How many times has Phish played Backwards Down the Number Line?

Phish has performed "Backwards Down the Number Line" 148 times since March 6, 2009.

What is the longest version of Backwards Down the Number Line by Phish?

The longest version of "Backwards Down the Number Line" was 20:31 long, performed at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY on August 16, 2009.

When was the last time Phish played Backwards Down the Number Line?

Phish last played "Backwards Down the Number Line" on April 23, 2026. The current gap is 5 shows.

When did Phish first play Backwards Down the Number Line?

"Backwards Down the Number Line" debuted on March 6, 2009 at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA.

What songs does Phish commonly play with Backwards Down the Number Line?

The songs most commonly played in the same show as "Backwards Down the Number Line" are: Chalk Dust Torture, Tweezer Reprise, Tweezer, Wolfman's Brother, Possum.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Common questions

← BACK·SONGS·Backwards Down the Number Line

LIVE · 148 PERFORMANCES

Phish original

Backwards Down the Number Line

148 performances since 2009, with 145 analyzed for jam quality. Best version scored 88 on 2009-08-16.

DEBUT · 2009-03-06 · Hampton·LAST · 2026-04-23 · Las Vegas·LONGEST GAP · 19 SHOWS

DISPLAY· VERSION TIMELINE · 2009–2026INPUT · TRACK_FEATURES.SCORE_BY_YEAR

’09’10’15’20’25’26

BEST · 2009-08-16 · 88LONGEST · 20:31 · 2009-08-16SHORTEST · 5:54YEARS · 17

READOUT· PER-ERA BREAKDOWN145 OF 148 ANALYZED

v1.01983–2000 · 0 plays—

v2.02002–2004 · 0 plays—

v3.02009–2020 · 112 plays88

v4.02021–present · 36 plays84

BARS REPRESENT THE BEST-SCORING VERSION IN EACH ERAOPEN METHODOLOGY →

TOP VERSIONS· 10 OF 145 · BY SCORE145 ANALYZED

#SCOREVENUEBREAKDOWNDATELENGTH

#0188#1 / 145Saratoga Performing Arts CenterSaratoga Springs, NY · #21

2009-08-1620:31

#0288#2 / 145Toyota ParkBridgeview, IL · #22

2009-08-1113:38

#0384#3 / 145Alpine Valley Music TheatreEast Troy, WI · #3

2022-08-1313:40

#0483#4 / 145Nikon at Jones Beach TheaterWantagh, NY · #18

2010-08-1714:15

#0583#5 / 145Blossom Music CenterCuyahoga Falls, OH · #19

2010-06-1213:38

#0682#6 / 145Bethel Woods Center for the ArtsBethel, NY · #17

2011-05-2812:10

#0780#7 / 145Darling's Waterfront PavilionBangor, ME · #15

2013-07-038:52

#0880#8 / 145Credit One StadiumCharleston, SC · #4

2022-06-017:20

#0979#9 / 145Madison Square GardenNew York, NY · #7

2017-07-289:35

#1078#10 / 145Xfinity TheatreHartford, CT · #9

2016-07-098:36

RECENT VERSIONS· LAST 5 PLAYED

#SCOREVENUEBREAKDOWNDATELENGTH

#0153#34 / 145SphereLas Vegas, NV

2026-04-238:35

#0265#23 / 145Moon PalaceCancun, Quintana Roo

2026-01-287:37

#0348#40 / 145Ameris Bank AmphitheatreAlpharetta, GA

2025-09-169:25

#0465#25 / 145Forest Hills StadiumForest Hills, NY

2025-07-236:29

#0568#20 / 145United CenterChicago, IL

2025-07-187:20

INSTRUMENTATION· SONG-LEVEL STATS6 CHANNELS LIVE

PLAYS148

DEBUT2009

LAST2026

AVG LEN8:19

CHARTED25

GAP MAX19

CIRCULATION· WHEN IT GETS PLAYEDINPUT · SETLIST_ENTRIES.DATE

DENSITY · YEAR × MONTH2009–2026 · 75 ACTIVE MONTHS

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC

'09'10'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26

DURATION· LENGTH SHAPEINPUT · TRACKS.DURATION + SETLIST_ENTRIES.DURATION

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE147 VERSIONS

10203040505m10m15m20m

MEDIAN · 7:30PEAK · 7–8m (54)RANGE · 5–21m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR2009–2026

