Ween is not a jam band. This was my second thought last night when my brother’s friend said she’d never listened to Ween, but had heard that they were kind of like the Grateful Dead. My first thought was that the only similarity between the two bands was that they both play music using instruments.
But about 17 songs through their 28-song set (plus two encores), I realized that wasn’t exactly true. As a recovering Phish addict (40+ shows), I have become distinctly “jam band-phobic,” and was thus loath to admit that Ween does in fact indulge in the occasional 10-minute jam/freak-out. And while I would still rather see a tight rendition of a well-written rock song, Ween’s jams (which last night were limited to 4 out of 30 songs) represent what I like most about the band; quite simply, they do everything.
Sure, they’re a jam band. But if you’re going to slap that label on them, then they’re also a country band, a hard rock band, a pop band, a techno band, a punk band, a soft rock band, a comedy band and dozens of other classifications. Excepting 12 Golden Country Greats (a 10-song Nashville “country” record), these styles area all present on each of their albums, with shifts so dramatic track-to-track that a confused listener could possibly (and understandably) think he was listening to a mix CD of several different artists.
La Cucaracha, Ween’s most recent effort and their first release on Cambridge-based Rounder Records, is a case in point. The album begins with the instrumental Mexican party explosion “Fiesta,” and finishes with “Your Party,” a velvety soft rock ballad recounting a very classy party (complete with David Sanborn’s smooth sax stylings). In between, you’ll find the vulgar, angry hard rock number “With My Own Bare Hands,” the poppy bluegrass gambling anthem of “Learnin’ To Live,” and the straight-up laid back reggae “The Fruit Man.” While these stark contrasts and wild variations may frustrate (and rightly confuse) some listeners, this versatility is exactly what fans love about the band.
Last night’s show bore this out in spectacular style. They quite simply did everything. They covered vast stylistic ground in their setlist, from Mexican party (the aforementioned “Fiesta”) to a tropical island song about cocaine (“Bananas And Blow”), to a trance-like jam lauding the use of anti-depressants (“Zoloft”), to country music with bizarre lyrics (“Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain,” “Piss Up A Rope”), to hard rock (“The Grobe”) and to simple, brilliantly written rock songs (“Transdermal Celebration,” “Gabrielle”). And they do it well. These aren’t gag attempts at different genres to impress; the band fully immerses itself into each style and nails it, dead on, every time.
What enables this ability to perfectly mimic any genre is the extraordinarily high level of musicianship of the band. Dean Ween (aka Mickey Melchiondo) is one of the most accomplished guitarists and songwriters in all of alternative rock. His solos aren’t flashy (no tapping or shredding here), but rather incredibly well thought-out, and always the perfect match for the feel of the song. The songs he and Gene write are complex, catchy and fit perfectly into whatever genre they happen to be in at the moment (a quick listen to the dead-on Nashville country of “12 Golden Country Greats” will dispel any notions otherwise). Gene Ween’s (aka Aaron Freeman) singing (and he does sing nearly every song) varies as much as the styles they play. If you close your eyes, it’s hard to believe it’s the same person singing in so many distinct voices (this actually confused the hell out of me when I first saw the band, and assumed the singing duties were evenly split amongst the band). The rhythm section is also extraordinarily strong; Claude Coleman, Jr. (with the band since 1994) is one of those drummers who rips off an immensely complex fill with seemingly no effort, and Dave Dreiwitz (who joined in 1997) is as solid a backbone as you could ever want, whether he’s playing a perfectly unvaried bassline for a 10 minute space jam on “Zoloft” while Dean makes noise, or weaving a walking line around Dean’s expert rhythm playing. On keyboards is Glenn McClelland (also with the band since 1997), who ably fills the role of being required to produce anything from a soulful Rhodes to a country piano to a techno lead part. Though given relatively few opportunities to take the spotlight, when he does it’s clear why he is a solid touring veteran of such bands as Blood, Sweat And Tears and The Eagles.
Beyond musical ability, undoubtedly the best part of a live Ween show is just how tight the band is. Their 10 plus years of playing together is evident as they absolutely nail every single stop, tempo change, ending and hit in between. And it’s not just mere rehearsal and repetition, churning out the same version of each song every time, that makes this one of the most exciting live bands to see. They are so proficient in the material and tuned in to each other that they are able pull off any variation on a whim, and do it perfectly. By way of example, in the second and final song of their encore, “Roses Are Free,” as both Dean and Gene are playing the lead riff on guitar, they spontaneously walked to the front of the stage (in front of the mics and monitors) and played the final minute of the song inches from the crowd, forgoing singing the final chorus. The band picked it up and ended the song perfectly, without a hitch, and barely even looking at each other for cues. It was as if that’s how the song is ended every time they play it. It was quite obvious that there was a level familiarity and comfort which allows them to experiment and vary their live performances with absolutely no loss in the quality of the product they present. This can certainly not be said of many jam bands.
Another popular aspect of Ween is their humor, which was also in evidence. Is there any other band that can write a song about HIV/AIDS and put it to calliope music (where the only words in the entire song are “AIDS” and “HIV”)? No one is going to argue that the lyrics are deep or poetic (in the traditional senses), but they vary from strange to hilarious. In the final encore, “Roses Are Free,” Gene sings “Eat plenty of lasagna ‘til you know that you’ve had your fill/Resist all the urges that make you want to go out and kill,” delighting the crowd. In the fan favorite Piss Up A Rope, Dean angrily spouts “You ride my ass like a horse in a saddle/Now you’re up shit’s creek with a turd for a paddle,” as the fans sing along, word-for-word. The humor isn’t always so obvious, and can border on the disturbing. “Object,” a track off La Cucaracha, is a softer rock number which starts off with Gene proclaiming “You’re just an object to me/I’d like to get to know you better,” but quickly becomes dark as the next stanza begins “You’re just a piece of meat/And I am the butcher/I love you better, love you forever.” These conflicting messages are only further confused by the final lyric in the song “You’re just an object to me/I feel a little better/They found your sweater.” And this is just the beginning. Every Ween song is at the very least a little off, and at best absolutely hilarious.
So in summary, what does a live Ween show have to recommend itself? How about two plus hours of music with no breaks, more styles of music than you can shake a stick at, one of the tightest bands in rock today, humor, and a truly insane fan base. For $25, it’s not a bad deal. Sure, you’re probably not going to love every song, and there’s a good chance you’ll get offended (if not by “The HIV Song” then probably by “Spinal Meningitis Got Me Down”). But in my book, that is a small price to pay to see one of the best bands in alternative rock today.
Setlist:
Fiesta
Nan
Take Me Away
The Grobe
Transdermal Celebration
Bananas and Blow
Spinal Meningitis
Learnin’ to Love
Voodoo Bathroom
Your Party
Did You See Me
Piss Up a Rope
Touch my Tooter
Got to Put the Hammer Down
Stroker Ace
Object
Buckingham Green
With my Own Bare Hands
Zoloft
Tried and True
the Mollusk
Help Me Scrape the Mucus…
I Don’t Want It
Dr. Rock
Waving My Dick in the Wind
Gabrielle
Woman and Man
Someday
E:The HIV Song
Roses are Free
Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
By the way, I really liked the mp3 posted. Thanks.
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.””
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
