Bouncing Around The Creek: Phish Goes Big On 1st Night Of Noblesville Run

I really wasn’t going to go to Deer Creek this year!

Up until just a couple of weeks ago, my Phish Summer Tour 2026 plans only included Savannah, some of MSG, and Dick’s. I was going to take it easy this summer, and Deer Creek (Ruoff Music Center) felt like an easy skip.

Indiana is usually crazy hot in the summer, and I really struggle in intense humidity. I’ve been to Deer Creek almost every time they’ve played there, so I didn’t feel overly driven to go yet again, necessarily. A visit to my parents fit perfectly between Savannah and MSG, so hitting just those two spots made the most sense. Those two stops (plus Dick’s) would be plenty, I thought. Summer 2026 would be a light year for me.

But you know that when it comes to planning Phish… things rarely go exactly as planned. I rarely cut shows from my plans, but I’ve certainly been known to add a few quite often as they near. Like the rest of you, I am easily talked into seeing more Phish shows. And when two of your favorite people in the whole world want to go to Deer Creek – and one of them has never even been there before! Then you sign on to go to Deer Creek. I added these Indiana shows just two weeks ago, and even though we only have one down and two still to go as I write this, I’m already really glad I did.

There’s something really special about Deer Creek, and anyone who has ever seen a show there surely agrees. I know I love this venue when I think about it from afar, but I don’t really remember or grasp that fact fully until I return for yet another run. I’ll turn 50 next month, and I’ve been seeing Phish at this venue on a regular basis since my first visit for my 21st birthday show way back in 1997, so I guess I might as well just surrender and keep on doing that.

This venue has been an important part of Phish history – and the personal Phish history of so many of us – for over three decades now. We all know quite well that there have been dozens of epic shows and experiences on its hallowed grounds. Sure, the area surrounding it has changed dramatically over the years. What were once cornfields as far as the eye can see are now areas dotted with strip malls, housing developments and general urban sprawl, but Deer Creek itself – a venue which we surely will all call by its original name forever and always – is just as charming as it ever was.

If you want to camp, you can; if you want to stay in a hotel, there are plenty nearby from which to choose. If you love Shakedown, it has one of the best there is anywhere. Sure, it’s perpetually hot and humid, but it has so many positives to balance that out. Deer Creek is a venue that undoubtedly offers some of the best sightlines from all angles and sound of almost any pavilion; they let you dance in the moat with no hassles, and the lawn is vast and lovely and pleasantly sloped for people who love watching a summer show from that vantage point. It’s a Phish classic, it’s legendary, and it’s the perfect, quintessential shed-style venue in every way.

I simply love Deer Creek. I’m so glad that I came. When I planned to skip it this time around, what was I even thinking?

We arrived close to showtime, grateful that it wasn’t that hot out for opening night after all. The forecast had suggested rain, but by the time we entered, it seemed we’d be spared from the previously predicted scattered thundershowers. Traditionally, this venue has quick, smooth entry, but this time around, there was a bottleneck crossing the footbridge from the main lot due to questionable search organization and too few metal detectors. I got in line much earlier than I normally do, and that turned out to have been a wise choice. If I’d gone in at my normal time, I would have missed songs for sure. Instead, I heard them come out and start “Blaze On” as soon as my ticket was scanned.

I tried to hustle to my spot, but ran into many beloved friends en route, so I didn’t get settled until “Plasma” was nearly over. Still, this pair to open the show was a solid start.

“Roggae” followed. I’m always really happy to hear this far-less-common-than-it-used-to-be song a few times a year. “Tube” is always a crowd-pleaser that most of us always are down to hear, and this version was as fun as ever. The band sounded energetic and excited, but also relaxed and loose. Some nights, it can appear evident that some members are having a little more fun than others, but tonight, the early energy from all four of them made it clear that they were all excited to be back at Deer Creek.

“Wolfman’s Brother” is always well received by all, and this one was smooth and groovy. “Limb by Limb,” which I hadn’t seen since the Albany Divided Sky Benefit shows, was pleasant and airy per usual. “Hey Stranger” is one of my favorite tunes from Evolve, and guitarist Trey Anastasio seems to love it, too. It’s easy to dance to and fits well in almost any spot. Looking at the clock, I knew we were headed for the set closer soon, but when they started “Bouncing Around The Room,” I doubted it would be it.

When “Bouncing” began, my show companion and I both commented to each other that it had been our first favorite Phish song long, long ago. I’m always happy to hear it for that reason, and I welcomed it here. In fact, this date was an especially celebratory one for me; I remembered just days before the run began that my very first Phish show also fell on July 10th, back in 1994 at SPAC, making this show my 32nd Phishiversary. I’d wondered if they’d play any of the same songs I heard at that first show, and they ended up playing two of them – “Bouncing” being one. I didn’t know a lot of Phish songs way back on July 10, 1994, but I knew “Bouncing Around The Room,” and I remember it being a big deal for me to hear it at the time.

