned into one of the most expansive renditions of “2001” in the 3.0 era. The intro was patient and even strayed into Type II territory briefly before exploding into the iconic riff. Next up, the band performed my personal favorite tune from Trey’s “Ghosts Of The Forest” side project, a multi-phase composition called “Drift While Your Sleeping” — the tune has several distinct sections, each of which color the song in a unique perspective that coalesces with a ballad rock chorus. This was followed-up by the solemn “Lifeboy”. The band then followed-up with the astro-disco-psychedelia of the Page-penned tune, “I Always Wanted It This Way”. The song has a hypnotic cadence that lends itself well to screeching guitars and effected vocals, all the elements of a great jam tune. While this didn’t get much of a treatment, I’m always impressed with the potential this song has to be a massive vehicle for musical exploration. The ending segued into “No Men In No Man’s Land” which got another brief microjam before dropping into the opening chords of “Piper”. This particular version of the tune really is a “you had to be there moment” that may not be fully captured on the recording. As the music began to build, the rain started to fall, almost as if Phish were controlling the intensity. This culminated with a massive peak that showed the band as both a beacon for the crowd’s energy, and the rain. The set then closed out with a rocking version of “Good Times, Bad Times”, a rock classic the crowd was more than happy to celebrate in.

The encore opened with possibly another nod to the beach, as the band kicked into a bumping rendition of “Sand”. The band locked-in to a building funk groove quick and let the tune breath for a bit before transitioning somewhat awkwardly into the rare “Mike’s Song”-less “Weekapaug Groove”. This groove, while a bit bumpy to start, eventually found itself straying into Type II territory, another rare trajectory for a song that is known for its strong, Type I, straight-forward rock approach. Lastly, for good measure, the band finished things off by transitioning into one last take on “Shafty”. A proverbial exclamation point on the show’s gag.

Phish‘s second night at The Moon Palace was filled with surprise moments, half of which were “Shafty”! On a personal note, this was my 100th show and even after 100 shows, this band is still showing me new songs, new jams, new configurations and ultimately that they care about their fan base and their experience on a level that is unparalleled. People always ask, “why go see a band 100 times?” And I think that, for most bands, it probably doesn’t make any sense. But for Phish, I’d do it a hundred more. They are the unbeatable standard all other bands are now held to for me, and their drive to make every show unique is why they’re always the right choice. Thank you Phish for 100 shows. Here’s to 100 more.

Phish | 2020-02-21 | The Moon Palace, Quintana Roo, Mexico

-= Set 1 =-
01. (Set 1 Intro)
02. Turtle In The Clouds
03. Shafty ->
04. Plasma ->
05. Shafty ->
06. Plasma
07. The Lizards
08. Bathtub Gin ->
09. Shafty ->
10. Bathtub Gin >
11. Blaze On[1]
12. Sea And Sand
13. Possum

-= Set 2 =-
14. (Set 2 Intro)
15. Sigma Oasis >
16. 2001 >
17. Drift While You’re Sleeping
18. Lifeboy
19. I Always Wanted It This Way
20. No Men In No Man’s Land ->
21. Piper >
22. Good Times, Bad Times

-= Encore =-
23. (Encore Break)
24. Sand ->
25. Weekapaug Groove ->
26. Shafty

Show Notes: This was the second night of a four-night-run at The Moon Palace Resort.
[1] “Blaze On” lyrics changed to “You’ll be dancing on the beach”.

Taper Notes: Stage left of the soundboard. Mics raised around 10′ PAS. Very windy – cause some phasing issues. Mic stand almost got knocked over during “Possum” but I grabbed it just in-time.

Thanks to Phish and The Grand at Moon Palace Cancun for being cool with taping/sharing shows. Go see live music and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes

ETREE LINK: http://bt.etree.org/details.php?torrentId=608691