Ween Rocks Portland's Roseland Theater

by Jason Hicks

The mighty Ween are on my short list of must see bands every time they play remotely nearby. I have managed to see them at least once a year for the last few years, including an awesome trip to Vegas in '05 when they played at the Hard Rock Casino. Needless to say these guys put on a great show and always provide a fun night of rockin' tunes, even as their repertoire has grown more diverse over the years.

While the band started as somewhat of an inside joke between two close friends in New Jersey over twenty years ago, somewhere along the way their songwriting matured (somewhat) and they mastered their instruments. Today the two core members, known as Gene and Dean Ween (no they aren't really brothers) alongside their longtime touring band members, are a live juggernaut like no other. Combining styles as diverse as punk, classic rock, funk, country, and even calypso and Latin themes on occasion, they present a truly unique take on each by filtering these modes through the patented Ween brand of twisted humor.

Last Monday's show at the Roseland Theater (in Portland, Oregon) found the band in typical take-no-prisoners form. Busting out of the gate with classics from their White Pepper and Chocolate and Cheese albums, including an over 10 minute version of "Voodoo Lady", there were few low points throughout their two hour set. Packing in 28 songs plus a five song encore the band as always provided plenty of bang for the buck, although the show sold out in a matter of hours back in August and doubtless many paid well over face value for tickets. They even stopped mid set to take requests, which were promptly vetoed and disregarded.

The highlight of the show had to have been the sea shanty, "The Blarney Stone". Yeah that's right, they sing shanties too. The song brought out the rowdiness of the packed to the gills crowd, and by the end everyone in the club was screaming along at the top of their lungs. That's my kind of crowd participation! My personal highlight was scoring an outstanding print by artist Jermaine Rogers. Unfortunately the merch guy would not sell me an extra for my friend who was waiting downstairs to stash them in the car.

Hopefully the next time they come to town they will play more than one night, like the two night stand they played at The Crystal Ballroom here in Portland in 2003. Not only will it allow more folks to catch them, but with a reserve of songs as large as theirs is, each show is quite different which makes it worthwhile to catch them on consecutive nights.

Check out their latest album, La Cucaracha on Rounder Records.

Comments

[Alex Pasco]

So jealous you were able to make it! I spaced it and couldn't get tickets. Their new album is fantastic, best in my opinion since chocolate and cheese. Great live review.