The Verdict:
So, the reviews and comments about the Riviera Maya run that I've seen online have generally been...pretty...bad. Fortunately for me, the first two shows at least have turned out to be far better than I was led to believe. I have yet to listen to the third one, so maybe it sucks, but so far, the only real problem with the run seems to be the age-old "This show sucks because there wasn't a twenty minute jam or three!" complaint. For more on why that doesn't really matter that much in this case, keep reading.
It's true that there aren't any real highlights in the opening set on night one, I'll admit that. However, it's the first opening set that the band has played with serious verve since...Magnaball? Since before Magnaball? There are a few on-a-dime song transitions, the energy never really lets up beginning with "Ya Mar," and there's a first-set "Fuego" with a few minutes of tasty space jamming.
Set two doesn't follow with a redemption jam monster a la MSG, but what's here is pretty friggin' awesome. "Drowned" kicks off the set, awesomely, and the evil jam that results segues effortlessly into another "WTU?" This version follows in the footsteps of the dynamically varied MSG version, and it's great. Immediately after, "Sand" goes deep, visits some familiar (funk) and some unfamiliar (stop/start) territory before a long, patient "Ghost" segue. "Ghost" goes in a rare, eerie, minimalist direction, led by loops and synths before yet another perfect segue into "2001."
The set ends on a strong note, too, with "Wolfman's" making a rare second set appearance, "Possum"'s new organ-led style in the penultimate slot, and "Shine A Light" closing.
This second set has a "Drowned" -> "What's the Use?" and a "Sand" -> "Ghost" -> "2001," both of which are even better than they look on paper, and somehow it's still one of the lowest-rated 2015-2016 shows on phish.net. What the hell do you people want?!
Second set starts at 1:53:00:
The Live Review:
1/15/16: Okay, this is going to fucking shock you, but they open the Riviera Maya run with ASIHTOS.
1/15/16: Trey gets in a few good bends, and just like that, the shortest version of ASIHTOS in the universe is over.
1/15/16: That last tweet was #7,500. I'm 3/4ths of the way to 10,000 tweets about @phish. Huh.
1/15/16: My Soul is the second song of the night! Love this one. Doesn't get played enough.
1/15/16: BECAUSE OF THE INCREDIBLE SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED
1/15/16: YOUR TRAP IS SHUT
1/15/16: (Martian Monster is song #3)
1/15/16: Martian Monster is also super-short.
1/15/16: Ya Mar is next, to much crowd appreciation.
1/15/16: Ya Mar gets extended a little. Now Halley's.
1/15/16: I think Halley's might be the most fun @phish song.
1/15/16: Halley's jam starts and instantaneously drops into Fuego. Impressive transition, actually. On a dime.
1/15/16: Neat little jamlet gets tacked on to Fuego, which is nice in the middle of an otherwise rote first set. The Wedge is next.
1/15/16: Nice Trey-and-Page peak to The Wedge.
1/15/16: After The Wedge, Trey: 'Well, this doesn't suck.'
1/15/16: A little banter about swimmers in the ocean, and then Trey dedicates Theme to them.
1/15/16: I think he wants them to die. That's Trey for you, always playing the dangerously insane, murderous psychopath.
1/15/16: Immediate segue from Theme > Free. Energy really seemed to pick up around Ya Mar/Halley's.
1/15/16: Free is similar to most 3.0 versions, but Trey's loop-backed, mega-solo near the end gives a bit of that ol' guitar oomph, too.
1/15/16: The hits just keep coming. No break between Free and Bowie.
1/15/16: Decent, 3.0-standard take on Bowie to close the first set.
1/15/16: I'll be back in 15 minutes :)
Okay, so that was a bit longer than 15 minutes. I blame Trey for my skewed sense of time.
1/15/16: I'm going to be working all goddamn night, so here's S2 while I'm at it.
1/15/16: DROWNED
1/15/16: So far, they're ripping up Drowned like they play it every other night.
1/15/16: Bass bomb from Mike and loops from Trey are sending us in a darker direction now.
1/15/16: A grinding mess of looping, angry sounds now (in a good way).
1/15/16: And the jam just sort of fell apart. Fish isn't ready to give up yet, though!
1/15/16: Whoa! Fish's save just turned into -> What's The Use?
1/15/16: Really mellow middle section, like the MSG version.
1/15/16: Seamless drop into Sand. Say what you will about the lack of jams in this show (so far), but the flow is spot-on.
1/15/16: Great Type I take on Sand. Excellent solo. Clav outro jam, now.
1/15/16: Stop/start jamming now out of the clav section.
1/15/16: Mostly rhythm jam now. Sounds a bit like the intro to Wilson.
1/15/16: Oh shit. It's morphing into a great -> Ghost.
1/15/16: If Trey misses this transition, I'm personally firing him.
1/15/16: There it is!
1/15/16: Song starts off a bit tepid, but picks up momentum after the drop.
1/15/16: Alright, we're all going to school and Trey is driving the bus.
1/15/16: Awesome, spacey loop action now. Fish is a monster. Looks like the band is getting soaked by rain.
1/15/16: Great spacey, synthy jam winds down into > 2001.
1/15/16: Some serious old-school funk in this version.
1/15/16: This is how you play a REAL 2001.
1/15/16: Wolfman's is next. It's all wet and stuff.
1/15/16: Heard so much negative crap about this show. Drowned -> WTU? and Sand -> Ghost > 2001 were both fantastic.
1/15/16: Nice little vocal jam, Sally-style, forming now.
1/15/16: Trey is wailing away in bluesland now.
1/15/16: Trey leads a nice > Possum out of the rock peak.
1/15/16: Organ solo from Page again in Possum. I hope this becomes a thing.
1/15/16: Shine A Light!
1/15/16: End set, Rock and Roll encore.
1/15/16: Some Phish shows are 'interesting,' and some are 'fun.' Most are a balance of both.
1/15/16: This one was both, but I can see why a lot of people would see it falling more toward 'fun' than 'interesting' and write it off.
1/15/16: But you shouldn't! Even Phish 2015 has rarely played that hard during the not-'interesting' parts of a show.
1/15/16: And damn, lots to like, *still* in the 'interesting' category during that second set.
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