Phish in the Nineties: What a Time It Was
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- Phish wrapped their 92nd through 96th Madison Square Garden shows, a five-night stand built entirely around their early-Nineties songbook.
- Trey Anastasio dressed in period-specific looks featuring T-shirt designs he hadn't worn in years for the residency.
- Jonathan Schwartz discovered Phish while studying journalism at the University of Missouri, hearing 'Esther' from Junta blast through his fraternity brothers' open door.
- Schwartz's first Phish show was April 1993 at the 1,200-person American Theater in St. Louis, where Trey brought out Roger — the friend name-checked in 'AC/DC Bag' — to propose to his girlfriend onstage.
- At a 1998 Tower Records signing for The Story of the Ghost, Trey told Schwartz 'I'll do my best man. I promise I'll do my best' when asked to keep pushing the envelope.
- Schwartz now hosts a daily show on SiriusXM's Phish Radio — and 'Esther,' the song that first hooked him, was played on the final night of the MSG throwback run.
Why it matters: Phish's 92nd-through-96th-show MSG residency — each night pulling only from their early-Nineties catalog — shows how the band sustains fan loyalty by honoring specific eras. For Schwartz, the run closed a 30-year loop: 'Esther,' the song that hooked him in a Missouri fraternity, was played on the final night.
