How many times has Phish played When the Circus Comes?

Phish has performed "When the Circus Comes" 77 times since February 13, 1997.

What is the longest version of When the Circus Comes by Phish?

The longest version of "When the Circus Comes" was 7:10 long, performed at South Park Meadows in Austin, TX on July 25, 1998.

When was the last time Phish played When the Circus Comes?

Phish last played "When the Circus Comes" on September 5, 2026. The current gap is 1 shows.

When did Phish first play When the Circus Comes?

"When the Circus Comes" debuted on February 13, 1997 at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London.

What songs does Phish commonly play with When the Circus Comes?

The songs most commonly played in the same show as "When the Circus Comes" are: Piper, Run Like an Antelope, Chalk Dust Torture, Mike's Song, Weekapaug Groove.

← BACK·SONGS·When the Circus Comes

LIVE · 77 PERFORMANCES

Phish cover · Los Lobos

When the Circus Comes

77 performances since 1997, with 76 analyzed for jam quality. Best version scored 75 on 2026-09-05.

DEBUT · 1997-02-13 · London·LAST · 2026-09-05 · Commerce City·LONGEST GAP · 58 SHOWS

DISPLAY· VERSION TIMELINE · 1997–2026INPUT · TRACK_FEATURES.SCORE_BY_YEAR

’97’00’05’10’15’20’25’26

BEST · 2026-09-05 · 75LONGEST · 7:10 · 1998-07-25SHORTEST · 4:17YEARS · 29

READOUT· PER-ERA BREAKDOWN76 OF 77 ANALYZED

v1.01983–2000 · 42 plays69

v2.02002–2004 · 1 play36

v3.02009–2020 · 24 plays75

v4.02021–present · 10 plays75

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

TOP VERSIONS· 10 OF 76 · BY SCORE76 ANALYZED

#VENUEBREAKDOWN

#0175#1 / 76Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City, CO

2026-09-055:11

#0275#2 / 76Santa Barbara BowlSanta Barbara, CA

2014-10-217:09

#0369#3 / 76South Park MeadowsAustin, TX

1998-07-257:10

#0466#4 / 76Gorge AmphitheatreGeorge, WA

1999-09-116:16

#0564#5 / 76ZelesteBarcelona

1998-07-095:15

#0663#6 / 76Ascend AmphitheaterNashville, TN

2018-10-234:47

#0763#7 / 76Star Lake AmphitheatreBurgettstown, PA

1998-08-115:32

#0862#8 / 76Nassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumUniondale, NY

1999-10-075:40

#0962#9 / 76Empire Polo ClubIndio, CA

2009-10-316:03

#1061#10 / 76Madison Square GardenNew York, NY

2017-08-015:12

RECENT VERSIONS· LAST 5 PLAYED

#VENUEBREAKDOWN

#0175#1 / 76Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City, CO

2026-09-055:11

#0239#64 / 76North Charleston ColiseumNorth Charleston, SC

2025-07-115:08

#0341#58 / 76Xfinity CenterMansfield, MA

2024-07-204:40

#04—Moon PalaceCancun, Quintana Roo

2024-02-235:01

#0560#12 / 76Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront ParkWilmington, NC

2023-07-195:01

INSTRUMENTATION· SONG-LEVEL STATS6 CHANNELS LIVE

PLAYS77

DEBUT1997

LAST2026

AVG LEN5:17

CHARTED0

GAP MAX58

CIRCULATION· WHEN IT GETS PLAYEDINPUT · SETLIST_ENTRIES.DATE

DENSITY · YEAR × MONTH1997–2026 · 52 ACTIVE MONTHS

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC

'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 MINUTE77 VERSIONS

10203040505m

MEDIAN · 5:30PEAK · 5–6m (51)RANGE · 4–8m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR1997–2026

