Ween in Philadelphia 8/21/2016
Festival Pier at Penn's Landing
Words: Lou Cervantes
Photos & Vids: Alex Buschiazzo
When Ween Plays, It Pours
Out of all the venues in Philadelphia, the one I have refused to step foot in over the last several years has been Festival Pier in Penn’s Landing. Part of it is because it’s nothing more than a fenced off parking lot on the side of Delaware Avenue but most of this stems from when they moved the once great Jam on the River festival here several years ago (last time they had Jam on the River it was back at its original Great Plaza location on the other side of the bridge). After the move, there was something that angered me about having to see a show at Festival Pier. To me, the place has always felt that it was lacking something. I’d skip over seeing bands that decided to play here for this reason. Nothing could bring me to see a show here. I didn’t care who it was, I’d skip over them to save myself what ultimately has always been a lackluster concert experience at a horrible venue. Until this past April when Ween chose this dubious spot as the point where their gallant return to the Philadelphia stage would take place.
If there is one band that could bring me out to a show no matter what the condition, it is most certainly Ween. It goes beyond the fact that they put on a good live show. Or that they’re local hailing from the wonderful little town of New Hope which is just north of Philly. Or that their songs take me to a variety of places no other band touch. Ween’s music is a part of me. It’s been the one band that has been by my side ever since the years I started getting into great music. I feel like a piece of me has grown along with every new release by the band stemming from the first album by them I ever owned, The Pod, which I purchased while in middle school. To top it all off, I had seen them earlier this year during their first night at Terminal 5 up in New York and, like any other time I’ve seen them over the years, they were awesome. With the announcement for the Philly show coming just days after the Terminal 5 run there was no way I was going to miss it.
Anybody that knows about me and concerts knows there is one thing I hate at a show: rain. It’s one instance if you’re in some faraway hippie wilderness half naked and covered in paint but it’s another when you’ve gotta walk back to your car in a major city and drive home. Yesterday afternoon it was pouring down in Philadelphia. When it starts pouring, bouts of anxiety before a show begin to creep in. There were times when I’ve walked up to the entry gate with stormy skies and felt like I was being given a life preserver and thrown off a boat in choppy waters. That’s how I feel. And yesterday afternoon was no exception. Maybe it’s the survivalist in me or the fact that I take more control over my life these days by over-preparing for the worse but there was nothing more I did not want to happen than to be soaking wet in a humid Penn’s Landing parking lot with the wish to go home and put dry clothes on trumping whatever music was coming from the stage. So I resorted to doing things I never do, wearing flip flops and bringing a backpack to a show. Two cardinal rules of mine I broke but for some reason felt nothing was going to take me away from enjoying last night. I even brought a poncho with me. I was prepared to be set free in a deluge.
When I walked up to the venue just as the doors were opening, the rain was falling at a much slower pace. By the time I walked through the front gate it had stopped. I resorted to a spot back near the soundboard where i usually like to be at any show I attend. There was a haze in the sky on this particular Sunday magic hour. The anxiety present in the afternoon leading up to the show slowly began to be replaced with a sense of relief. It seemed everything was going my way. I found free parking a couple blocks away from the venue which is always an added bonus whenever driving to a show especially in the city and the line at the gate moved rather quickly which was another plus. Upon entering the venue for the first time in years, and much to my luck, the parking lot was now covered with dirt and the area between the soundboard and the stage had a tarp laid out which seemed to go perfectly with my flip-flops. To top it all off, while waiting for the show to begin I noticed a rainbow over the Ben Franklin Bridge wiping away any signs of more rain moving in during showtime along with the possibilities of prematurely ending the show. A big smile came across my face as I knew where the pot of gold was at the end of that rainbow and that, for once, I had stumbled upon it.
Ween was back and what at one time seemed to be a venue I would refuse to step foot in had somehow succeeded in providing me with a wonderful concert experience. I thought I would never say this but I am happy they decided to play Festival Pier as it all seemed to make sense on a late Summer night. They are a Delaware Valley band and what better backdrop for them to return to Philadelphia than by having the skyline out in the background. For anybody that has ever been to New Hope they will agree that the hometown love was in the house last night. On the way in, I saw frequent Dean Ween collaborator Guy Heller heading backstage as well as members of the Lambertville band ‘The Satellite Hearts’ roaming around while before ‘Learning to Love,’ Gener gave a shout out to his longtime friend Meshell who owns the New Hope shop ‘God Save the Qween’ (aka the worldwide headquarters of Ween merchandise). Eddy Dingle’s laments were laid out in the ‘Nan’ opener, the area breakfast sandwich staple of a pork roll egg and cheese was given homage mid-show in ‘Frank’ and somewhere in the crowd Jimmy Wilson was dancing during a raging ‘Wavin My Dick in the Wind’ during the latter part of the show. Just as the song ‘Mutilated Lips’ suggests, “everything was turning brown.” Even the humor was present especially after ‘Roses Are Free’ (arguably their most popular song) when Gener announced to the crowd : “and that song is called Roses Are Free.” It’s the kind of sarcasm no other band can pull off as good as Ween without seeming cocky and it’s part of the reason why I’m such a big fan of their work. Before ‘Freedom of ’76,’ which appropriately ended the show, Gener gave a shout out to the Eagles, Flyers and talked about missing Philadelphia (as he now lives in upstate NY). In the end, the only thing that poured on this Sunday night in Philadelphia was the onslaught of songs from Ween’s large catalog. Thirty-one in total and not one dull moment. At this point I can only hope for another local Ween show in the not too distant future as seeing them twice this year has been a treat compared to the previous ones over the last decade. The Boognish was shining brightly upon the crowd last night in Philadelphia with Glenn, Claude, Double D, Deaner, and Gener responsible for bringing its power back to the musical stage. If there’s one thing missing in this world when Ween is not playing music it is that the world is most certainly less brown.
