reCAP :: Ween :: 2016.11.26
Great rock bands have a distinct ability to make fans feel that each show is the best show they've ever seen them perform. Leaving the venue, and into the wee hours, they bond with buddies gushing, “How could they ever top THAT setlist?” only to do it again tomorrow, still in shock it's humanly possible to keep getting better and better from what already seemed to be the pinnacle. Ween has this ability.
Coming off Friday's first night of three, Ween reminded us last night just How High they can Fly.
When asked about the three-day stay, bassist Dave Dreiwitz shared the band's sentiments. “All I can say is, it's great to be playing with Ween, and it's great for Ween to be playing the Capitol Theatre. We are having a great time!”Covering ground from across their entire twenty-year catalog, complete with a debut and handful of bustouts, Ween is not messing around at The Capitol Theatre.
Perfectly placed amidst Ween's first-ever performances at the storied Rock Palace, the band introduced “I Gots a Weasel” into their live repertoire last night, rounding out the total to 55 songs played thus far in two days. Announced beforehand by Mickey as homage to their newest LP release on which it can be found, GodWeenSatan: Live, the crowd went crazy when he climbed into the telling entry chords.
Coming a few songs after “Stallion Part 3,” the debut not only offered high-energy fuel for the rest of the set, but it starkly reminded us how many Ween lyrics contain the word “weasel.” Since we got “Big Jilm” last night, we're looking for a “Squelch the Weasel,” and “In the Mood to Move,” to round out Weaselfest tonight.
Oft-chased “Ooh Va La,” "Springtheme," and “Woman and Man,” complete with swoony, Mickey-led heavy breakdown jam, offered rarities for fans lucky enough to see the band live frequently in their post-hiatus glory, while “Right to the Ways and The Rules of the World,” offered the first performance since they returned to the stage in February. Gritty anthem “Awesome Sound” contained the keyword “bitch,” as in, “We got Awesome Sound, goin down... bitch,” and created some pockets of moshing and raging in the heaviest way throughout the sold out crowd. Gener soon noted that we “Needed some Captain,” going into “Captain Fantasy,” led by heavy and consistent sickness on the drum kit by Claude Coleman, to a soaring “Captain” that slowed down the room like brown molasses. Given their nomenclature, it was a suitable pair to double up at the Cap Theatre, and just the type of subtle thing Ween does that makes us love them even more.
Fans and critics agree that this year has been some of the best Ween that's ever been played, and for that alone, we should be grateful. Gener looked to be healthy and happy, albeit missing from the stage during the first of four encore tracks, “Fiesta.” With the track being instrumental, perhaps he was just taking a breather for roughly three minutes after a heavy, raucous night of rock n roll. Mid-“Fiesta,” the band took a silent pause, yielding to a barage of hoots and hollers from the crowd as Deaner walked over to share a drag off his cig to Glenn on the keys mid-song. After a moving “Drifter in the Dark,” then crowd-sourced singalong that is “Someday,” they ended on one of the classic Ween closers, “Buenas Tardes Amigo” which was probably the most traditional thing about the evening.
If “Marble Tulip Juicy Tree,” teaches us anything, it's that “balance is for men, who learn to know.” Ween are showmen, dads, friends, master musicians, and above all else, they absolutely embody the last real thing left: rock and roll. To the band from the fans: May every show be the best show of your life just as it is ours; we hope you Stay Forever.
Setlist: Transdermal Celebration Mister Would You Please Help My Pony? Ooh Va La The Golden Eel The Stallion Pt 3 Woman and Man Springtheme Touch My Tooter I Gots A Weasel Dr. Rock Don't Shit Where You Eat Right To the Ways and The Rules of The World Awesome Sound Little Birdy Captain Fantasy Captain Zoloft Pork Roll Egg & Cheese It's Gonna Be a Long Night Your Party Big Jilm Learnin' to Love Piss Up a Rope The Mollusk E: Fiesta Drifter in the Dark Someday Buenas Tardes Amigo