Mister, Would You Please Listen to My Ween-ey
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Gene Ween, like Paul Simon, writes pointed and catchy pop songs, while Dean Ween is a new breed of goofy guitar god, the best ax man since Eric Clapton in his Cream peak. Their obvious genius and superior body of work is amazing when you think they are the same stoner band that used to crank out jams in their pad, The Pod, and like juicy melons plucked from the ground that have not yet been washed, release the four track demo's "as is." Now the twosome that make Ween are married with children and have cut back on the drugs that defined their early years. But maturity has not taken the fun out of the band.
Ween proved their validity at two sold out shows at the Fillmore where they laid down over two hours of phat beats that assimilated all of rock's many forms from Country, punk, Pink Floyd style stadium rock, to quirky show-tunes. The intimate acoustics of the Fillmore made every guitar squeal, synthesizer hum, and drum patter crystallize in the ear and form an experience -- although harder hitting than their transparent albums -- that never sacrificed any of the color or sweet tones. They opened with What Deaner Was Talkin' About, a dewy morning fantasy about the melancholy felt when coming down from a mushroom trip. Explosive was the grandeur of The Golden Eel, a soaring nautical adventure that was the sonic equivalent of a deep sea IMAX spectacular. During Eel and other songs demanding big sounding guitar work Dean made the strangest grimaces, like Kermit the Frog getting an enema, ever made by a grandstanding guitar player. The Fillmore projected nature scenes from above and below water throughout the show that complimented the vagabond wanderings of the songs. Although at one point, Gene Ween thought it was getting a little to hippy dippy artsy fartsy. "Please cut out the Northern California nature scenes," he asked the projectionist. "Go back to the giant eye or something." His order was obeyed, but by the time he got to sing the title track to The Mollusk giant turtles were back squirming around the ocean floor. The whole band stopped at one point to watch the trippy effects themselves. Ween see themselves as deserving of long showcasing concerts, much like you would expect from Bruce Springsteen or Metallica. The concert was entitled "An Evening With Ween," and supplied no opening acts. However, after two hours there was a laundry list of great songs the Ween did not even get to. They were open to play an entirely different set on night two. But no doubt both evenings featured songs from their 1990 debut album GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, which has been remixed with three bonus tracks added and will be released mid September. That's their only excuse for this 2001 summer tour, as their latest offering, White Pepper, is already a year old. Ween say they would like to be like Prince, the Beatles, Parliament or any band that can release many albums and still come back and do it better than before. But Ween have been disciplined with their output, shelving hundreds of songs, and only putting out an album every couple of years. Still, eight great CDs are on the shelves bearing their name. Gene's lyrics are artful and true to everyday life, like in Sorry Charlie, an early song from their Pod days, describes one loser refusing the entreaties of another: ÒAnd now you're standing at the station / Tryin' to take what I ain't got to give / Oh and I'm so sorry Charlie / I've got my own life to live / Just call your friends at college / Wonder why you didn't stay / And my boss is coming down soon Chuck / He's drunk so you can't stay.Ó The lyrics of their fantasy songs go even further as in Spinal Meningitis, about a boy pleading with his mom about the pain of his condition, or Mister, Would You Please help My Pony? about another boy seeking help for a pony with a clogged up lung. Their surrealistic lyrics often drift into comic territories like Piss Up A Rope, about a cowboy giving his ball and chain the boot, or Touch My Tooter (you interpret that one), and have led many critics to mislabel them a joke band. The main culprit for this reputation, however, is the hilarious helium voiced ditty Push th' Little Daisies that became an MTV favorite when it was featured on Beavis & Butt-Head in 1992. But no band could be more serious, and their ability to fuse humor into rock is only a testament to their unusual talents. How many funny, non-novelty songs can you name? The concert ended with a dozen partying chicks taking the stage to dance during the bouncy musical lollipop Roses Are Free. The bouncers allowed most of the girl's to crowd the performers during the songs but any male fans attempting to shake their stuff on stage were quickly pushed back into the crowd.
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