The story of Ween has never been one of healthy choices or necessarily wise decisions. From the band’s innocent stoner beginnings through psychedelic-drenched early performances, a constant swilling of beers and smokes onstage through the years, and finally, an addiction-fueled breaking point that threatened to separate Boognish brothers Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman and Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo, it is safe to say that Ween is a band that never put its health first—until it nearly destroyed the group.
That’s why when the band canceled its April tour earlier this year so Dean could ensure his “mental and spiritual well being,” the initial wave of shock and self-pitying for canceled plans was quickly replaced by relief. A member of Ween put his health first and had the strength to say enough is enough. To borrow from Aaron’s beautifully raw “Covert Discretion” which recounts his struggles with addiction and his 2011 onstage meltdown in Vancouver shortly before the band broke up, “Man, you gotta end this / Just walk away / Your money or your life.”
Some five months after canceling the tour, the Boognish rose again as Ween returned to the stage for a sold-out, two-night run at the bucolic KettleHouse Amphitheater in Missoula, MT. Judging by appearances, those five months off treated Deaner well as he looked trim, sporting a fresh haircut and a Mickey Mouse shirt that added a youthful innocence to the grin he wore from ear to ear. In a reflection of this more conscientious state of latter-day Ween, on night one Gene shouted out some members of the band’s sober fan group the Sunny Bunnies after performing “Chocolate Town”, the song that gave the support network its name.
Friday was a great day in the Ween-iverse even for those not in attendance at the KettleHouse Amphitheater, as the band also released its 30th anniversary Chocolate and Cheese reissue. Out on streaming platforms and vinyl, the re-release includes 15 additional demos, many of which have never been released or performed. But even with over a dozen fresh songs to pick from, Ween continued to defy expectations 40 years into its storied career by debuting “Makin’ Love in the Gravy” from Craters of the Sac.
Released (or rather, leaked) in 1999 by Deaner himself as a digital exclusive, Craters of the Sac was an odds-and-ends collection of songs that didn’t make the cut for any of the band’s previous six studio albums. This nine-song collection was a precursor for 2005’s’s Shinola, Vol. 1 when Ween made proper studio recordings of previous demos—including “Big Fat Fuck”, “How High Can You Fly”, and “Monique the Freak” from Craters of the Sac.
Other Craters tracks include beloved Claude Coleman-sung rarity and every drunk idiot’s song request “Put the Coke on My Dick”, “Suckin’ Blood From the Devil’s Dick” which was rescued in 2022 and has since been a setlist regular, and “The Stallion Pt. 5”. With “Makin’ Love in the Gravy” making its live debut, there are still three Sac songs Ween has yet to play live: “All That’s Gold Will Turn to Black”, “The Pawns of War”, and “Big Fat Fuck”.
Though Gene’s voice was altered for the demo recording of “Makin’ Love in the Gravy”, he attempted to hit the same low guttural register live without any studio wizardry. While the low growl didn’t quite match the pitch on the recording made 30 years ago, Dean’s tone greatly benefitted from the live setting as his half-cocked wah wah pedal was reminiscent of Mark Knopfler‘s iconic sound from “Money for Nothing”. Dean then gave his pedal more of a workout on a sleek, psychedelic guitar solo as he and Gene laughed their way through the debut.
Ween — “Makin’ Love In The Gravy” — 8/3/24
[Video: The Stallion Mang]
Is “Makin’ Love in the Gravy” a “new” song? No. Are any of the extra tracks released on the Chocolate and Cheese album “new” songs? No. Will Ween ever write a new song again? I don’t know, but what I do know is that in two days, Ween delivered fans 15 never-before-released studio recordings and gave an original song its first performance of the band’s 40-year career. And what I do know is that—between opening their vault for ravenous fans and taking time to safeguard their health—the titular two of Ween are making some good decisions.
Check out some videos and full-show audio from Ween’s two-night run in Montana. The band has a Pacific Northwest run of shows in Washington and Oregon scheduled through the end of the week ahead of the Chocolate and Cheese anniversary concert at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on September 27th. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on Ween’s website.
Ween — “I’m Dancing In The Show Tonight”, “Take Me Away” — 8/2/24
[Video: ikwil]
Ween — KettleHouse Amphitheater — Missoula, MT — 8/2/24 — Full Audio
[Video: spitback]
Ween — KettleHouse Amphitheater — Missoula, MT — 8/3/24 — Full Audio
[Video: spitback]
Setlist: Ween | KettleHouse Amphitheater | Missoula, MT | 8/2/24
Set: I’m Dancing in the Show Tonight, Take Me Away, Transdermal Celebration, Light Me Up, Piss Up a Rope, Roses Are Free, Flutes of Chi, She’s Your Baby, Exactly Where I’m At, Happy Colored Marbles, I Wuz Nothin, The Stallion pt 3, Gabrielle, Up on the Hill, The Stallion pt 1, Stroker Ace, I Don’t Want to Leave You on the Farm, The HIV Song, Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down), I Don’t Want It, Chocolate Town [1], Ice Castles> The Final Alarm, Buckingham Green, Polka Dot Tail, Baby Bitch, Waving My Dick in the Wind, Doctor Rock
Encore: Don’t Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy), I Can’t Put My Finger on It, Buenas Tardes Amigo
[1] Gene dedicated the song to the “Sunny Bunny guys I flew here with”
Setlist: Ween | KettleHouse Amphitheater | Missoula, MT | 8/3/24
Set: She Wanted to Leave, The Golden Eel, Bananas and Blow, With My Own Bare Hands, Mutilated Lips, The Grobe, Even If You Don’t, Touch My Tooter, Object, Voodoo Lady, Laura, What Deaner Was Talkin’ About, Birthday Boy, Tried and True, Makin’ Love in the Gravy [1], Big Jilm, Mister Richard Smoker, Powder Blue, Help Me Scrape the Mucus Off My Brain, Pandy Fackler, Suckin’ Blood From the Devil’s Dick, Pollo Asado, Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?, The Argus, The Mollusk, Ocean Man, Loop de Loop, Your Party
Encore: Fiesta, Homo Rainbow
[1] FTP
The post Ween Celebrates Glorious Return To The Stage With “Makin’ Love In The Gravy” Debut In Montana [Videos/Audio] appeared first on L4LM.
