How many times has Phish played NICU?

Phish has performed "NICU" 161 times since January 14, 1992.

What is the longest version of NICU by Phish?

The longest version of "NICU" was 9:42 long, performed at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV on October 30, 1998.

When was the last time Phish played NICU?

Phish last played "NICU" on April 30, 2026. The current gap is 2 shows.

When did Phish first play NICU?

"NICU" debuted on January 14, 1992 at The Band House in Winooski, VT.

What songs does Phish commonly play with NICU?

The songs most commonly played in the same show as "NICU" are: Chalk Dust Torture, Stash, Harry Hood, Tweezer, Character Zero.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Common questions

← BACK·SONGS·NICU

LIVE · 161 PERFORMANCES

Phish original

NICU

161 performances since 1992, with 161 analyzed for jam quality. Best version scored 89 on 1998-10-30.

DEBUT · 1992-01-14 · Winooski·LAST · 2026-04-30 · Las Vegas·LONGEST GAP · 255 SHOWS

DISPLAY· VERSION TIMELINE · 1992–2026INPUT · TRACK_FEATURES.SCORE_BY_YEAR

’92’95’00’05’10’15’20’25’26

BEST · 1998-10-30 · 89LONGEST · 17:06 · 2021-10-23SHORTEST · 3:08YEARS · 34

READOUT· PER-ERA BREAKDOWN161 OF 161 ANALYZED

v1.01983–2000 · 83 plays89

v2.02002–2004 · 9 plays56

v3.02009–2020 · 52 plays78

v4.02021–present · 18 plays86

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

TOP VERSIONS· 10 OF 161 · BY SCORE161 ANALYZED

#SCOREVENUEBREAKDOWNDATELENGTH

#0189#1 / 161Thomas & Mack CenterLas Vegas, NV · #3

1998-10-309:42

#0286#2 / 161North Island Credit Union AmphitheatreChula Vista, CA · #1

2021-10-2317:06

#0380#3 / 161Broome County Veterans Memorial ArenaBinghamton, NY · #5

1995-12-149:16

#0478#4 / 161Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut CreekRaleigh, NC · #2

2018-08-109:05

#0576#5 / 161MelkwegAmsterdam · #4

1996-07-126:11

#0668#6 / 161Salem ArmorySalem, OR · #6

1994-12-015:37

#0764#7 / 161Big CatChuo-ku, Osaka

2000-06-156:18

#0864#8 / 161Moon PalaceCancun, Quintana Roo

2026-01-295:13

#0962#9 / 161Madison Square GardenNew York, NY

2025-12-295:12

#1060#10 / 161The Colonial TheatreKeene, NH

1992-03-118:55

RECENT VERSIONS· LAST 5 PLAYED

#SCOREVENUEBREAKDOWNDATELENGTH

#0156#20 / 161SphereLas Vegas, NV

2026-04-305:43

#0264#8 / 161Moon PalaceCancun, Quintana Roo

2026-01-295:13

#0362#9 / 161Madison Square GardenNew York, NY

2025-12-295:12

#0451#27 / 161North Charleston ColiseumNorth Charleston, SC

2025-07-125:39

#0545#52 / 161The WoodlandsDover, DE

2024-08-154:58

INSTRUMENTATION· SONG-LEVEL STATS6 CHANNELS LIVE

PLAYS161

DEBUT1992

LAST2026

AVG LEN5:39

CHARTED6

GAP MAX255

CIRCULATION· WHEN IT GETS PLAYEDINPUT · SETLIST_ENTRIES.DATE

DENSITY · YEAR × MONTH1992–2026 · 100 ACTIVE MONTHS

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC

'92'93'94'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'10'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24'25'26

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

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE158 VERSIONS

501005m

MEDIAN · 5:30PEAK · 5–6m (115)RANGE · 4–10m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR1992–2026

