[We'd like to thank @paulj for once again contributing a thought-provoking analysis piece to the blog - ed.]

Since its introduction in June of 1997, "Twist" has been a welcome addition to the Phish catalogue. With just a couple of exceptions during its early years, "Twist" has never been out of regular rotation, averaging an appearance about every five shows.

With only 10% of its appearances in the first set, "Twist" has fulfilled a variety of roles in the second set. First, "Twist" made its debut as a second set opener and, in its 145 total appearances, has been a set opener 15 times.

Second, although "Twist" does not generally enjoy the big jam reputation of its contemporaries such as "Piper" and "Ghost," it has a top ten ranking in total number of Jam Chart entries during the 3.0 era. "Twist"’s 23 Jam Chart entries for 3.0 were, I’ll happily admit, a bit of a surprise as I’d always pigeon-holed the song into its third role: maintaining the second set groove.

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