Ween Plays First Philadelphia Show In Nearly A Decade

The recently reunited Ween kicked off a series of late August shows last night with a performance at Festival Pier in Philadelphia on the banks of the Delaware River. Guitarists Dean Ween and Gene Ween brought their band featuring keyboardist Glenn McClelland, drummer Claude Coleman, Jr. and bassist Dave Dreiwitz 40 miles due south of the town where Ween was born, New Hope, for 31-song performance that drew from every era.

Ween kicked off the show with one of their earliest songs, “Nan” off 1990’s GodWeenSatan: The Oneness. The five-piece then took fans on a tour of their celebrated catalog plucking “Transdermal Celebration” off 2003’s Quebec, “The Grobe” off 2000’s White Pepper, “Mister Richard Smoker” off 1996’s 12 Golden Country Greats and “Roses Are Free” off 1994’s Chocolate & Cheese. A double dose of 1997’s The Mollusk of “Buckingham Green” and “Mutilated Lips” was then split by Shinola rarity “Did You See Me?”

The band continued to show off material from different periods of their illustrious career as 1991’s The Pod was first represented by “Frank,” while their most recent studio album 2007’s La Cucaracha was represented on Sunday night by “Learnin’ To Love” and “Your Party.” Die-hards were treated to a fair share of rarities including the third-ever “Kim Smoltz,” the fifth-ever “The Stallion, Pt. 1,” the fourth-ever “Transitions” and the biggest surprise of the night – Gener’s solo rendition of “I’ll Miss You.” The latter was last played on a Ween stage way back in 2003.

Towards the end of the evening Ween’s guitarists strapped on acoustics for a five-song segment that included “The Mollusk,” “Kim Smoltz,” “Chocolate Town,” “Tried & True” and “The HIV Song.” Ween put a focus on beloved favorites after the acoustic segment with “Spinal Meningitis,” “Waving My Dick In The Wind” and “Doctor Rock” among the songs leading up to the set-closing Philadelphia anthem “Freedom Of ’76.” The five-piece put an exclamation mark on their first Philly performance since 2007 with a three-song encore of “Big Jilm,” “Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?” and “Buenas Tardes Amigo.”

Videos

[Freedom Of ’76 | Captured by 215music]

[Roses Are Free | Captured by 215music]

[Bananas & Blow | Captured by 215music]

[The Grobe | Captured by 215music]

[Kim Smoltz | Captured by clw132]

Setlist (via Brownbase)

Set: Nan, Transdermal Celebration, The Grobe, Mister Richard Smoker, Roses Are Free, Buckingham Green, Did You See Me?, Mutilated Lips, Frank, Bananas and Blow, Learnin’ to Love, Happy Colored Marbles, Your Party, Touch My Tooter, Gabrielle, The Stallion pt 1, Transitions, I’ll Miss You, The Mollusk*, Kim Smoltz*, Chocolate Town*, Tried and True*, The HIV Song*, Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down), How High Can You Fly?, Waving My Dick in the Wind, Doctor Rock, Freedom of ’76

Encore: Big Jilm, Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?, Buenas Tardes Amigo

*acoustic