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The Virtuosic Weirdness of Ween

Tales of a bizarre musical circus

The Virtuosic Weirdness of Ween
By Richard Kuřák
Mon 24th Nov, 2003 [updated Thu 29th Sep, 2005]		 Add to favorites email print this article Share on FaceBoook

Two of rock’s most twisted geniuses take the stage on December 2, when Dean and Gene Ween turn Akropolis into the next act of their bizarre musical circus.

Impossible to pigeonhole, Mickey Melchiondo (Dean) and Aaron Freeman (Gene) fearlessly digest every conceivable musical genre (and psychoactive substance), only to spit them back out in a wash of sick humor, wacky instrumentation, and mind-bending sound. But Weird Al these guys ain’t – beneath the penchant for parody and fondness for bodily functions are a couple of enormously gifted musicians and one of America’s most prolific songwriting pairs.

This talent shines through on “Quebec,” their latest (and mellowest) studio offering, which continues the band’s trend away from lo-fi clatter towards richer, multi-layered production. And they do it without sacrificing a shard of their wit or eclecticism. The Motor City madness of “It’s Gonna be a Long Night” kicks off the album, followed by “Zoloft,” the sugary sweet anti-tribute to one of our culture’s favorite cure-alls. And though the album dips successfully into country (“Chocolate Town”), ‘70s rock (“If You Could Save Yourself”), and unabashed pop (“I Don’t Want It”), the boys are at their Ween-iest on the utterly unclassifiable “So Many People in the Neighborhood” and “Happy Colored Marbles,” which are just plain fucked-up. And a single listen to the soaring, psychedelic anthem “Transdermal Celebration” shows you just how far out there this band can take you.

Don’t miss the wild ride – Tuesday, December 2 at Akropolis at 7pm. The posters promise three solid hours of music, so get there on time and get ready for the weird…

A page from Dean’s tour diary
Seattle -- i thought we had a night off after Portland so i stayed up all night only to find out at like 6am that we had a gig in seattle that day. so i kept drinking. i was so fucked up that i spent the last hour before the show in my underwear walking around the club and trying to figure out how to climb onto the roof somehow. we kicked ass and played a big brown set…my judgment was a little sketchy, but i thought the show was great. who knows tho, maybe it sucked. i ate tuna. let's see what else.... i forget what we did afterwards exactly but i think we went to a bar. i can't believe anyone reads these tour diaries. all we do is basically get drunk and play every night. some nights are better than others. Read more...

Other related Weenie links:
  • free Ween downloads
  • Frequently Unanswered Questions about Ween
  • The Onion interviews Ween
  • A conversation with Dean Ween
    • Article added on Mon 24th Nov, 2003 [last updated Thu 29th Sep, 2005]

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