The Verdict:
So, the second night of the Riviera Maya run is even more poorly reviewed than the first. It probably deserves a bit of this because it's definitely a slight step back in quality, but it doesn't deserve most of it because, like the first night, it's quite a good show.
Like the first night, the opening set is an improvement over pretty much every S1 from MSG, Dick's, and even probably Magnaball. It starts off in swanky style with the gooiest version of "Camel Walk" I've ever heard (and consequently now my new favorite version), follows it with an equally languid "555," and then kicks up the energy a bit with a well-performed "Rift."
The next bit is one for the ages, with a jam emerging from the mid-set "Cities" that gets there quick, and explores a number of spaces over thirteen minutes with a confidence and thoroughness that puts some of the best jams of the year to shame. That it shows up where it does in the show makes it even more jaw-dropping. Trey tries to orchestrate a -> "Light" from the conclusion of the jam, but the rest of the band sort of drops the ball. Nonetheless, the first S1 "Light" since 2010 gets to some interesting places, and suddenly, in the middle of the first set, we have a ball game.
The fire continues to come with a great "Simple" and an echo-funk take on "Timber," of all songs. Page pulls off the now-routine solo piano -> "Wading" at the end of the "Timber" jam, and then, refusing to coast to the end of the set, the guys lay down a solid 2015-style "Reba" and a non-jammed "Chalkdust" that features some of my favorite straight-up Trey shredding in awhile. And that's just the first set.
I say that as if the second set gets better...honestly, it really doesn't. But that's okay, because it doesn't get any worse, either. "Golden Age" follows in the footsteps of the deep-sea Dick's version, minus the gigantic gaffes in the composed section, and it lands in a "Caspian" that ends up somewhere between the typical version and the "Tweezerpants" version from Magnaball: the jam here isn't quite as ecstatic, but there is a serious jam, and it does get pretty abstract and almost ambient in the way that a lot of the bigger Mexico jams have so far.
The middle of the set sags a bit, but picks right back up with a strong "46 Days" that legitimately does go to a dark, ambient place and then continues that vibe into a surprise "Twenty Years Later" that's even more foreboding and pulsing than usual. Lest the "Julius" make you think that's all she wrote, don't worry because there's a fifteen-minute 2014-style "Hood" to close the set. I'm left with the same question I ended the previous review with. Sure, neither Mexico show thus far reaches up there to the highest echelon of 2015 Phish, but these two shows certainly are 2015-quality Phish. I'm looking forward to the third show, which supposedly is "better."
Second set starts at 2:02:00:
The Live Review:
1/16/16: Slow-burn Camel Walk opener. Nice choice.
1/16/16: Really neat, broken-down version of Camel Walk.
1/16/16: Languid 555 is next. I imagine playing at night on the beach lends itself to low-tempo sets.
1/16/16: Mike going to town on 555 outro jam.
1/16/16: Well, Rift ought to pick up the tempo, eh?
1/16/16: Rift is one of those many songs that's super fun to just listen to Fish on and ignore everyone else.
1/16/16: Now a slower, shuffly Cities. I'm liking this laid-back vibe so far.
1/16/16: Clav-and-space-funk jam is building.
1/16/16: Rather than ending the song after the funk jam, Trey hits the mutron. We're entering the Type II zone four songs in, folks!
1/16/16: Surprisingly moody jamming for the first set, here.
1/16/16: Building toward Bliss Land now.
1/16/16: Definitely a tease of the lick from the Dick's Disease/MSG Tweezer jams in there.
1/16/16: Aww, Trey actually built a good -> Light up there, but the rest of the band missed it and had to reset before going into the song.
1/16/16: Fantastic Cities jam tho
1/16/16: Long time since Light was played in the first set, I bet.
1/16/16: Austin 2010, according to @phishnet
1/16/16: Light jam gets away from arpeggios early. Page to electric piano.
1/16/16: Awesome solo bit from Page now.
1/16/16: Trey is playing a riff that actually sounds a bit like Cities now. I wonder if that's on purpose. Probably.
1/16/16: Trey pushes a quick transition into Simple.
1/16/16: One of the great things about 1/15 was the frequency with which the band turned on a dime together to start new songs.
1/16/16: Seems like Trey is trying to do that again tonight but the rest of the band isn't picking up on it.
1/16/16: Pretty typical Simple jam ends in an angry drone. Timber!
1/16/16: Echo-funk jamming in Timber. Interesting.
1/16/16: Echo-funk -> Loop Drone -> Piano outro -> Wading. Nice.
1/16/16: Would have been wild getting to hear this song while IN the ocean.
1/16/16: That's the most pumped I've heard a Phish crowd about hearing Wading in a long time.
1/16/16: Reba!
1/16/16: Typically strong 2015-type version of Reba here.
1/16/16: Chalkdust is next. Trey whistles the Reba outro over the beginning of Chalkdust.
1/16/16: Great 90s-style peak in Chalkdust.
1/16/16: Holy cow.
1/16/16: No jam at the end dere. End set.
1/16/16: S2 starts with a low-tempo Golden Age.
1/16/16: I sort of wish they'd play this song a half-step or a step lower. Trey's voice always sounds strained trying to sing the verse.
1/16/16: Typical Golden Age solo comes to an end with a sudden, crashing chord. Page adding piano accents to a dark space now.
1/16/16: Super ominous jam now. Loving the rhythm section here.
1/16/16: Almost like an Evil Plinko jam going on now.
1/16/16: Really cool, noise-rock sort of build at the end of the jam. > Caspian.
1/16/16: Halfway into Caspian, we've left the usual solo and transitioned into a droning sort of rock-haze area.
1/16/16: That wasn't really a Magnaball Caspian, but it was still pretty interesting.
1/16/16: Halfway To the Moon is next.
1/16/16: Halfway > Joy is sort of underwhelming setlist call.
1/16/16: 46 Days might make up for it, though.
1/16/16: Weird, pulsating ambient jam to end 46 Days.
1/16/16: Fish keeps up a weird woodblock (?) beat through. Nice transition into Twenty Years Later.
1/16/16: Extra angry, rolling synth boil for the outro jam.
1/16/16: I really like this song a lot. Not necessarily this version in particular, but just in general.
1/16/16: Wind-down ending.
1/16/16: Julius. How's that for a complete tonal 180?
1/16/16: Harry Hood!
1/16/16: Trey sounding a little tentative in the early composed section.
1/16/16: Nice, patient delivery in the jam so far.
1/16/16: Oh damn, this is good.
1/16/16: Mike doing more steering than usual so far.
1/16/16: Whenever I think of summer 2016 tour, I first imagine being in the dark on a lawn somewhere listening to a Hood jam.
1/16/16: In short, Hood = Phish.
1/16/16: Huge peak at the end. The hugest.
1/16/16: Trey: 'Can we do this next year, please?'
1/16/16: Zero encore.
1/16/16: Compact and punchy version of Zero. Even more so than usual.
1/16/16: Once again, a little confused as to how this is a 'bad' show.
1/16/16: Great Cities -> Light in the first set, swanky Camel Walk, Simple > Timber -> Wading, solid Reba, HUGE Chalkdust.
1/16/16: Second set had a great Golden Age > Caspian jam, sagged a bit in the middle, but 46 Days -> 20 Years and Hood were fantastic.
1/16/16: Sure, the 'best' jam came in the first set, but should that be exciting instead of an occasion to bitch?
1/16/16: *shouldn't
1/16/16: Anyway, back Tuesday for the last new show before I roll things back to summer 2011!
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