Shows that Count

The setlists collection at Phish.net is an effort to document all instances of Phish playing together as a band. Fans are continuously unearthing new recordings of older performances, and confirming and revising details about others. Also, because some fans still retain copies of older Phish shows with incorrect date and venue information, we have tried to identify such improperly labeled shows where possible.

Of course, not all of the documented Phish performances are “shows.” Singing the national anthem at a hockey game, or playing a song or two on the Late Show with David Letterman, is not a “show.” Soundchecks are not “shows.” For this reason, for statistical purposes, not every performance that is described in the setlists file counts for stats purposes as a show.

A Phish performance counts as a “show” for stats purposes if it was public and so long as more than a few songs were performed. It does not matter whether tickets were sold for the show or not, or how many fans were present. So, for example, even an unannounced show like The Third Ball on 6/6/96 counts, as do the gigs in KFOG’s studio on 5/18/2000 (tickets for which were won in a contest) and at the Key Club on 5/19/2000. If the performance was for a by-invitation-only audience, or a small, private audience, it also still counts for stats purposes as a “show,” if it occurred in 1991 or earlier. This is simply for historical reasons, because these early shows were still gigs for the band, even if they were for very small audiences.

What do not count for stats purposes as “shows” are:

• public performances of only one or two songs (e.g., performances of the national anthem at an athletic event, or on TV shows like David Letterman); and,
• private performances after 1991 with little to no audience (e.g., studio rehearsals, band practices, wedding receptions, 6/6/97 “Bradstock”).