7:00

TOPOLOGY· WHERE IN THE SHOWINPUT · SETLIST_ENTRIES.SET + .POSITION + .TRANSITION

SET MIX & ROLE148 PLAYS

SET 1 · 20%SET 2 · 71%

SET 1 29SET 2 105SET 3 7ENCORE 7

S1 OPEN2

S1 CLOSE3

S2 OPEN11

S2 CLOSE14

ENCORE9

POSITION & FLOWMEDIAN POS · 6

5101520

GEOGRAPHY· PLACE & TIMINGINPUT · SHOWS.VENUE + .STATE + .DATE

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01Madison Square GardenNew York · NY13 02Merriweather Post PavilionColumbia · MD7 03Moon PalaceCancun, Quintana Roo5 04Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City · CO5 05Saratoga Performing Arts CenterSaratoga Springs · NY5 06MGM Grand Garden ArenaLas Vegas · NV4

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01NY32 02CA

PAIRINGS· COMPANION SONGSINPUT · SHARED SHOWS + FREQUENCY MATCH

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 9

01Chalk Dust Torture44 02Tweezer Reprise42 03Tweezer41 04Wolfman's Brother41 05Possum40 06Character Zero39 07Down with Disease39 08Run Like an Antelope38 09Suzy Greenberg37

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% RANGE · 8

First Tube

TOUR LOG· PER-TOUR BREAKDOWN53 TOURS · 148 PLAYS · 148 SHOWS

#TOURPLAYSSHOWSFIRST · LAST

012013 Summer Tour88Jul 3, 2013·Aug 31, 2013 022014 Summer77Jul 4, 2014·Aug 29, 2014 032015 Summer77Jul 25, 2015·Sep 6, 2015 042011 Early Summer Tour77May 28, 2011·Jun 19, 2011 052012 Early Summer Tour77Jun 10, 2012·Jul 7, 2012 062010 Fall Tour66Oct 8, 2010·Oct 30, 2010 072016 Summer Tour66Jun 24, 2016·Aug 26, 2016 082009 Late Summer Tour55Jul 31, 2009·Aug 16, 2009 092012 Late Summer Tour55Aug 18, 2012·Sep 1, 2012 10Not Part of a Tour55Oct 31, 2009·Oct 25, 2024

RELATED· CHARTED · FOLLOWS · PRECEDED · VENUES

SONG ID · 2772· DATA VERSION v3.2

SONG · CATALOG v3.2← CATALOG

Backwards Down the Number Line

Phish original·debuted 03.06.09·Hampton Coliseum, Hampton

148 PLAYS·145 ANALYZED·2 ERASRARITY · COMMON

88BEST

BEST VERSION · OF 148

08.16.09Saratoga Performing Ar

Saratoga Springs, NY · 20:31

→

Year by year17 ACTIVE YEARS

BEST SCORE / YEAR · 2009–2026v3.2

2009 · 88.3

'09'13'17'21'26

MULTIPLESINGLEHIATUS / 0PEAK ≥ 90

BEST YEAR · 200915 VERS · BEST 88.3

By era4 ERAS · 148 PLAYS

1.02.03.0 · 1124.0 · 36

PHISH 1.01983–2000

PLAYS0

AVG · BEST—·—

PHISH 2.02002–2004

PLAYS0

AVG · BEST—·—

PHISH 3.02009–2020

PLAYS112

AVG · BEST45·88

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 4.02021–present

PLAYS36

AVG · BEST46·84

BEST VERSION→

Versions145 TOTAL

RKSHOW · VENUE · CITYSETDURSCR

#01

08.16.09 Saratoga Performing Ar · Saratoga Springs, NYCHARTED

—20:3188 #02

08.11.09 Toyota Park · Bridgeview, ILCHARTED

—13:3888 #03

08.13.22 Alpine Valley Music · East Troy, WICHARTED

—13:4084 #04

08.17.10 Nikon at Jones Beach · Wantagh, NYCHARTED

—14:1583 #05

06.12.10 Blossom Music · Cuyahoga Falls, OHCHARTED

—13:3883 #06

05.28.11 Bethel Woods for the A · Bethel, NYCHARTED

—12:1082 #07

07.03.13 Darling's Waterfront · Bangor, MECHARTED

—8:5280 #08

06.01.22 Credit One · Charleston, SCCHARTED

—7:2080 #09

07.28.17 Madison Square Garden · New York, NYCHARTED

—9:3579 #10

07.09.16 Xfinity · Hartford, CTCHARTED

—8:3678

By the numbers8 STATS

TOTAL PLAYS148across 2 eras

ANALYZED14598% of all

AVG DURATION8:1925 charted

LONGEST20:3108.16.09 SARATOGA PERFORMING AR

SHORTEST5:5407.13.14 RANDALL'S ISLAND

LONGEST GAP19 SH.2018 → 2019

JAM CHART25CHARTED VERSIONS

DEBUT03.06.09HAMPTON

When it gets playedCIRCULATION

DENSITY · YR×MO · 2009–2026148 PLAYS

JFMAMJJASOND

'09'11'13'15'17'19'21'23'25'26

MAX · 6 /MO·TOTAL · 148

GAP · SHOWS BETWEEN PLAYS147 PERFS

LONGEST · 19 SH.·MEDIAN · 4 SH.

How long it runsDURATION

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE147 VERSIONS

5m21m

MEDIAN · 7:30·PEAK · 7–8m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR2009–2026

SHORT · 7:05 · 2012·LONG · 9:26 · 2009

Where in the showTOPOLOGY

SET MIX148 PLAYS

S1 20%S2 71%

S1 OPEN2

S1 CLOSE3

S2 OPEN11

S2 CLOSE14

ENCORE9

POSITION IN SETPEAK · #6

#1#14

TRANSITION OUT148 PLAYS

26%15%57%

STOP · 39END · 22SEGUE · 85HARD · 2

Where & whenGEOGRAPHY

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

NY32CA13PA8CO8NJ7MD7

DAY OF WEEKPEAK · SAT

SUN18

MON6

TUE19

WED25

THU6

FRI29

SAT45

PLAY RATE · BY ERA% OF ERA SHOWS

v3.024.8%

v4.014.8%

Plays withPAIRINGS

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 6

01Chalk Dust Torture44 02Tweezer Reprise42 03Tweezer41 04Wolfman's Brother41 05Possum40 06Character Zero39

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% · 8

First Tube147 Dinner and a Movie150 Birds of a Feather143 Taste154 Loving Cup156 Carini157 Fire138 46 Days158

By tour53 TOURS

TOUR LOG · BY PLAYS148 TOTAL

012013 Summer Tour2013 · 8 sh8 022014 Summer2014 · 7 sh7 032015 Summer2015 · 7 sh7 042011 Early Summer Tour2011 · 7 sh7 052012 Early Summer Tour2012 · 7 sh7 062010 Fall Tour2010 · 6 sh6 072016 Summer Tour2016 · 6 sh6 082009 Late Summer Tour2009 · 5 sh5

Charted appearances25 TOTAL →

CHRT#1

07.26.23·TD at the Mann · Philadelphia

Distinguished for its mid-jam breakdown from 4:30-6:00, and then rebuilds itself in the traditional manner.

→CHRT#2

02.26.23·Moon Palace · Cancun, Quintana Roo

A strong collective effort results in an ideal "Type I" version. Trey opts for chordal riffing at times, giving Page room to lead, before bringing it all home with a spirited, high-wire peak.

→CHRT#3

08.13.22·Alpine Valley Music · East Troy

A reminder of why we fell in love with Trey in the first place. Trace this play, marked by his incredibly warm tone, backwards or forwards, through rhythmic shifts and offset variation - of course acc…

→CHRT#4

06.01.22·Credit One · Charleston

Great versions produce different points to view. Be it 7/8/14's summertime "Line"d up shimmery shake; Pitt 17's huge, crazed sustain; or 10/20/21's incendiary take; this here jam features what the be…

→CHRT#5

10.20.21·Matthew Knight Arena · Eugene

The jam cultivates an initially understated yet ebullient space. Candy-coated, fleet-fingered play from Trey is supported by Page's nuanced comping and Fishman's passionately defined melodic drumming.…

→

Often follows / sets up

OFTEN → AFTER BACKWARDS DOWN THE NUMBER LINESWIPE →