tour archive ·Sphere Residency '26Apr 16 – May 2· wrappedSummer Tour '26Jul 5 – Aug 31· upcomingFall Tour '26TBA· tbawrapped · scoring final
postmortem · the algorithm files its findings

The algorithm studied 303 shows.
Phish wrote nine more it had never seen.

Sphere Residency '26 · 9 nights · 27 slot calls (set-1 opener, set-2 opener, encore). The model studied. Phish improvised. Here's the gap.

Apr 16 – May 2, 2026 · MSG Sphere · Las Vegas · callingit.live/wrap/sphere-26
§ 01the scorecard

3 of 27 slot calls landed.
On most nights, Phish was unrecognizable to the model.

Three picks per night. Nine nights. Every cell below is one slot the model called — green where the model and Phish lined up, faint where the model was somewhere else entirely.

N1
Apr 16
N2
Apr 17
N3
Apr 18
N4
Apr 23
N5
Apr 24
N6
Apr 25
N7
Apr 30
N8
May 1
N9
May 2
set 1 opener
set 2 opener
encore closer
landed (3)missed (24)
residency total · 203 pts
§ 02when it nailed it (or got close)

3 nailed. 12 in the right set. +1 in the right show.

Strict scoring only pays the inner ring — exact song in the opener or closer slot. The middle ring is right show, right set, wrong slot — a real call, just not where the rubric pays. The outer ring is right show, anywhere.

exact slot
3/ 27
right set
15/ 180
right show
16/ 180
tier 1 · slot calls landed
✓ landed
Night 3 · Set 2 opener · model confidence 30% · +70 pts
pickedOblivion

Oblivion as the set-2 opener · 30% model confidence · the model's #1 ranked song for that slot. Confident and correct. The model is taking the W and refusing to discuss most of the other 25.

✓ landed
Night 2 · Set 2 opener · model confidence 47% · +53 pts
pickedNMINML (No Men In No Man's Land)

NMINML opened set 2 on N2 — exactly where the model put it. 47% confidence. The model's other landed slot call. It is now telling everyone about both of them.

✓ landed
Night 9 · Encore · model confidence 20% · +80 pts
pickedWading in the Velvet Sea
phish playedWading > Fluffhead

The model's #1 encore pick on closing night. Phish opened the encore with it. Phish then chose Fluffhead instead of the model's #2 (Curtain). Two-song encore, first song nailed — that's a slot call that landed.

tier 2 · right show · right set
N1
set 1 Wolfman's Brother· exact position 2· Theme from the Bottom· Steam
N2
set 1 Divided Sky· Mull
N3
set 1 AC/DC Bag
N4
set 1 Gumbo
set 2 Golden Age· Cavern
N5
set 1 TMWSIY (The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday)· model had pos 3 · Phish opened with it· Roggae
N6
set 1 My Soul
tier 3 · right show · wrong set
N8
Tela· model had it in set 2 · Phish put it in set 1 · 93-show bustout
§ 03right song · wrong night

The model called these at the wrong moment.

Right song, wrong night entirely — or right family, different song. Doesn't fit the right-show tiers in §02; still worth printing.

right song · wrong night
The Curtain (With)
N4 · model: Run closer (N9 encore) → actual: N4 · Set 2 opener

The model bet the residency on Curtain (With) closing the run. Phish opened set 2 with it five nights early instead. The model was technically correct that the song would matter — just not how.

right song · wrong night
Frankenstein
N9 · model had it for N8 set 2 → actual: N9 · Set 2 opener

The model put Frankenstein at the bottom of N8's set 2. Phish saved it for the closing night and used it to crack set 2 — a 67-show bustout. One night off, several positions off, fully on the table.

right family · wrong song
Axilla (Part II)
N6 · model: Axilla (Part I) → actual: Set 1 · position 4

The model called Axilla. Phish played Axilla (Part II). Same family, different song. The model is choosing to interpret this as a draft pick.

right song · wrong night
Saw It Again
N8 · model: N3 encore → actual: N8 encore

The model loved Saw It Again for the third night encore. It showed up — five nights later, in a different encore. Right song, right slot type, wrong night.

§ 04when phish was phish

14 songs that missed an entire tour cycle. Eight worth printing.

Songs ranked by gap — shows since the last play. A real bustout means the song skipped a full tour (~30+ shows) before resurfacing. Three different 93-show bustouts in one residency. The bigger the number, the louder the model is saying nothing.

