Ween Performs At Wanee Festival On This Date In 2011

Ween took the stage at the Wanee Festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida on this date in 2011. The set featured the rarity “Monique The Freak,” a David Bowie cover and more.

The 2011 festival play for Ween — guitarists Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) and Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween), drummer Claude Coleman Jr., bassist Dave Dreiwitz and keyboardist Glenn McClelland — would come just ahead of the band taking a half-decade hiatus at the end of the year. Ween got things underway at Wanee with Gener leading the band through “Pork Roll Egg and Cheese” followed by “Bananas and Blow.”

Next up, the somewhat rare, “Beacon Light,” slid into the third song slot. The Wanee rendition featured a wild extended solo from Dean to close out the tune. Deaner then stepped to the mic for “With My Own Bare Hands” before Gene took back over for the staples “Transdermal Celebration,” “Waving My Dick In The Wind” and “Mister Richard Smoker.” The favorite “Gabrielle” followed ahead of the delightful wordplay on “Learnin’ To Love.”

The classic “Voodoo Lady” came next ahead of “Your Party.” In lieu of the song’s sultry sax line present on the La Cucaracha closer, McClelland served up a synth solo along with some electric piano stylings. Deaner then helmed the band’s instrumental tribute to late great Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel, “A Tear For Eddie,” for the first time in 2011 (last time played before Wanee 2011: July 17, 2010).

Ween then launched into the Prince-esque “Monique The Freak.” Although the band resurrected the tune in Athens, Georgia the day before Wanee for the first time since 2005, the Live Oak play marked just the third “Monique The Freak” since its debut on October 3, 2005 in Burlington, Vermont, as per Brownbase. Ween would go on to play the Shinola, Vol 1. (2005) cut four more times in 2011 accounting for almost half of the song’s total performances. Ween then delivered David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” which for a band that rarely does other artists’ material is about as close to a staple cover as Ween has in their repertoire. More original staples in “Pandy Fackler” and “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)” would follow ahead of the set-closing “Roses Are Free.”

Listen to the entire show below via Dan Nolan Jr for this edition of Full Show Friday:

Setlist (via Brownbase)

Set: Pork Roll Egg and Cheese, Bananas and Blow, Beacon Light, With My Own Bare Hands, Transdermal Celebration, Waving My Dick in the Wind, Mister Richard Smoker, Gabrielle, Learnin’ to Love, Voodoo Lady, Your Party, A Tear For Eddie, Monique the Freak, Let’s Dance, Pandy Fackler, Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down), Roses Are Free