4:305:005:306:006:30

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

SET MIX & ROLE77 PLAYS

SET 1 · 43%SET 2 · 35%ENCORE · 19%

SET 1 33SET 2 27SET 3 2ENCORE 15

S1 OPEN0

S1 CLOSE0

S2 OPEN0

S2 CLOSE0

ENCORE16

POSITION & FLOWMEDIAN POS · 5

51015

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

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01Ascend AmphitheaterNashville · TN3 02Madison Square GardenNew York · NY3 03Bill Graham Civic AuditoriumSan Francisco · CA3 04Alpine Valley Music TheatreEast Troy · WI3 05Shoreline AmphitheatreMountain View · CA3 06Dick's Sporting Goods ParkCommerce City · CO2

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

01NY10 02

PAIRINGS· COMPANION SONGSINPUT · SHARED SHOWS + FREQUENCY MATCH

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 9

01Piper25 02Run Like an Antelope24 03Chalk Dust Torture24 04Mike's Song23 05Weekapaug Groove22 06Harry Hood22 07Down with Disease22 08Wolfman's Brother20 09Ghost18

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% RANGE · 8

Everything's Right77

TOUR LOG· PER-TOUR BREAKDOWN46 TOURS · 77 PLAYS · 77 SHOWS

#TOURPLAYSSHOWSFIRST · LAST

011998 Summer U.S. Tour55Jul 16, 1998·Aug 16, 1998 021997 Summer U.S. Tour44Jul 22, 1997·Aug 17, 1997 03Not Part of a Tour44Dec 30, 1999·Jul 2, 2011 041997 Winter European Tour44Feb 13, 1997·Feb 22, 1997 052000 Fall Tour33Sep 15, 2000·Oct 1, 2000 061997 Summer European Tour33Jun 14, 1997·Jul 1, 1997 071999 Fall Tour33Sep 11, 1999·Oct 7, 1999 081999 Summer U.S. Tour33Jul 3, 1999·Jul 21, 1999 091999 Winter Tour33Dec 4, 1999·Dec 17, 1999 101997 Fall Tour (a.k.a. Phish Destroys America)33Nov 17, 1997·Dec 13, 1997

RELATED· CHARTED · FOLLOWS · PRECEDED · VENUES

SONG ID · 1564· DATA VERSION v3.2

SONG · CATALOG v3.2← CATALOG

When the Circus Comes

Cover of Los Lobos·debuted 02.13.97·Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

