Artist bio

Any goofball with a few guitar lessons under his belt and a few more bong hits in his lungs can blather away into a four-track, but it’d be next to impossible to equal the fucked-up genius that is Ween.

With their twisted sense of humor (borderline offensive songs about AIDS, homosexuals, and the mentally ill are the norm) and ability to seemingly master any genre of music (hard rock, country & western, psychedelic pop), Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman and Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo have carved out a singularly amusing career over the past 15 years. Crude, narcotics-addled early albums such as 1990’s God Ween Satan and 1991’s The Pod set the table with songs that ranged from alternate-universe masterworks or listener-baiting mindfucks (the latter’s “Pollo Asado” is the band ordering a meal from a Mexican restaurant). Ween somehow got signed to Elektra in time for 1992’s Pure Guava, highlighted by the insanity inducing “Little Birdy” and the helium-voiced “Push Th' Little Daisies.”

From there, it was one triumph after another: 1994’s pop/soul plate of Chocolate And Cheese, 1996’s straight-up Nashville romp 12 Golden Country Greats, 1997’s nautical-themed, pomp rock powerhouse The Mollusk, and 2000’s mature but masterful White Pepper, the group’s final Elektra album. Ween is also a notoriously must-see live act, a fact documented by 1999’s double-disc Paintin’ The Town Brown and a series of self-released concert sets.

Albums by this artist

Quebec (2003)

Live In Toronto Canada (2001)

White Pepper (2000)

Paintin' The Town Brown (1999)

The Mollusk (Recommended) (1997)

Chocolate And Cheese (1994)

The Pod (Recommended) (1991)

Concerts

May 12, 2000
The Riviera, Chicago, Ill.

Interviews

Ween Wonderland
August 25, 2003

White Pepper Time!
September 1, 2000

Ween

Live In Toronto Canada

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» BRAD CAFFEINE | STAFF WRITER

Ween Live In Toronto Canada Chocodog, 2001 RiYL: Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats, Beck, Frank Zappa

Reason #537 to love Ween: integrity. Less than a year after being dropped from Elektra, Gene and Dean continue to deliver the goods to their fans. Earlier this year, Weenies got a treat in the form of a remastered, bonus-track-included rerelease of the group's first official album, God Ween Satan via Restless Records. Now our favorite brown boys have decided to start their very own Chocodog Records and deliver this fantastic live album just in time for Christmas.

Though bootleg shows are very commonplace amongst Ween fans, this is their second official live album. The first being Painting The Town Brown, a two disc collection which Elektra released in 1999 against the wishes of the band. Apparently Painting The Town Brown was originally going to be a downloadable freebie on Ween's official site, but Elektra took over and released it commercially, though the band felt it wasn't really good enough to be an official release. It probably wasn't, but Live In Toronto Canada more than makes up for that.

The show comes from a 1996 show in support of 12 Golden Country Greats, and features Ween's touring country band, The Shit Creek Boys. Many Country Greats favorites are here, but the band also put their spin on many other songs coming from Ween's earlier albums as well. Songs like "What Deaner Was Talking About," "Push Th' Little Daisies" and "Pumpin' For The Man" all recieve the royal treatment and never sounded so polished. An early version of "Waving My Dick In The Wind" is also included, though at the time it was still unreleased. And as a special treat, the boys slow it down toward the end of their set for an especially Weenish cover of Billy Joel's "Piano Man."

No matter how you cut it, Live In Toronto Canada is a must-have for Ween fans. The band has even mentioned issuing official live shows like this from each tour in the near future, and where I sit that sounds great, as this show alone documents an incredible live band doing what they do best.

BRAD CAFFEINE |