As we’re now in Phish’s eighth year of their modern incarnation (can you believe it?!), one pattern that has emerged is that the early shows of their summer campaign are mainly used as laboratories for the band, as they attempt to re-assert themselves in new ways on stage while “playing themselves into shape,” so to speak.

This is not to say that they don’t practice before tours or that these shows cannot be entertaining in their own rights (for example, the tremendous 7/24/15 show was the fourth of last summer, and both Wrigley shows and St. Paul had their share of pleasures), as much as it the acknowledgment that a band that improvises music on stage has to do things a bit differently than a band that cranks out most of their new album and a judicious selection of their greatest hits for an hour or so before saying their goodnights. Everyone that’s following the band is waiting for the first “classic show” and “monster jam,” and I have faith that both are coming, while being excited about the shows and jams they’ve given us this year.

Which brings us to show #4 of the tour, played at what is officially known as Klipsch Music Center, but will forever been known to the faithful as Deer Creek. Expectations were high for the show, as one might expect. It’s a Sunday show, and we know not to miss those, and Deer Creek has played host to many winners (one of which, 8/13/96, was blessed with the LivePhish treatment). Even a thunderstorm that caused the show to get pushed back about an hour did nothing to dampen the spirits of the attendees.

Set one opened with an inspired selection in “My Friend, My Friend” (which last opened a show in 2003), then moved to a typically churning “Kill Devil Falls” and a loose-limbed “Camel Walk” to get the people out of their soggy seats and dancing. Next came “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing,” the only real acknowledgment in musical form of the rainstorm that the crowd and band had had to endure earlier that night. In keeping with the other shows, the playing was tight and impressive (although they still can’t quite nail those opening vocals on “ASIHTOS”), which is the best you can hope for in an opening frame without one of those “jams” I keep hearing so much about.

Then came another fun trilogy of songs, as bouncing country number “Poor Heart”, replete with howls from our good pal Jon Fishman, gave way to catalog mainstays “Tube” and “Halley’s Comet.” “Tube,” in particular, stood out due to the slower tempo in which they took the song, reminiscent of the “AC/DC Bag” from the MSG New Year’s run, and Trey brought in the Echoplex (we’ll hear more about that toy of his later), to very nice effect.

“Maze,” that beloved bastion of tension-release, comes up next, and they rip through the tune with much the same energy as the wonderful version on 7/22/15 (Page, in particular, just flying on the keys), then the Chairman takes a moment with a “Lawn Boy” that finds Mike throwing down a really weird effect on the bass and Page holding that final note for lengths no mere mortal can sustain. After thanking the crowd for their patience from the rain delay, Trey introduces a new song, “Breath and Burning,” and promises “a line about Page.” This new song, a sweet and bouncy tune with some interesting imagery that does indeed mention Page (as a way to get him to take the lead on keys), sounded pretty good for its initial offering, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on the new album. A typically crazed “Saw It Again” follows up, then an interesting late-set one choice with a nicely-played “Theme From The Bottom,” before “First Tube” brings the set to a raging close.

Set two started with a double-shot of “Punch You In the Eye” and “Back on the Train,” and the former managed to steer clear of the jarring errors of some of the more recent “PYITEs,” while the latter gave Trey the chance to stretch his legs and luxuriate in the jam. There may not be any improv in this segment, but I think it’s worth the listen nevertheless (and who can say no to “PYITE?”). But the next three songs constitute the real meat of set two, and make up one of those segments that I think can and should be considered one solitary jam (or a jam sequence, if you’d like).

“Light,” that reliable 3.0 staple, makes its Summer 2016 debut, and Trey flips on his MuTron from the start to help lead the band into waters not normally traversed in “Light.” Page suggests the major key, and they steer into a warm and lovely zone not too removed from the famous calypso jam from 8/7/09’s version. Mike holds it down as Trey plays some soaring and uplifting notes. Fish starts thumping away on his mini-toms to add some color and the jam begins to die away, Trey adding some staccato notes as Page gets in his elfin notes and Mike fires off the Meatball effect to cheers from the crowd (personal experience note - I’ve been near the speakers when Mike gets that meatball off, and you can feel it in your chest). The clavinet makes its presence felt, and the jam drifts away into space.

That jam, by itself, would be an easy highlight of the first week of the tour, but there’s still more to come. Trey starts hinting at “Golden Age” as the embers of the “Light” jam die out, and they roll into a shaggier take on the TV On The Radio cover, before the Echoplex makes its way back into the fray and Mike adds some weirdness flavoring as the jam starts to turn inwards and dark 10/20/13 style. But Mike has a different idea, and suddenly the burbling notes of “Boogie On Reggae Woman” start up and the band make the move into Stevie Wonder’s classic tune in a quite lovely segue. And lest you think they’d gotten all of their jamming out of their system, the resulting jam in “BORW” blurs the lines between Types I and II, Mike going darker with his bass-playing and taking the lead as Trey and Page offer him some really tremendous backing. The jam comes to a bit of an abrupt finish, from which a ferocious “Wingsuit” steps in (“Wingsuit” has really established itself as a landing pad in set two), and after a lovely take on “Shade” shows that they haven’t gotten rid of that new song yet (and I hope they don’t), “Possum” blasts in and ends set two on an energetic high note. “Rock and Roll," in the (curfew-busting) encore, is a perfectly delightful way to finish the show.

Parting thoughts: the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle are still coming together, but (like the Wrigley shows) there is still plenty of improvisational magic when they do hook up, and “Light” > “Golden Age” -> “Boogie On Reggae Woman” is definitely worth hearing.

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