I’ve heard Phish play that song over 100 times since then, and it’s always enjoyable, but always the same – until tonight. The crowd immediately recognized that this one didn’t end with a hard stop as usual, but that it would go somewhere else, and the collective responded with cheers early on. Even in the moment, I was pretty sure this had never ever happened before, and post-show, Zzyzx confirmed it online in his PhishStats post: “497 near identical versions of ‘Bouncing Around The Room’… and #498 is jammed out!”

The jam was lovely and turned a song that’s almost always about three and half minutes long into a 15-minute adventure. It started light, bubbly and floaty, followed by a deeper and somewhat darker section that quickly became very Type II and was no longer recognizable as “Bouncing.” It was melodic and soaring, descending into an almost dirty realm before turning back into the simple, cheery song we all know well, with its lyrics eventually returning to tie it up in a nice bow.

Set one was done. Overall, it was pretty standard yet enjoyable, but the unique and special “Bouncing” hinted at a more exploratory second set to come.

After a relaxing set break with friends on the lawn, set two arrived quickly. I’m a big fan of “Oblivion” and was happy to hear it as the set opener. It was fun, danceable, upbeat, and energetic, and was a comfortable entry point into the second half of the show.

“Down with Disease” followed. “DWD” was my most-seen song for the majority of my Phish career until it was just recently eclipsed by “Chalk Dust,” but I never tire of it. It only occasionally goes huge, but it almost always includes at least a bit of girth and exploration, so it’s never unwelcome. By this point, the band was clearly having a blast. Trey was jumping up and down at one point, and together, they all made what they do sound like it’s just natural, and easy. This “DWD” was super dancey throughout and included a variety of different variations around a consistent theme for most of it. Toward the end, it got small and minimalistic with some hints of Plinko before coming to a somewhat abrupt ending where it immediately dropped into “You Enjoy Myself.”

“YEM” always has been and always will be one of my very favorite Phish songs. I think it’s the Phishy-ist Phish song of all because it has a bit of everything that makes Phish the band that they are – an exquisite, multi-part composed section, nonsensical lyrics, beauty, funk and specific parts in which each band member shines individually, plus the love-it-or-hate-it standard vocal jam, and even freakin’ trampolines.

For a very long time, “YEM” was a standard set closer, as the vocal jam led to a place where an ending was almost unavoidable, but in recent years, it more often pops up mid-set. This relocation has been a great move, if you ask me, as it encourages the coveted post-vocal-jam second jam, giving them an opportunity to make each version even more interesting and different.

Tonight’s version was smooth and easy. Mike Gordon killed it on his bass showcase section, and even the vocal jam was focused and cohesive, without getting too spacey and weird like it sometimes does. Trey was really feeling it. They all were.

When they dropped into the second jam, it felt like a sensible continuation of the vocal jam, too, which was nice. It was such a smooth transition back into instruments that I hardly even noticed it had ended, and the jam remained strong and happy for another eight celebratory minutes or so before it ended rather suddenly to go into “Backwards Down the Number Line.”

I wasn’t really expecting “Number Line” in this spot, but hey – it is what it is. Somebody having a birthday was surely thrilled to hear it, and how can any of us really hate on a song about friendship? Still, it was kind of a sharp turn away from the rest of this super jammy set where it fell, but whatever. “Loving Cup” brought the energy back up quite a bit as we headed toward the close. A song about friendship into an anthem about love seemed appropriate as a match for the energy of the night overall.

Who doesn’t love a five song set? Set two really delivered!

I felt like they were going off for the encore rather early – set two ended just after 11 p.m. – and it turns out that I was not wrong about that. “What’s Going Through Your Mind” was a very surprising encore choice but a very pleasing one. The early end to set two made sense to accommodate its length. This song has been popular since its Phish debut with guest Billy Strings in Grand Rapids in 2024. That night, I remember noting the feeling that everyone liked it right away, which is unusual for most new Phish songs – and it seems that collective sentiment has carried ever since. I don’t personally know anyone who doesn’t like it. On this night, the band even took some time to jam it a little bit as the show’s final moments approached.

I certainly wasn’t expecting anything to follow “WGTYM,” so “Rocky Top” was a real surprise. It was the other song played tonight that they’d played at my very first show – and it was the closer that night, too, so that was a fun little full circle piece of the puzzle for me. It ended the night on a high note that left attendees feeling happy, high and surely excited for two more great nights ahead.

This was a great first night of Deer Creek 2026 and an appreciated first night of my personal planned shows for this summer. This whole show was upbeat, focused, enthusiastic and summery and was perfect for the setting. I can’t wait to see how the next two nights unfold – and the rest of summer, too.

Per usual, at Deer Creek, I have a feeling they’ll be quite good. Hope you have a great rest of the weekend and summer tour overall – and I’ll see you back out there for more fun with the very best band there is.

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Phish Summer Tour 2026 continues tonight at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana. Livestreams of Phish Summer Tour 2026 shows are available with a LivePhish With subscription.

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