How many times has Phish played What's the Use??

Phish has performed "What's the Use?" 76 times since July 4, 1999.

What is the longest version of What's the Use? by Phish?

The longest version of "What's the Use?" was 8:39 long, performed at Sphere in Las Vegas, NV on April 24, 2026.

When was the last time Phish played What's the Use??

Phish last played "What's the Use?" on July 21, 2026. The current gap is 7 shows.

When did Phish first play What's the Use??

"What's the Use?" debuted on July 4, 1999 at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA.

What songs does Phish commonly play with What's the Use??

The songs most commonly played in the same show as "What's the Use?" are: Down with Disease, Possum, Free, Twist, Weekapaug Groove.

← BACK·SONGS·What's the Use?

LIVE · 76 PERFORMANCES

Phish original

What's the Use?

76 performances since 1999, with 0 analyzed for jam quality. Average length 8:03.

DEBUT · 1999-07-04 · Atlanta·LAST · 2026-07-21 · Syracuse·LONGEST GAP · 80 SHOWS

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

’26

BEST · —LONGEST · 8:39 · 2026-04-24SHORTEST · 7:26YEARS · 0

READOUT· PER-ERA BREAKDOWN0 OF 76 ANALYZED

v1.01983–2000 · 0 plays—

v2.02002–2004 · 0 plays—

v3.02009–2020 · 0 plays—

v4.02021–present · 2 plays—

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

RECENT VERSIONS· LAST 2 PLAYED

#VENUEBREAKDOWN

#01—Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at LakeviewSyracuse, NY

2026-07-217:26

#02—SphereLas Vegas, NV

2026-04-248:39

INSTRUMENTATION· SONG-LEVEL STATS6 CHANNELS LIVE

PLAYS76

DEBUT1999

LAST2026

AVG LEN8:03

CHARTED0

GAP MAX80

CIRCULATION· WHEN IT GETS PLAYEDINPUT · SETLIST_ENTRIES.DATE

DENSITY · YEAR × MONTH1999–2026 · 58 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 MINUTE2 VERSIONS

MEDIAN · 7:30PEAK · 7–8m (1)RANGE · 7–9m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR2026–2026

8:008:30

SHORTEST · 8:03 · 2026LONGEST · 8:03 · 2026

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

SET MIX & ROLE76 PLAYS

SET 1 · 22%SET 2 · 72%

SET 1 17SET 2 55SET 3 2ENCORE 2

S1 OPEN1

S1 CLOSE0

S2 OPEN0

S2 CLOSE0

ENCORE0

POSITION & FLOWMEDIAN POS · 5

51015

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

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01Madison Square GardenNew York · NY10 02Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City · CO7 03Merriweather Post PavilionColumbia · MD4 04Ruoff Music CenterNoblesville · IN3 05Gorge AmphitheatreGeorge · WA3 06SphereLas Vegas · NV2

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01NY18 02CO

PAIRINGS· COMPANION SONGSINPUT · SHARED SHOWS + FREQUENCY MATCH

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 9

01Down with Disease23 02Possum21 03Free20 04Twist19 05Weekapaug Groove18 06Chalk Dust Torture18 07Mike's Song17 08Sand17 09Harry Hood17

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% RANGE · 8

When the Circus Comes76 A Day in the Life

TOUR LOG· PER-TOUR BREAKDOWN45 TOURS · 76 PLAYS · 75 SHOWS

#TOURPLAYSSHOWSFIRST · LAST

011999 Summer U.S. Tour55Jul 4, 1999·Jul 20, 1999 02Not Part of a Tour44Dec 29, 1999·Oct 26, 2024 032018 Summer Tour44Jul 18, 2018·Aug 31, 2018 042019 Summer Tour44Jun 22, 2019·Aug 30, 2019 052016 Fall Tour33Oct 15, 2016·Oct 31, 2016 062015 Summer33Aug 8, 2015·Aug 23, 2015 072016 Summer Tour33Jun 29, 2016·Sep 3, 2016 082021 Summer Tour32Aug 7, 2021·Aug 27, 2021 092022 Summer Tour33Jul 16, 2022·Sep 2, 2022 102017 Summer Tour33Jul 14, 2017·Sep 2, 2017

RELATED· CHARTED · FOLLOWS · PRECEDED · VENUES

SONG ID · 2059· DATA VERSION v3.2

SONG · CATALOG v3.2← CATALOG

What's the Use?