5:005:306:006:307:00

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

SET MIX & ROLE161 PLAYS

SET 1 · 73%SET 2 · 24%

SET 1 118SET 2 38SET 3 3ENCORE 2

S1 OPEN10

S1 CLOSE1

S2 OPEN5

S2 CLOSE0

ENCORE1

POSITION & FLOWMEDIAN POS · 4

102030

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

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01Madison Square GardenNew York · NY11 02Merriweather Post PavilionColumbia · MD5 03Alpine Valley Music TheatreEast Troy · WI4 04Hampton ColiseumHampton · VA4 05Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City · CO3 06Bill Graham Civic AuditoriumSan Francisco · CA3

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01NY29 02CA

PAIRINGS· COMPANION SONGSINPUT · SHARED SHOWS + FREQUENCY MATCH

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 9

01Chalk Dust Torture44 02Stash44 03Harry Hood43 04Tweezer40 05Character Zero39 06David Bowie38 07Bathtub Gin38 08Run Like an Antelope37 09Slave to the Traffic Light36

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% RANGE · 8

Limb By Limb161

TOUR LOG· PER-TOUR BREAKDOWN74 TOURS · 161 PLAYS · 161 SHOWS

#TOURPLAYSSHOWSFIRST · LAST

011992 Spring Tour1212Mar 6, 1992·May 1, 1992 021995 Fall Tour66Oct 6, 1995·Dec 14, 1995 031994 Summer Tour55Jun 23, 1994·Jul 13, 1994 04Not Part of a Tour55Jan 14, 1992·Sep 14, 2011 051997 Summer U.S. Tour44Jul 23, 1997·Aug 17, 1997 061997 Fall Tour (a.k.a. Phish Destroys America)44Nov 16, 1997·Dec 13, 1997 071998 Summer U.S. Tour44Jul 16, 1998·Aug 15, 1998 082013 Summer Tour44Jul 3, 2013·Aug 30, 2013 091999 Fall Tour44Sep 19, 1999·Oct 7, 1999 101999 Summer U.S. Tour44Jul 3, 1999·Jul 26, 1999

