Mexico 2020 moves onwards with night #2!
SHAFTY!
2/21/20
Set 1
The show gets off to a partytastic start with a stomping Turtle. Awesome as always and a prfect mood setter.
Immediately we dive headfirst into "wtf?! X Factor Land when they follow that up with.....Shafty?!?!?
And not just a jam - they actually play the song properly, jam it into
Plasma back into Shafty again and back out AGAIN into Plasma once more!
Dude!! MUST HEAR! FREAKIN AMAZEBALLS!!! SHAFTY-PLASMA SANDWICH!!!! 
As if on cue, The Lizards rises beautifully from that funky wasteland to bring us back to the beach. Oh man, does the tropical vibe of The Lizards fit so perfect or WHAT?! Its
honestly an excellent version, as good as Charleston or better. Very
well played and the set placement was super fresh and felt so perfect
outta that Shafty bizness.
Killer.
As if all of that wasnt enough, next we get a friggin 19 gosh darn minute Gin-Shafty-Gin sandwich! Welcome to the Phish deli I guess! Gin is absolutely INCREDIBLE!! X FACTOR MAGIC! MUST HEAR!!! Honestly, this Gin might be better than every version played in 2019 - its THAT good. If you dont have "Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar scrunched up stank face" at some point during this jam, something is wrong with you!
So Gin begins quietly and patiently, Page eventually taking charge, the
band slowly funking it up yet getting more and more powerful by the
second until its some kind of dark, funky runaway freight train in outer
space. Or something like that. Absolutely insane Gin....
And the hits keep coming with wonderful 13 minute Blaze On. No ordinary version, this one goes true, dark type 2. If you are looking for a genuine out-there reading, look no further! Right
from the outset the jam has a dark feel, and they just lay more and
more into it, giving us a solid 8 or so minutes of primo funky jamming
that just slowly kind of deconstructs itself bit by bit as it goes
along, winding up in ultra funky outer space. Eventually in the end
section, Fishman and Gordo perfectly set up a Plasma reprise, but Trey
unfortunately denies their request and we get....
Another truly remarkable jam, please dont overlook this. X Factor Magic strikes again, baby!
...the first Sea and Sand since friggin Ventura 1998!!!!!! YAY!! And it is awesome! Not much to say!
Possum shreds this perfect set to a close. Fantastic version that is as pedal to the medal as any classic modern take. Killer.
All in all ...HOLY CRAP THIS SET WAS AMAZING!!!! No, seriously, it
was next-level Phish for sure. Massive bustouts, several must hear
jams, perfect flow and song selection (imo)....Seriously. This is
honestly a damn flawless set to me and I dont say that lightly. The ONLY bad part was Trey killing the jams in Gin and Blaze a bit early
it felt like, but other than that...holy moly they came out to KILL!! The Shafty-Plasma sandwich, the Bathtub Gin, the dark space Blaze On. All must hear, full of that extra x factor. If we were to count this as a a 2019 show, I would honestly call
that Blaze On the version of the year and that Gin probably the version
of the year.
WOW!
Set 2
The still-new Sigma Oasis opens the set. This is probably the tightest
one yet. Still no sign of the jam beast to come (who the hell could have
predicted that?!) but its a great version, honestly!!! This version
smokes and Trey delivers an outstanding solo. Sick.
Sigma concludes and we get a perfect segue into a 12 minute 2001!!! Im really loving the extended 2001s of late 2019 era! The
initial jam on this is excellent. Trey is digging hard into the wah and
the squiggles if you will. Page is echoing him on the synth. Great
stuff. First chorus around 4.5 minutes! Following that a super sick
"motif" jam appears that they all latch on to and jam the F out of. This sucker is NASTY! This sucker is HEAVY!! MUST HEAR 2001!! THEY TAKE IT FOR A RIDE!!!! SPECTACULAR!!!!!!
And they follow that with??? Drift?? Ok, bad song call, but honestly,
the slow build out of 2001 is dynamic and actually kinda works, setlist
wise. And its a strong version as well - the finale is rocking as ever.
Bad song call, but good stuff (??) 
Continuing the enjoyable bad set placements is an excellent Lifeboy followed by a friggin MUST HEAR IAWITW. This version SMOKES! Not the super jam of Mexico 2019, this is a blazing type 1 rock and roll FACE MELTER.
Best part, it segues flawlessly into No Men! Nice! No Men rages like fire and goes full on Shafty type 2.
Must hear!! That IAWITW>No Men was spectacular!!!
Piper continues the type 2 outer space microjam fun of No Men to greatly
diminished results before a typically hot Good Times Bad Times closes
the set.
Inspired encore of Sand into a standalone Weekapaug into another Shafty reprisenand we are out...
All in all, set 1 was magnificent. Set 2 was perfectly fine but
nowhere near the excellence of set 1. It felt like they blew their wad
in set 1 and didn't know how to top it going in to set 2.
Still, for set 2, that 2001 and the IAWITW/No Men are both must hear.
Another killer show with higher heights than night 1, but overall more imbalance between the 2 sets for sure.
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