With a band so prolifically productive as Ween, even the most well-informed fans run the risk of completely overlooking some rare gems. Though the band—helmed by Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo and Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman—have only officially released nine albums since 1990, the group has hundreds of bootlegs, demos, and live recordings floating around the internet and rattling around in CD changers. Like a cosmic foil to the tape trading fans of the Grateful Dead and Phish, Ween possesses its own trove of archival material.
The ever-expanding vault of Ween material received yet another addition on Sunday with newly unearthed footage of a 1989 concert in New Jersey. Uploaded by exhaustive Ween YouTube documentarian The Stallion Mang, the videos capture Gene and Dean performing at Pranzatelli’s Stereo and TV (which is still in business) in Bound Brook, NJ on January 2nd, 1989.
The Pranzatelli’s show finds Ween nearly two years away from its debut release, 1990’s GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, and still in a primal state. The classic configuration sees Deaner shredding away on a Strat (presumably barefoot) while Gene handles frontman duties in what can only be described as a repurposed bar mitzvah blazer. Drummer Claude Coleman Jr. is still five years away from joining the band, so percussion is handled by a drum machine. Dean cedes the one guitar over to Gene for “Don’t Laugh (I Love You)”, taking up bass duties for the tune. Gene also dons an acoustic for “Big Baboons”, “Nan”, and the encore “Red As Satan”.
Everything about the handheld audience video recording screams DIY, as the mounted camera flashlight shines directly into Dean and Gene’s faces. The 11-song, 34-minute set sees a number of tracks that will appear on GodWeenSatan, including “Licking The Palm For Guava”, “Tick”, “Don’t Laugh (I Love You)”, “El Camino”, and an unfinished “Nan”. “Stacey” would appear on the 25th-anniversary edition of the album, released in 2001. Ween also offers its Prince-inspired “L.M.L.Y.P.” (also found on The Oneness) and an unfinished “Welcome To The Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses.
For an audience recording made in 1989, the audio and video quality is surprisingly high. As for the quality of the performance itself, the band’s abrasive edges are what give this archival concert its charm. The band embraces the lowest of the lo-fi, as distortion and off-key screaming exude the star power that landed Ween a recording contract around this time. All told, the Pranzatalli’s Stereo and TV show exists more as a historical document highlighting the band’s progress than required listening. The concert is just the eighth-ever show archived on Brownbase.
Watch Ween perform at Pranzatalli’s Stereo and TV in Bound Brook, NJ on January 2nd, 1989 via the player below.
Ween –Pranzatelli’s Stereo and TV – Bound Brook, NJ – 1/2/89
[Video: The Stallion Mang]
Setlist: Ween | Pranzatelli’s Stereo and TV | Bound Brook, NJ | 1/2/89
Set: Opus 51 Fugue Trilogy in A (Take Me to the Tree)> Licking the Palm For Guava, Stacey, Don’t Laugh (I Love You), Tick, LMLYP, El Camino, Big Baboons*, Nan (unfinished), Welcome To the Jungle (unfinished)
Encore: Red As Satan*
*acoustic
– Opus 51 is Parts A (Yurtle Swimming) and B (The Tree) only
– Dean on bass, Gene on Dean’s guitar for Don’t Laugh
– El Camino was the last song on the DAT – the rest of the show is without backing tape
– Gene on acoustic for El Camino and Nan, solo acoustic for Big Baboons
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