01
106
shows
Mound
N8 · Set 1, position 5

106 shows. The biggest gap of the residency. The model had Mound for closing night set 1, position 8. Phish played it on N8 set 1, position 5. Off by one night and three positions, on by everything else.

02
93
shows
The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday
N5 · Set 1 opener

TMWSIY as the set-1 opener. 93 shows. The model had it on the right night, three songs deep. Phish opened with it.

03
93
shows
The Sloth
N7 · Encore

93 shows. Showed up in the encore. The model had Sloth for N8 set 1; Phish put it in N7's encore.

04
76
shows
Brian and Robert
N4 · Set 1, position 6

Quiet song, loud gap. The model had it on N6; Phish played it on N4. Off by two nights — not bad, considering.

05
69
shows
Wingsuit
N8 · Set 1, position 10

Late set 1, 69-show gap. The model had Wingsuit on the wrong night (N6) at the wrong position. Phish fixed both.

06
33
shows
Billy Breathes
N5 · Set 1, position 8

33 shows. The model didn't have Billy Breathes anywhere in the residency. Not even loosely. A true blind spot.

07
30
shows
Dirt
N7 · Set 1, position 6

30 shows since the last Dirt. The model never predicted it for any night. Phish played it anyway.

08
35
shows
Lifeboy
N1 · Set 2, position 5

35 shows. The model had Lifeboy for N7 set 2. Phish played it on opening night, set 2, position 5. Six nights early, on by the song. The model has been informed.

§ 05the super card

Residency-wide bets the model placed on itself: 3 of 6.

Six props. Mixed results. The model is very pleased about Harpua, somewhat ashamed about the closer.

Unique songs across the run
· over (predicted 180)· 162

Got the direction. Overshot by 18.

✓ hit
Will there be a debut?
· no· yes

One Phish debut: Brief Time, N2 encore. The model has no prior on debuts. (Three other songs the model didn't predict — Space Oddity, Forbin, Mockingbird — aren't debuts; they're songs the engine's catalog forgot existed.)

✗ miss
Will Harpua play?
· no· no

A win, technically. Predicting no on Harpua is the cheapest possible call.

✓ hit
Will a cover song close any encore?
· yes· yes

Rock and Roll (Velvet Underground) closed the N8 encore. Three covers appeared in encores across the residency — Space Oddity (Bowie) opened N1's, Walrus (Beatles) opened N3's, R&R closed N8's — but only R&R landed in the closer slot. Prop hits anyway.

✓ hit
Which night had the longest single song?
· N6· N4 · Fuego · 37:20

Verified via phish.in. The longest single song of the residency was the 37:20 Fuego that opened set 2 on N4 (the Fuego → Golden Age → Fuego sandwich). The model's jam-score × duration heuristic landed on N6, where the longest song was actually Chalk Dust Torture at 26:12 — not bad for a heuristic, off by one set of nights.

✗ miss
Run closer (final song of the final encore)
· The Curtain (With)· Fluffhead

Curtain (With) did appear — opening set 2 on N4. Run closer was Fluffhead. The algorithm has been informed.

✗ miss
✉ suggest a prop

Got a residency-wide bet the model should be forced to take next time? Send it to hello@callingit.live. We'll read it, fight about it, and probably print it on the super card.

§ 06the jam report

8 epic jams. All in set 2.

Phish played 173 songs across 9 nights. 68 of them broke 10 minutes. 28 broke 15. 8 broke 20. Every single longest-of-night jam landed in set 2 — set 2 averaged 12:40 per song, set 1 averaged 9:02. The model didn't predict any of this.

songs ≥ 10 min
68
of 173 · 39%
songs ≥ 15 min
28
of 173 · 16%
songs ≥ 20 min
8
epic territory
top 10 jams of the residency
0137:20FuegoN4 · Set 2
0227:51What's Going Through Your MindN5 · Set 2
0326:12Chalk Dust TortureN6 · Set 2
0425:06SimpleN3 · Set 2
0523:46A Wave of HopeN7 · Set 2
0623:23LightN2 · Set 2
0721:22Ruby WavesN9 · Set 2
0820:13Set Your Soul FreeN5 · Set 1
0919:08Crosseyed and PainlessN8 · Set 2
1018:35Sigma OasisN3 · Set 1
longest jam per night · all set 2
N1
Down with Disease
18:11
N2
Light
23:23
N3
Simple
25:06
N4
Fuego
37:20
N5
What's Going Through Your Mind
27:51
N6
Chalk Dust Torture
26:12
N7
A Wave of Hope
23:46
N8
Crosseyed and Painless
19:08
N9
Ruby Waves
21:22
§ 07the covers vault

15 covers in 9 nights. 2 artists got two each.