77 PLAYS·76 ANALYZED·4 ERASRARITY · UNCOMMON

75BEST

BEST VERSION · OF 77

09.05.26Dick's Sporting Goods

Commerce City, CO · 5:11

→

Year by year22 ACTIVE YEARS

BEST SCORE / YEAR · 1997–2026v3.2

2026 · 75.4

'97'04'11'18'26

MULTIPLESINGLEHIATUS / 0PEAK ≥ 90

BEST YEAR · 20261 VERS · BEST 75.4

By era4 ERAS · 77 PLAYS

1.0 · 422.03.04.0

PHISH 1.01983–2000

PLAYS42

AVG · BEST49·69

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 2.02002–2004

PLAYS1

AVG · BEST36·36

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 3.02009–2020

PLAYS24

AVG · BEST51·75

BEST VERSION→

PHISH 4.02021–present

PLAYS10

AVG · BEST51·75

BEST VERSION→

Versions76 TOTAL

RKSHOW · VENUE · CITYSETDURSCR

#01

09.05.26 Dick's Sporting Goods · Commerce City, CO

—5:1175 #02

10.21.14 Santa Barbara Bowl · Santa Barbara, CA

—7:0975 #03

07.25.98 South Park Meadows · Austin, TX

—7:1069 #04

09.11.99 Gorge · George, WA

—6:1666 #05

07.09.98 Zeleste · Barcelona

—5:1564 #06

10.23.18 Ascend · Nashville, TN

—4:4763 #07

08.11.98 Star Lake · Burgettstown, PA

—5:3263 #08

10.07.99 Nassau Veterans Memori · Uniondale, NY

—5:4062 #09

10.31.09 Empire Polo Club · Indio, CA

—6:0362 #10

08.01.17 Madison Square Garden · New York, NY

—5:1261

By the numbers8 STATS

TOTAL PLAYS77across 4 eras

ANALYZED7699% of all

AVG DURATION5:17duration

LONGEST7:1007.25.98 SOUTH PARK MEADOWS

SHORTEST4:1706.18.09 POST-GAZETTE

LONGEST GAP58 SH.2025 → 2026

JAM CHART0none

DEBUT02.13.97LONDON

When it gets playedCIRCULATION

DENSITY · YR×MO · 1997–202677 PLAYS

JFMAMJJASOND

'97'99'01'03'05'07'09'11'13'15'17'19'21'23'25'26

MAX · 4 /MO·TOTAL · 77

GAP · SHOWS BETWEEN PLAYS76 PERFS

LONGEST · 58 SH.·MEDIAN · 10 SH.

How long it runsDURATION

DISTRIBUTION · BY MINUTE77 VERSIONS

4m8m

MEDIAN · 5:30·PEAK · 5–6m

AVERAGE · BY YEAR1997–2026

SHORT · 4:47 · 2018·LONG · 6:10 · 2014

Where in the showTOPOLOGY

SET MIX77 PLAYS

S1 43%S2 35%ENCORE 19%

S1 OPEN0

S1 CLOSE0

S2 OPEN0

S2 CLOSE0

ENCORE16

POSITION IN SETPEAK · #5

#1#13

TRANSITION OUT77 PLAYS

75%21%

STOP · 58END · 2SEGUE · 16HARD · 1

Where & whenGEOGRAPHY

VENUES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

STATES · BY PLAYSTOP 6

NY10CA9PA7NJ4CO3MA3

DAY OF WEEKPEAK · SAT

SUN7

MON6

TUE11

WED10

THU9

FRI14

SAT20

PLAY RATE · BY ERA% OF ERA SHOWS

v1.03.4%

v2.01.5%

v3.05.3%

v4.03.8%

Plays withPAIRINGS

SAME SHOW · MOST OFTENTOP 6

01Piper25 02Run Like an Antelope24 03Chalk Dust Torture24 04Mike's Song23 05Weekapaug Groove22 06Harry Hood22

SIMILAR PLAY COUNT±20% · 8

Everything's Right77 A Day in the Life76 Highway to Hell78 Nellie Kane76 What's the Use?75 Meatstick80 Fast Enough for You80 All Things Reconsidered81

By tour46 TOURS

TOUR LOG · BY PLAYS77 TOTAL

011998 Summer U.S. Tour1998 · 5 sh5 021997 Summer U.S. Tour1997 · 4 sh4 03Not Part of a Tour1999–2011 · 4 sh4 041997 Winter European Tour1997 · 4 sh4 052000 Fall Tour2000 · 3 sh3 061997 Summer European Tour1997 · 3 sh3 071999 Fall Tour1999 · 3 sh3 081999 Summer U.S. Tour1999 · 3 sh3

Often follows / sets up

OFTEN → AFTER WHEN THE CIRCUS COMESSWIPE →

30%Run Like an Antelope6× →→15%Sugar Shack3× →→15%Back on the Train3× →→15%David Bowie3× →→

OFTEN ← BEFORE WHEN THE CIRCUS COMESSWIPE →

26.67%Piper4× ←→20%Possum3× ←→13.33%Birds of a Feather2× ←→13.33%It's Ice2× ←→

Top venues4 OF MANY

BY PLAY COUNT · AVG SCORE PIPEDSWIPE →

Bill Graham Civic AuditoriumSAN FRANCISCO, CA

PLAYSAVG358

58 Madison Square GardenNEW YORK, NY

PLAYSAVG357

57 Ascend AmphitheaterNASHVILLE, TN

PLAYSAVG356

56 Shoreline AmphitheatreMOUNTAIN VIEW, CA

PLAYSAVG344

SONG ●/songs/when-the-circus-comesSETLIST APPS →phish.net source METHOD →/methodology CATALOG →/songs index

FOUL DOMAIN/songs/when-the-circus-co · v3.2

FOUL DOMAIN · INDEPENDENT · NOT AFFILIATED WITH PHISH

Common questions

When the Circus Comes

When the Circus Comes