10/22/96 was only the 5th time Phish had ever played “The Mecca” of Madison Square Garden. After this year’s New Year’s run they’ll be up to 38 shows, but on this rare night 19 years ago, the Vermont Four were joined by two very special guests during their encore. Legendary Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles and frequent Jerry Garcia cohort, Merl Saunders, were in the building that night and delighted fans to only the second “All Along The Watchtower” Phish has ever played.
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Luckily for us, someone had the wherewithal to record the meeting between Miles, Saunders and Phish backstage and some rehearsal footage during set break readying themselves for the encore. Check out some of that backstage footage as well as the performance of “Watchtower” below:
[Photo via George Kalinsky for Madison Square Garden]