Ween by Moses_Namkung
Ween is the best band. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t familiar with their catalog; they are your new favorite band now, full stop. And how can this be? Ween is an amalgam of every genre ever created to please human ears, wrapped into a “Boognish” burrito that arrives in the guise of Dean and Gene Ween.
Do you like the Beatles? What Deaner was talking about on 1994’s “Chocolate and Cheese” is an amazing homage to late-1960s Paul McCartney-isms. You like sea shanties? The Mollusk (1997) has you covered; it also has heart-shattering break-up songs, new wave freak-outs and a Broadway number. Ween has a country album. Ween does everything; they are the apotheosis of music
Photo by Dana Distortion
The band fooled us all for a minute there by stating that they were breaking up. In reality it was more of an open-ended pause to let the members deal with their inner demons. Gene blindsided Dean by announcing the split in an interview without having briefed his band mate first. Dean went on to captain a fishing vessel (as you do) while Gene worked on his addictions. The world was briefly devoid of free-form silliness and genre-defying brilliance; collectively, as a planet, we were the worse for it.
They’re back now, and on the road, confounding the uninformed with their inspired, style-jumping shows. It’s not every day that a band can be compared to the Butthole Surfers and Phish in the same sentence, but Ween is not any other band. Dean and Gene are graciously making our backyard the first stop on their “Florida-Georgia Line Tour.”
Alas, the earlier sabbatical left room for one of the band’s old labels to misbehave. Hence, the newly released “Bananas & Blow” — an unsanctioned cash grab combining most of their 1990 debut, “GodWeenSatan: The Oneness,” with other Ween tracks owned by the label. This was a very un-Ween thing to do, but our heroes will prevail as they slay the beasts of naiveté across the land, one night at a time, winning over converts and spreading the gospel of Ween. Welcome to the fold; the Boognish is pleased.
Ween play October 13 at the Fillmore Miami Beach. GET TICKETS! ween.com ~ Tim Moffatt
