Ween guitarist Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo celebrated his birthday earlier this week by giving fans a present. Deaner uploaded audio of a Ween performance from 1990 he considers “the best Ween show of all-time.” The amazing recording is this week’s Full Show Friday selection and can be streamed below or downloaded via the Internet Archive.
Melciondo and Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman toured Europe in support of their debut album GodWeenSatan: The Oneness from September 1990 through March 1991. “We lived in our tour manager’s apartment (Rene De Wever) in Eindhoven, Holland for 6 MONTHS and would jump off to other countries in his Renault Le Car with our tape deck and play gigs for gas and shelter, the three of us,” Mickey explained in a note accompanying the upload.
The audio is from a gig that took place in Basel, Switzerland. Deaner said no one was in attendance when the show started and only five people wound up checking out the concert. Ween mixed material from GodWeenSatan with songs that would be released on future albums as well as covers of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Cat Stevens’ “Where Do The Children Play.” Read the full note from Melchiondo and then stream the audio:
ween—basel, ch — So……if you think you’re down with the brown….old school……this is the reality of Brown. We rolled into Basel Switzerland while promoting our first album by touring Europe from September of 1990 to March of 1991. We lived in our tour manager’s apartment (Rene De Wever) in Eindhoven, Holland for 6 MONTHS and would jump off to other countries in his Renault Le Car with our tape deck and play gigs for gas and shelter, the three of us. This is us in Basel, Switzerland in front of NO PEOPLE (except Rene), until the end of the gig when we had 5 people. Our sound guy was named Pidah, and this is the best Ween show of all time. On my birthday I GIVE IT TO YOU. I’ve submitted this for consideration as a live Ween record and no one has ever gotten back to me — so here it is…………..I humbly lay this at your feet………listen up and learn what Brown can do for you…..this is pure Ween……..
Setlist (Compiled by Randy Bayers)
Set: The Star Spangled Banner, Nan, Papa Zit, Bumblebee, Seconds, The Goin’ Gets Tough From The Getgo, Where Do The Children Play [Cat Stevens cover], Captain Fantasy, Boing, Old Queen Cole, LMLYP, The Wind Is Whispering, Squelch The Little Weasel, You Fucked Up, Tick, Marble Tulip Juicy Tree, Tender Situation (false start), Tender Situation (inc. The Star Spangled Banner coda) (cuts)
