Ween

What can one say about Ween? They are called prog-rock, trippy stoner music, and somehow that label doesn’t really miss the mark. We showed up at the Warfield just in time to take our 3^rd balcony seats and catch their opening song, a slow instrumental track from their new album, White Pepper.

Upon arrival we also noted that much of the fog in the theater wasn’t coming from the ample fog-producing fog machines on the stage, but rather from somewhere in the crowd. And it smelled funny. This show being in San Francisco, I just chalked it up to our close proximity to the Cannabis Club. They believe in their freedoms there. I didn’t mind a bit. I was just surprised.

Gene and Dean were backed up by some dude on bass (I don’t think it was producer / friend Andrew Weiss, but it could’ve been), and also a keyboardist and live drummer. They meshed like a finely woven tapestry. Dean whipped out some wicked solos; one especially stuck out on "Voodoo Lady," where he did a little of that special effect thing that makes your guitar talk. Gene brought out a megaphone to add some life to the vocals for "Reggaejunkiejew" and even broke his guitar on stage after attempting a solo on another song that didn’t go as well as he’d hoped. It looked like they might have been taking too much of their medicine because they got a little sloppy by the end. For future reference I’d also say if you’re going to the Warfield, get the festival seating tix, General Admission, because they are definitely a participatory experience. Sitting on your ass in the 3^rd balcony won’t cut it.

Their performance overall was awesome. You think in listening to their albums that there’s no more to them than just weird lyrics about daisies and Japanese Cowboys, but they can actually play. Gener can sing like few others and Dean, though quite reserved on the mic (he didn’t talk much), uses the guitar like it was an extra appendage. Some other highlights were when they played "Big Jim" and broke into the Doors’ "Riders on the Storm" midway, and one of my personal favorites, "Dr. Rock," which, well, just plain rocked. Awesome sound, going down, that’s Ween.

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