Phish setlist notes: when a tease isn’t another song

A familiar melody inside a jam can send you straight back to the setlist. Finding it in a footnote rather than on its own line can be confusing. That distinction matters when you are keeping track of the songs you have heard.

Does a tease count as another song?

A tease noted inside another performance does not become a separate song entry. Follow the source’s formal running order, and keep the reference in the performance notes.

That gives you two things to save: the song that was performed and the reference that made this version different. There is room for both without changing your song count.

Is a quote the same as a tease?

Phish.net reserves “quote” for a vocal or spoken reference, and “tease” for a musical one. Those are its editorial conventions, so keep the source name attached when explaining them. Phish.net’s explanation.

What is the difference between > and ->?

In Phish.net’s notation, -> marks an improvisational transition. The simpler > generally marks one song immediately following another. Its guide also describes exceptions around Fishman-fronted sequences, so the symbol alone does not guarantee there was no pause. Read its notation guide.

What does “unfinished” tell us?

The source is identifying a performance that did not reach its usual ending. Keep that note with the performance. The label alone does not establish a later return to finish it.

What should count in your show history?

Keep repeated appearances in the running order. When counting distinct song titles for a concert, count a repeated title once. Label those totals clearly so that appearances and different songs are not confused.

For claims about a debut, a longest gap or the last time a song was played, check a source with the necessary coverage. A missing show in our partial archive is missing information.