Out of all the venues in Philadelphia, the one I have refused to step foot in over the last several years has been Festival Pier in Penn’s Landing. Part of it is because it’s nothing more than a fenced off parking lot on the side of Delaware Avenue but most of this stems from when they moved the once great Jam on the River festival here several years ago (last time they had Jam on the River it was back at its original Great Plaza location on the other side of the bridge). After the move, there was something that angered me about having to see a show at Festival Pier. To me, the place has always felt that it was lacking something. I’d skip over seeing bands that decided to play here for this reason. Nothing could bring me to see a show here. I didn’t care who it was, I’d skip over them to save myself what ultimately has always been a lackluster concert experience at a horrible venue. Until this past April when Ween chose this dubious spot as the point where their gallant return to the Philadelphia stage would take place.
If there is one band that could bring me out to a show no matter what the condition, it is most certainly Ween. It goes beyond the fact that they put on a good live show. Or that they’re local hailing from the wonderful little town of New Hope which is just north of Philly. Or that their songs take me to a variety of places no other band touch. Ween’s music is a part of me. It’s been the one band that has been by my side ever since the years I started getting into great music. I feel like a piece of me has grown along with every new release by the band stemming from the first album by them I ever owned, The Pod, which I purchased while in middle school. To top it all off, I had seen them earlier this year during their first night at Terminal 5 up in New York and, like any other time I’ve seen them over the years, they were awesome. With the announcement for the Philly show coming just days after the Terminal 5 run there was no way I was going to miss it.
Anybody that knows about me and concerts knows there is one thing I hate at a show: rain. It’s one instance if you’re in some faraway hippie wilderness half naked and covered in paint but it’s another when you’ve gotta walk back to your car in a major city and drive home. Yesterday afternoon it was pouring down in Philadelphia. When it starts pouring, bouts of anxiety before a show begin to creep in. There were times when I’ve walked up to the entry gate with stormy skies and felt like I was being given a life preserver and thrown off a boat in choppy waters. That’s how I feel. And yesterday afternoon was no exception. Maybe it’s the survivalist in me or the fact that I take more control over my life these days by over-preparing for the worse but there was nothing more I did not want to happen than to be soaking wet in a humid Penn’s Landing parking lot with the wish to go home and put dry clothes on trumping whatever music was coming from the stage. So I resorted to doing things I never do, wearing flip flops and bringing a backpack to a show. Two cardinal rules of mine I broke but for some reason felt nothing was going to take me away from enjoying last night. I even brought a poncho with me. I was prepared to be set free in a deluge.
When I walked up to the venue just as the doors were opening, the rain was falling at a much slower pace. By the time I walked through the front gate it had stopped. I resorted to a spot back near the soundboard where i usually like to be at any show I attend. There was a haze in the sky on this particular Sunday magic hour. The anxiety present in the afternoon leading up to the show slowly began to be replaced with a sense of relief. It seemed everything was going my way. I found free parking a couple blocks away from the venue which is always an added bonus whenever driving to a show especially in the city and the line at the gate moved rather quickly which was another plus. Upon entering the venue for the first time in years, and much to my luck, the parking lot was now covered with dirt and the area between the soundboard and the stage had a tarp laid out which seemed to go perfectly with my flip-flops. To top it all off, while waiting for the show to begin I noticed a rainbow over the Ben Franklin Bridge wiping away any signs of more rain moving in during showtime along with the possibilities of prematurely ending the show. A big smile came across my face as I knew where the pot of gold was at the end of that rainbow and that, for once, I had stumbled upon it.
Ween was back and what at one time seemed to be a venue I would refuse to step foot in had somehow succeeded in providing me with a wonderful concert experience. I thought I would never say this but I am happy they decided to play Festival Pier as it all seemed to make sense on a late Summer night. They are a Delaware Valley band and what better backdrop for them to return to Philadelphia than by having the skyline out in the background. For anybody that has ever been to New Hope they will agree that the hometown love was in the house last night. On the way in, I saw frequent Dean Ween collaborator Guy Heller heading backstage as well as members of the Lambertville band ‘The Satellite Hearts’ roaming around while before ‘Learning to Love,’ Gener gave a shout out to his longtime friend Meshell who owns the New Hope shop ‘God Save the Qween’ (aka the worldwide headquarters of Ween merchandise). Eddy Dingle’s laments were laid out in the ