How many times has Phish played First Tube?

Phish has performed "First Tube" 148 times since September 9, 1999.

What is the longest version of First Tube by Phish?

The longest version of "First Tube" was 10:54 long, performed at Les Schwab Amphitheater in Bend, OR on July 22, 2015.

When was the last time Phish played First Tube?

Phish last played "First Tube" on April 25, 2026. The current gap is 3 shows.

When did Phish first play First Tube?

"First Tube" debuted on September 9, 1999 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

What songs does Phish commonly play with First Tube?

The songs most commonly played in the same show as "First Tube" are: Chalk Dust Torture, Character Zero, Piper, Twist, Down with Disease.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Common questions

← BACK·SONGS·First Tube

LIVE · 148 PERFORMANCES

Phish original

First Tube

148 performances since 1999, with 141 analyzed for jam quality. Best version scored 81 on 2021-10-28.

DEBUT · 1999-09-09 · Vancouver, British Columbia·LAST · 2026-04-25 · Las Vegas·LONGEST GAP · 23 SHOWS

DISPLAY· VERSION TIMELINE · 1999–2026INPUT · TRACK_FEATURES.SCORE_BY_YEAR

’99’00’05’10’15’20’25’26

BEST · 2021-10-28 · 81LONGEST · 10:54 · 2015-07-22SHORTEST · 5:54YEARS · 27

READOUT· PER-ERA BREAKDOWN141 OF 148 ANALYZED

v1.01983–2000 · 38 plays55

v2.02002–2004 · 3 plays49

v3.02009–2020 · 62 plays70

v4.02021–present · 43 plays81

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

TOP VERSIONS· 10 OF 141 · BY SCORE141 ANALYZED

#SCOREVENUEBREAKDOWNDATELENGTH

#0181#1 / 141MGM Grand Garden ArenaLas Vegas, NV · #2

2021-10-2810:34

#0272#2 / 141Broadview Stage at SPACSaratoga Springs, NY · #1

2023-08-268:06

#0370#3 / 141Les Schwab AmphitheaterBend, OR

2015-07-2210:54

#0467#4 / 141FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly IslandChicago, IL

2014-07-2010:31

#0563#5 / 141Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City, CO

2012-08-319:08

#0655#6 / 141Walnut Creek AmphitheaterRaleigh, NC

2015-08-1410:30

#0755#7 / 141Shoreline AmphitheatreMountain View, CA

2000-10-078:37

#0855#8 / 141Hersheypark StadiumHershey, PA

2021-08-108:22

#0954#9 / 141Blockbuster Desert Sky PavilionPhoenix, AZ

2000-10-019:50

#1054#10 / 141KLRU Studios, University of TexasAustin, TX

2000-07-177:23

RECENT VERSIONS· LAST 5 PLAYED

#SCOREVENUEBREAKDOWNDATELENGTH

#0143#41 / 141SphereLas Vegas, NV

2026-04-258:05

#0248#21 / 141Moon PalaceCancun, Quintana Roo

2026-01-306:58

#0343#42 / 141Madison Square GardenNew York, NY

2025-12-306:37

#0452#12 / 141Hampton ColiseumHampton, VA

2025-09-217:38

#05—Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Expo CenterLouisville, KY

2025-09-12—

INSTRUMENTATION· SONG-LEVEL STATS6 CHANNELS LIVE

PLAYS148

DEBUT1999

LAST2026

AVG LEN7:55

CHARTED2

GAP MAX23

CIRCULATION· WHEN IT GETS PLAYEDINPUT · SETLIST_ENTRIES.DATE

DENSITY · YEAR × MONTH1999–2026 · 85 ACTIVE MONTHS

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC

'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26

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

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE142 VERSIONS

10203040505m10m

MEDIAN · 7:30PEAK · 7–8m (54)RANGE · 5–11m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR1999–2026

6:307:007:308:008:309:009:3010:00

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

SET MIX & ROLE148 PLAYS

SET 1 · 37%SET 2 · 24%ENCORE · 36%

SET 1 55SET 2 35SET 3 5ENCORE 53

S1 OPEN25

S1 CLOSE11

S2 OPEN7

S2 CLOSE23

ENCORE61

POSITION & FLOWMEDIAN POS · 2

10203040

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

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01Madison Square GardenNew York · NY16 02Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City · CO7 03Moon PalaceCancun, Quintana Roo5 04Bill Graham Civic AuditoriumSan Francisco · CA5 05Hampton ColiseumHampton · VA4 06Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore ParkAlpharetta · GA4

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01NY32 02

PAIRINGS· COMPANION SONGSINPUT · SHARED SHOWS + FREQUENCY MATCH

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 9

01Chalk Dust Torture44 02Character Zero41 03Piper37 04Twist37 05Down with Disease36 06Possum36 07Mike's Song35 08Harry Hood35 09Bathtub Gin34

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% RANGE · 8

Backwards Down the Number Line148

TOUR LOG· PER-TOUR BREAKDOWN67 TOURS · 148 PLAYS · 147 SHOWS

#TOURPLAYSSHOWSFIRST · LAST

011999 Fall Tour1111Sep 9, 1999·Oct 10, 1999 02Not Part of a Tour98May 15, 2000·Aug 26, 2023 032000 Summer U.S. Tour77Jun 22, 2000·Jul 15, 2000 042000 Fall Tour66Sep 12, 2000·Oct 7, 2000 052022 Summer Tour66Jul 16, 2022·Sep 4, 2022 062024 Summer Tour55Jul 24, 2024·Aug 31, 2024 072016 Summer Tour55Jun 26, 2016·Sep 4, 2016 082014 Summer55Jul 4, 2014·Aug 3, 2014 092019 Summer Tour44Jun 12, 2019·Sep 1, 2019 102025 Early Summer Tour44Jun 27, 2025·Jul 25, 2025

RELATED· CHARTED · FOLLOWS · PRECEDED · VENUES

SONG ID · 2155· DATA VERSION v3.2

SONG · CATALOG v3.2← CATALOG

First Tube

Phish original·debuted 09.09.99·GM Place, Vancouver, British Columbia

148 PLAYS·141 ANALYZED·4 ERASRARITY · COMMON

81BEST

BEST VERSION · OF 148

10.28.21MGM Grand Garden Arena

Las Vegas, NV · 10:34

→

Year by year20 ACTIVE YEARS

BEST SCORE / YEAR · 1999–2026v3.2

2021 · 80.7

'99'05'12'19'26

MULTIPLESINGLEHIATUS / 0PEAK ≥ 90

BEST YEAR · 20216 VERS · BEST 80.7

By era4 ERAS · 146 PLAYS

1.0 · 382.03.0 · 624.0 · 43

PHISH 1.01983–2000

PLAYS38

AVG · BEST37·55

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 2.02002–2004

PLAYS3

AVG · BEST39·49

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 3.02009–2020

PLAYS62

AVG · BEST40·70

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 4.02021–present

PLAYS43

AVG · BEST37·81

BEST VERSION→

Versions141 TOTAL

RKSHOW · VENUE · CITYSETDURSCR

#01

10.28.21 MGM Grand Garden Arena · Las Vegas, NVCHARTED

—10:3481 #02

08.26.23 Broadview Stage at SPA · Saratoga Springs, NYCHARTED

—8:0672 #03

07.22.15 Les Schwab · Bend, OR

—10:5470 #04

07.20.14 FirstMerit Bank at Nor · Chicago, IL

—10:3167 #05

08.31.12 Dick's Sporting Goods · Commerce City, CO

—9:0863 #06

08.14.15 Walnut Creek · Raleigh, NC

—10:3055 #07

10.07.00 Shoreline · Mountain View, CA

—8:3755 #08

08.10.21 Hersheypark · Hershey, PA

—8:2255 #09

10.01.00 Blockbuster Desert Sky · Phoenix, AZ

—9:5054 #10

07.17.00 KLRU Studios, Universi · Austin, TX

—7:2354

By the numbers8 STATS

TOTAL PLAYS148across 4 eras

ANALYZED14195% of all

AVG DURATION7:552 charted

LONGEST10:5407.22.15 LES SCHWAB

SHORTEST5:5412.31.19 MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

LONGEST GAP23 SH.2003 → 2009

JAM CHART2CHARTED VERSIONS

DEBUT09.09.99VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA

When it gets playedCIRCULATION

DENSITY · YR×MO · 1999–2026148 PLAYS

JFMAMJJASOND

'99'01'03'05'07'09'11'13'15'17'19'21'23'25'26

MAX · 8 /MO·TOTAL · 148

GAP · SHOWS BETWEEN PLAYS144 PERFS

LONGEST · 23 SH.·MEDIAN · 5 SH.

How long it runsDURATION

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE142 VERSIONS

5m11m

MEDIAN · 7:30·PEAK · 7–8m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR1999–2026

SHORT · 6:44 · 2025·LONG · 9:41 · 2015

Where in the showTOPOLOGY

SET MIX148 PLAYS

S1 37%S2 24%ENCORE 36%

S1 OPEN25

S1 CLOSE11

S2 OPEN7

S2 CLOSE23

ENCORE61

POSITION IN SETPEAK · #1

#1#20

TRANSITION OUT148 PLAYS

25%57%18%

STOP · 37END · 85SEGUE · 26

Where & whenGEOGRAPHY

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

NY32CA14CO8VA7TX6GA6

DAY OF WEEKPEAK · SUN

SUN38

MON6

TUE16

WED15

THU8

FRI35

SAT30

PLAY RATE · BY ERA% OF ERA SHOWS

v1.03.1%

v2.05.9%

v3.013.7%

v4.017.6%

Plays withPAIRINGS

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 6

01Chalk Dust Torture44 02Character Zero41 03Piper37 04Twist37 05Down with Disease36 06Possum36

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% · 8

Backwards Down the Number Line148 Dinner and a Movie150 Birds of a Feather143 Taste154 Loving Cup156 Scent of a Mule138 Fire138 Carini157

By tour67 TOURS

TOUR LOG · BY PLAYS148 TOTAL

011999 Fall Tour1999 · 11 sh11 02Not Part of a Tour2000–2023 · 8 sh9 032000 Summer U.S. Tour2000 · 7 sh7 042000 Fall Tour2000 · 6 sh6 052022 Summer Tour2022 · 6 sh6 062024 Summer Tour2024 · 5 sh5 072016 Summer Tour2016 · 5 sh5 082014 Summer2014 · 5 sh5

Charted appearances2 TOTAL →

CHRT#1

08.26.23·Broadview Stage at SPA · Saratoga Springs

This song closing the second set is about the only thing normal about it. Part of the Derek Trucks sit-in, this standout version is unique in "First Tube" history. Derek and Trey's play is complementa…

→CHRT#2

10.28.21·MGM Grand Garden Arena · Las Vegas

More "Numbers Show" madness, as this is the only version to date which makes a significant departure from the usual celebratory outro, including a generous "Seven Below" tease and an alien synthesizer…

→

Often follows / sets up

OFTEN → AFTER FIRST TUBESWIPE →