RELATED· CHARTED · FOLLOWS · PRECEDED · VENUES

SONG ID · 702· DATA VERSION v3.2

SONG · CATALOG v3.2← CATALOG

NICU

Phish original·debuted 01.14.92·The Band House, Winooski

161 PLAYS·161 ANALYZED·4 ERASRARITY · COMMON

89BEST

BEST VERSION · OF 161

10.30.98Thomas & Mack

Las Vegas, NV · 9:42

→

Year by year28 ACTIVE YEARS

BEST SCORE / YEAR · 1992–2026v3.2

1998 · 88.9

'92'00'09'17'26

MULTIPLESINGLEHIATUS / 0PEAK ≥ 90

BEST YEAR · 199811 VERS · BEST 88.9

By era4 ERAS · 162 PLAYS

1.0 · 832.03.0 · 524.0

PHISH 1.01983–2000

PLAYS83

AVG · BEST43·89

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 2.02002–2004

PLAYS9

AVG · BEST41·56

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 3.02009–2020

PLAYS52

AVG · BEST40·78

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 4.02021–present

PLAYS18

AVG · BEST45·86

BEST VERSION→

Versions161 TOTAL

RKSHOW · VENUE · CITYSETDURSCR

#01

10.30.98 Thomas & Mack · Las Vegas, NVCHARTED

—9:4289 #02

10.23.21 North Island Credit Un · Chula Vista, CACHARTED

—17:0686 #03

12.14.95 Broome County Veterans · Binghamton, NYCHARTED

—9:1680 #04

08.10.18 Coastal Credit Union M · Raleigh, NCCHARTED

—9:0578 #05

07.12.96 Melkweg · AmsterdamCHARTED

—6:1176 #06

12.01.94 Salem Armory · Salem, ORCHARTED

—5:3768 #07

06.15.00 Big Cat · Chuo-ku, Osaka

—6:1864 #08

01.29.26 Moon Palace · Cancun, Quintana Roo

—5:1364 #09

12.29.25 Madison Square Garden · New York, NY

—5:1262 #10

03.11.92 The Colonial · Keene, NH

—8:5560

By the numbers8 STATS

TOTAL PLAYS161across 4 eras

ANALYZED161100% of all

AVG DURATION5:396 charted

LONGEST17:0610.23.21 NORTH ISLAND CREDIT UN

SHORTEST3:0804.07.92 FINE ARTS AUDITORIUM,

LONGEST GAP255 SH.1992 → 1994

JAM CHART6CHARTED VERSIONS

DEBUT01.14.92WINOOSKI

When it gets playedCIRCULATION

DENSITY · YR×MO · 1992–2026161 PLAYS

JFMAMJJASOND

'92'94'96'98'00'02'04'06'08'10'12'14'16'18'20'22'24'26

MAX · 7 /MO·TOTAL · 161

GAP · SHOWS BETWEEN PLAYS160 PERFS

LONGEST · 255 SH.·MEDIAN · 7 SH.

How long it runsDURATION

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE158 VERSIONS

4m10m

MEDIAN · 5:30·PEAK · 5–6m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR1992–2026

SHORT · 5:04 · 2023·LONG · 6:49 · 1992

Where in the showTOPOLOGY

SET MIX161 PLAYS

S1 73%S2 24%

S1 OPEN10

S1 CLOSE1

S2 OPEN5

S2 CLOSE0

ENCORE1

POSITION IN SETPEAK · #2

#1#16

TRANSITION OUT161 PLAYS

50%44%

STOP · 81END · 1SEGUE · 71HARD · 8

Where & whenGEOGRAPHY

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

NY29CA14CO8MA6GA6PA6

DAY OF WEEKPEAK · SAT

SUN24

MON12

TUE15

WED21

THU21

FRI30

SAT38

PLAY RATE · BY ERA% OF ERA SHOWS

v1.06.6%

v2.011.8%

v3.011.5%

v4.07.4%

Plays withPAIRINGS

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 6

01Chalk Dust Torture44 02Stash44 03Harry Hood43 04Tweezer40 05Character Zero39 06David Bowie38

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% · 8

Limb By Limb161 Halley's Comet159 Sand163 46 Days158 Carini157 Loving Cup156 Taste154 Punch You in the Eye171

By tour74 TOURS

TOUR LOG · BY PLAYS161 TOTAL

011992 Spring Tour1992 · 12 sh12 021995 Fall Tour1995 · 6 sh6 031994 Summer Tour1994 · 5 sh5 04Not Part of a Tour1992–2011 · 5 sh5 051997 Summer U.S. Tour1997 · 4 sh4 061997 Fall Tour (a.k.a. Phish Destroys America)1997 · 4 sh4 071998 Summer U.S. Tour1998 · 4 sh4 082013 Summer Tour2013 · 4 sh4

Charted appearances6 TOTAL →

CHRT#1

10.23.21·North Island Credit Un · Chula Vista

A very neat and surprising -> out of "Fluffhead", and a tremendous jam befitting the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. After an extended take on the usual "NICU" jam, Mike suggests minor key and…

→CHRT#2

08.10.18·Coastal Credit Union M · Raleigh

Neat outro jam that prods and probes in a few different directions. > to "Thread".

→CHRT#3

10.30.98·Thomas & Mack · Las Vegas

-> in from "Tweezer." Straightforward "NICU" completes a string of great segues (->), comes to an end and > to a classic '98 ambient "Jam."

→CHRT#4

07.12.96·Melkweg · Amsterdam

Unfinished? Maybe. Or, -> from "Jam" and -> an unfinished "Slave," simply part of a crazy point in history where a clearly 'distracted' band works through the song as best as they are able before crea…

→CHRT#5

12.14.95·Broome County Veterans · Binghamton

-> in from a jammed out "Halley's." A rhythmic oriented outro jam morphs into a beautiful Page solo which -> to "Slave."

→

Often follows / sets up

OFTEN → AFTER NICUSWIPE →