Phish Dig Deep for “Wolfman’s Brother” and “Fuego” on Night Three in Mexico
Photo Credit: Dean Budnick
Last night, Jan. 31, Phish greeted their public at Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico’s Moon Palace Resort once again for the penultimate performance of their 2025 Riviera Maya series. After building steam with a pair of impressive engagements on Wednesday and Thursday–which included their first-ever two-set welcome show and their longest “Piper” since 2004–the legendary jam outfit performed at full power on Friday night, dropping two jams that stretched beyond the 20-minute mark among an eclectic selection from each era of their discography.
Phish pulled up to the stage for night three with the propulasive Page McConnell penned-and-helmed “Cars Trucks Busses,” which gave the keybordist an early chance to shine in some bright and brief interplay with Trey Anastasio. This energetic intro led into “The Moma Dance,” which gave the quartet a chance to loosen up and work some light variations through a slick and rubbery treatment of the setlist staple. The band shot up to the skies with a high-spirited “Sigma Oasis,” then came down to earth again with the dense, shuffling funk of “Tube.”
At the midpoint in their opening set, Phish cued up “Wolfman’s Brother” and took the well-traveled jam vehicle on another wild ride. The Hoist classic’s engine took a few turns to start as Anastasio laughed off some minor vocal gaffs, but once the quartet locked into the jam, they were really humming, eagerly veering into some disonant off-roading early on before burning rubber with a blissed-out major chord ascent. When they passed the 10-minute marker, Anastasio punched into a loping, bluesy groove, with Mike Gordon and McConnell exploring a wide array of sounds as Jon Fishman kept pushing the tempo through the song’s close. Expert renditions of “Maze” and the Evolve cut “Lonely Trip” paved the way to the first frame’s finale with a lively “Possum.”
Phish returned from the set-break by offering “Oblivion,” the second Evolve cut of the evening, which developed from its contemplative intro to a cathartic release with another impressive jam. The quartet caught the crowd off-guard with their third-ever performance of Anastasio’s 2019 Ghosts of the Forest entry “Sightless Escape,” then alluded to their beachfront surroundings with the swirling surf of “Prince Caspian”
The thematically-appropriate Billy Breathes track sailed the band directly into “Fuego” which, at 23 minutes, was both the longest jam of the evening and the song’s fourth-longest appearance to date. Once the band had confidently cleared the song’s first passage, some far-out synth sounds from McConnell sparked a fiery climb from Anastasio and explosive pops of percussion from Fishman. Gordon laid down a deep-pocketed backbeat, then made the most of his stacked effects palette to drive a shadowy and spacey second act. The band fired on all cylinders throughout the lengthy improvisation, and precisely returned to the song’s original form for a cheer-inducing conclusion.
Phish challenged audience expectations as they returned to Ghosts of the Forest for “Under a Sea of Stars Part 1,” conjuring nimble and affecting interplay and relishing in the lyrics’ natural allusions. While it wasn’t the record-breaking 40-minute treatment delivered at Riviera Maya 2024, a straightahead “Chalk Dust Torture” scratched the same itch and rocked the band into the Vida Blue original “Most Events Aren’t Planned” to close the second set. Phish rushed to the stage for an encore with the hot and heavy “Saw It Again,” then finally wrapped another excellent destination engagement with “Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.”
Phish will return to the Moon Palace stage tonight for the fourth and final performance of Phish: Riviera Maya 2025. Learn more about the event at phishrivieramaya.com, and read on for the full setlist from Friday night.
Find information on streaming Riviera Maya 2025 here.
Phish
Riviera Maya 2025
Moon Palace – Cancún, Quinatana Roo, Mexico
1/31/25
Set I: Cars Trucks Buses, The Moma Dance, Sigma Oasis, Tube, Wolfman’s Brother, Maze, Lonely Trip, Possum
Set II: 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.