Phish original·debuted 07.04.99·Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta

76 PLAYS·0 ANALYZED·1 ERASRARITY · UNCOMMON

Year by year1 ACTIVE YEARS

BEST SCORE / YEAR · 1999–2026v3.2

'99'05'12'19'26

MULTIPLESINGLEHIATUS / 0PEAK ≥ 90

By era4 ERAS · 2 PLAYS

1.02.03.04.0

PHISH 1.01983–2000

PLAYS0

AVG · BEST—·—

PHISH 2.02002–2004

PLAYS0

AVG · BEST—·—

PHISH 3.02009–2020

PLAYS0

AVG · BEST—·—

PHISH 4.02021–present

PLAYS2

AVG · BEST—·—

Versions0 TOTAL

No versions yet

By the numbers8 STATS

TOTAL PLAYS76across 4 eras

ANALYZED00% of all

AVG DURATION8:03duration

LONGEST8:3904.24.26 SPHERE

SHORTEST7:2607.21.26 EMPOWER FEDERAL CREDIT

LONGEST GAP80 SH.2003 → 2009

JAM CHART0none

DEBUT07.04.99ATLANTA

When it gets playedCIRCULATION

DENSITY · YR×MO · 1999–202676 PLAYS

JFMAMJJASOND

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

MAX · 5 /MO·TOTAL · 76

GAP · SHOWS BETWEEN PLAYS74 PERFS

LONGEST · 80 SH.·MEDIAN · 8 SH.

How long it runsDURATION

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE2 VERSIONS

7m9m

MEDIAN · 7:30·PEAK · 7–8m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR2026–2026

SHORT · 8:03 · 2026·LONG · 8:03 · 2026

Where in the showTOPOLOGY

SET MIX76 PLAYS

S1 22%S2 72%

S1 OPEN1

S1 CLOSE0

S2 OPEN0

S2 CLOSE0

ENCORE0

POSITION IN SETPEAK · #5

#1#15

TRANSITION OUT76 PLAYS

18%80%

STOP · 14SEGUE · 61HARD · 1

Where & whenGEOGRAPHY

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

NY18CO8NV4CA4IN4MD4

DAY OF WEEKPEAK · SAT

SUN13

MON6

TUE7

WED11

THU2

FRI18

SAT19

PLAY RATE · BY ERA% OF ERA SHOWS

v1.00.9%

v2.02.9%

v3.08.2%

v4.09.5%

Plays withPAIRINGS

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 6

01Down with Disease23 02Possum21 03Free20 04Twist19 05Weekapaug Groove18 06Chalk Dust Torture18

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% · 8

When the Circus Comes76 A Day in the Life76 Everything's Right76 Nellie Kane76 Crosseyed and Painless73 55572 Highway to Hell78 Magilla72

By tour45 TOURS

TOUR LOG · BY PLAYS76 TOTAL

011999 Summer U.S. Tour1999 · 5 sh5 02Not Part of a Tour1999–2024 · 4 sh4 032018 Summer Tour2018 · 4 sh4 042019 Summer Tour2019 · 4 sh4 052016 Fall Tour2016 · 3 sh3 062015 Summer2015 · 3 sh3 072016 Summer Tour2016 · 3 sh3 082021 Summer Tour2021 · 2 sh3

Often follows / sets up

OFTEN → AFTER WHAT'S THE USE?SWIPE →

17.65%Meatstick3× →→17.65%You Enjoy Myself3× →→17.65%Blaze On3× →→17.65%Down with Disease3× →→

OFTEN ← BEFORE WHAT'S THE USE?SWIPE →

40%Down with Disease8× ←→15%Golden Age3× ←→15%Weekapaug Groove3× ←→10%Crosseyed and Painless2× ←→

SONG ●/songs/whats-the-useSETLIST APPS →phish.net source METHOD →/methodology CATALOG →/songs index

FOUL DOMAIN/songs/whats-the-use · v3.2

FOUL DOMAIN · INDEPENDENT · NOT AFFILIATED WITH PHISH

Common questions

What's the Use?

What's the Use?