https://forum.phish.net/forum/permalink/1377844789

You know how a friend or celebrity with a mercurial personality might occasionally be described by using their name twice? Something like this: "Hey, did you hear Dustin Diamond went to the Library of Congress and farted on the display of the Declaration of Independence?" "Yeah, well, what can you say? That's just Dustin being Dustin." Well, there are more than a few examples of "Mike being Mike" in Phish lore, like this one from The Phish Book (p.27-28):

Trey: Mike has a funny way of getting what he wants. Early on he wanted us to cover a Max Creek bluegrass tune called "Back Porch." He knew we wouldn't do it though, because not only weren't we into playing covers at that time, but we probably wouldn't have done it even if we were. Nevertheless, he came to band practice in Fish's bedroom one day and suggested we write a bluegrass tune together. "A lot of bluegrass songs start with a riff like this," he began, "and maybe we could do it in the key of A." Over the course of a three-hour band practice Mike managed to convince us we were writing a bluegrass original with middle sections, complicated harmonized riffing, the works. Max Creek came to Hunt's about six months later, and most of the band went to their show. Mike was acting kind of weird, though, probably afraid they were going to play "Back Porch." And low and behold, they did. "That's funny," I thought. "Our bluegrass song starts just like this one." Then I thought, "Hey, they're playing our song!"

You don't have to read too closely between the lines to discern how Mike's passive-aggressive nature might have grated against Trey's Alpha Male mindset (although "good guy Trey" tries to laugh it off as a "funny" story). But Mike seemed to relish the occasions that he could pull the rug out from under the bandmate he once sarcastically nicknamed "Leadership Qualities". The most notable occurrences from the stage are the 7/15/99 SOAMelt (began as 2001 until Mike jumped in with the bassline), 11/26/97 Poor Heart (which Trey starts as Rocky Top), and the Reba jam during the 2/20/93 Mike's Song. During the Reba earlier in the set, Mike struggles with his bass part, and possibly gives up trying to get back on track with the others. But during the subsequent jam in Mike's Song, he plays the same part without error, probably while bouncing on his trampoline. Hmmmm.

Due to this clash of personalities, I suspect that February 1993 might have been a time of increased tension between the two guys standing next to each other on the stage. And struggles during (the very difficult composition) Reba may have been the cause - check out Trey's aggressive playing in the 2/7/93 version - but just like at the Roxy, the tension during 2/15/93 was manifested in the Mike's Song > I am H2 later in the set. You can hear Mike's voice crack a little bit as he sings, and he starts echoing the voice crack over the guitar. Then when the tramps jam segment starts, Mike "freaks out" a little on his bass, playing some obnoxiously loud notes, and then he does it again during I am Hydrogen, twice trampling over all the bliss and serenity this song usually provides. Was he passive-aggressively trying to buck Trey's on-stage leadership? Was he acting out against his own self-consciousness about singing a song that was his namesake? Was he showing off for the chicks in the front row? It doesn't really matter why, but it does strike me as a clue revealing something about the weirdness during 2/20/93 set 2.

Otherwise, this is an exceptionally clean AUD recording, from the a capella Amazing Grace opener to the dedication > Contact > Fire encore. Maybe it isn't the sharpest show from this era, but it's still an interesting glimpse into the band's interpersonal dynamics.

"Thank you! Don't go away! Don't go away, we'll be right back! Don't do anything we wouldn't do during the break! Just... sit there! Stay calm! STAY CALM! Remain calm, it's time for the intermission!"