Ween - 8/1/06 - State Theater

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!! Is there any better band out there? Not in my book. So as you can tell I was very excited to learn they were playing in my neck of the woods. I was a little surprised at the choice of venue, as the State Theater seems more apt to attract more intimate shows, but bring 'em on anyway. The night was billed as "An Evening with Ween," which means there was no opener. The crowd was all ready to seen Ween and only Ween. Looking down on the stage was the one and only Boognish. An icon if there ever was one. Opening their set with no hesitation with "She Wanted to Leave," Gener tells a tale of fruitless love amid the cruel seas. Charging their way through their set, they followed with fairly straight forward versions of "AIDS" and "Spinal Meningitis," possibly two of their most offensive songs, yet the crowd most certainly did not take offense as everyone sung along.



Things became more and more jammy throughout the night as they went into extended versions of "Voodoo Lady (definitely needed) and........"Pandy Fackler" which really was not necessary. Gener left the stage during the song as the keyboard jam extended to the nearly 20 minute mark and had me wondering if he was coming back. But of course, Gener was johnny on the spot as he ran back like a hero to save everyone from the doldrums of hippy jamminess. The set contained a very wide variety of older stuff from God Ween Satan such as the superb "Fat Lenny" to newer stuff from Shinola such as the rawkus "Gabrielle." Thrown in for good measure was a cover of Eric Clapton's "Cocaine," which followed "Bananas and Blow" appropriately. Highlights of the night included the progressiveness of "Buckingham Green," the power pop balladry of "Even If You Don't," and post break-up theme song "Baby Bitch."



Even selections from 12 Golden Country Greats (Powder Blue and Help Me Scrap the Mucas Off My Brain) were rendered during their acoustic encore set. The showtime ran up the the three hour mark. Much of the engery of the set was lost during the annoyingly long Pandy Fackler jam, and I felt very confined to my spot in the venue being that we had assigned seats. Another disappointment was the lack of new songs, considering they are in the process of finishing up their new album. But all in do time, and not many bands can hold a candle to Ween's live show. And when they come back to the cities again when the new album is out (which they most certainly will, as they sold out the State) I'm sure it will be at a more appropriate setting and newer songs will become live classics. Long live WEEN!.