The model has no per-show cover prediction. It bet "yes" on the cover-closed-encore prop and won (R&R closed N8). It did not see this much Talking Heads, Bowie, or Edgar Winter coming. 3 covers landed in encores, 12 in main sets.

covers played
15
of 173 songs · 9%
encore covers
3
Bowie · Beatles · Velvet Underground
repeat artists
2
David Bowie · Talking Heads
every cover · in order
N1
Also Sprach Zarathustra· Eumir Deodato
Set 2 · pos 15
10:30
N1
Space Oddity· David Bowie
Encore · pos 16
5:33
N3
Walk Away· James Gang
Set 1 · pos 8
6:13
N3
I Am the Walrus· The Beatles
Encore · pos 16
6:07
N4
Moonage Daydream· David Bowie
Set 1 · pos 8
8:13
N4
Golden Age· TV On The Radio
Set 2 · pos 11
11:52
N5
Ya Mar· Cyril Ferguson
Set 1 · pos 5
7:14
N6
Timber (Jerry the Mule)· Joshua White
Set 1 · pos 1
8:08
N6
Cities· Talking Heads
Set 1 · pos 5
16:41
N6
My Soul· Clifton Chenier
Set 1 · pos 8
6:48
N7
Sneakin' Sally Thru the Alley· Robert Palmer
Set 2 · pos 14
8:37
N8
Boogie on Reggae Woman· Stevie Wonder
Set 1 · pos 2
7:36
N8
Crosseyed and Painless· Talking Heads
Set 2 · pos 15
19:08
N8
Rock and Roll· The Velvet Underground
Encore · pos 21
7:22
N9
Frankenstein· Edgar Winter Group
Set 2 · pos 12
5:14
§ 08by the numbers

9 nights of receipts.

What the model claimed · what Phish played. The model is keeping all of them.

Nights
9
Apr 16 – May 2
callingit · sphere '26 · 01/12
Songs predicted
180
20 per night · 11 set 1 · 7 set 2 · 2 encore
callingit · sphere '26 · 02/12
Songs played
162
unique across 9 nights · no-repeat-across-nights rule held · Fuego sandwiched itself on N4, same-night repeats are fine
callingit · sphere '26 · 03/12
Actual runtime
28h 11m
3h 8m / show · per phish.in
callingit · sphere '26 · 04/12
Predicted runtime
~30h
~3h20m / show · model est. via catalog avg
callingit · sphere '26 · 05/12
Debuts
1
Brief Time · N2 encore · the only Phish debut all residency
callingit · sphere '26 · 06/12
Bustouts (>30 gap)
14
8 worth printing · 3 separate 93-show bustouts · biggest: Mound at 106
callingit · sphere '26 · 07/12
Harpua sightings
0
as forecast
callingit · sphere '26 · 08/12
Right-set hits
15
of 180 · model put the song in the set Phish played it · 3 in exact slot, 12 in same set
callingit · sphere '26 · 09/12
Right-show hits
16
of 180 · songs the model called for the right night, any set
callingit · sphere '26 · 10/12
Model coverage
66%
120 of 180 predictions appeared somewhere
callingit · sphere '26 · 11/12
Songs the model never saw
38
predicted nowhere · Phish played them anyway
callingit · sphere '26 · 12/12
§ 09model confidence vs reality

High confidence. Low yield.

Each dot is one slot call. Y is the model's confidence; X is the slot's order across the residency. Green is a hit. The rest is, technically, also data.

landed (3)missed (24)
§ 10the archive

All nine nights, in order.

Tap a night to see the actual setlist with the model's predictions overlaid where they landed. No "you" column. The leaderboard is on vacation.

· · ·

You should have been picking against this thing nightly.

Summer Tour picks open July 1. The model would like a chance to redeem itself. You should not give it one.

Make your first picks →
we see you. your scores are filed under /wrap/sphere-26/private.
thank you for picking against the algorithm in public.
─── your gut · vs · the math ───