Radical Transparency

(in case the other blogs need a friend)

And We Danced

Might as well keep the vid posting streak going...

That thing's the reason I didn't sleep this past Christmas Eve.

The musicians are Tweed. They headlined our second music festival. And they played that song because they know how much my cousins and sister and I love Ween.

But Giuls missed it. She was peeing.

So, four months later, we borrowed a producer and recording studio from The Spinto Band and recreated the best we could.

On Christmas morning, I put an envelope under the tree. Inside was a strip of paper with a handwritten YouTube URL.

Tender

Ween's softer side...

They didn't play it for us quite so tenderly in Anaheim on Wednesday. What we experienced looked and sounded much more like this. But, regardless, you gotta love a band that isn't afraid to play the quiet stuff to a sweaty, dancing audience.

A Tear for Eddie is track 5 on Chocolate and Cheese. And the studio version of Tender Situation is track 2 on Pure Guava, though it might be one of those songs that didn't become great until the limitations of liveness smoothed it out.

(download)

And Left the People Running for the Hills

What impressed Giuls most about last night's show was Ween's ability to wear an audience down.

I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a compliment to any other band.

Transdermal Celebration is track 3 on Quebec.

(download)

'Cause If You Do

I like that this isn't a straight love proclamation. It's contingent on same-pageness. Which is a pretty good contingency, as contingencies go.

And I like that it's weird because it's Ween and it's not weird.

Stay Forever is track 10 on White Pepper.

(download)

Doin' The Stuff That You Do

The Gene Ween Band stepped in front of a theaterful of screaming Ween fans last night and surprised us all.

They could have opened up with Buckingham Green and turned the whole crowd into lead singers.  They could have tapped their Led Zeppelin roots (everybody but Gene plays in an LZ cover band) and rocked Over the Hills and Far Away.  But they didn't.

They started the show by playing almost an hour of brand new, unreleased music.

It was unorthodox, courageous, and awesome.  A classic Ween move.  I danced like crazy, leapt in celebration when they busted out the mini synthesizer for Blue Balloon, sang along what little I could during a second hour that mixed I Fell in Love Today, a couple of older, lesser known Ween songs, and Mr. Sandman Bring Me a Dream in among more new stuff, and screamed in vain for Buenas Tardes Amigo whenever I remembered to.

Only bummer was that Deaner wasn't there.

But dude deserves some time off, and I expect him to come back better than ever for the next tour.

Baby Bitch was my first Ween love, and I thought about attaching it to this post, but, as I mentioned on the Carrot Project blog this morning, I'm feeling the Valentine's Day spirit, so I feel like I need to attach the truest Ween love song I know.

Voodoo Lady is track 10 on Chocolate and Cheese.

(download)

Who Put the Doggy in the Dog House?

The Gene Ween Band plays in Philly on Tuesday. 

Dean's taking a vacation, but apparently Gene's got the itch.  He's recruited a few friends and booked a seven show tour.

Ten of us are going.  Mostly cousins.  And we figure it could take us as much as an hour to drive into the city and park.

And that means we'll need a mix.  A mix that'll both prepare us for the show and send us home with a kiss goodnight.

I started working on it today.

The Crash Test Dummies are involved.

Keep a Lid on Things is track 1 on Give Yourself a Hand.

(download)

As She Bounces Through the Blue Sky

I'm going to sleep on the eve of the election, and I feel like I ought to post a little Ween.

Maybe it's because I think my nerves medicine worked for the Phillies.

Maybe it's because my cousin Zach rolled down from NY today, and we discussed the fact that we expect our next Ween-inspired adventure to be even sillier than the last.

Maybe it's because, as a recent email just alerted me, my "mind has finally evolved into a child's circus land full of poop songs."

Regardless, Blue Balloon is track 2 on La Cucaracha, and I love it.

(download)

Poop Ship Destroyer?

I sent an email this morning to Jon from The Spinto Band:

We had an awesome time at 1st Unitarian in Philly on Friday.  I was jumping around like crazy, and Kevin and Kevin, two of Parker's musician friends were 100% into it throughout the show.  After the show we discussed, and we all (Parker, Giuls, Zach, Kevin, Kevin, and I) think you guys should work a Ween cover into your repertoire.

He responded:

We've been working on a 45 minute version of Poop Ship Destroyer.  It's almost ready.

Ambitious.  And true to Ween.  I'd probably go with something a little more crowd friendly.  A bridge song, if you will.  You know, ease people into things.  But if Poop Ship is speaking to you, Spinto, play Poop Ship.  I respect that.

Regardless, Poop Ship or no Poop Ship, I'm going to take Jon's email response as a promise that The Spinto Band will be covering Ween, in the near future, at a smallish concert venue near you. 

I expect The Spinto Band to take this blog post as a challenge.

Back to Basom is track 7 on White Pepper.

(download)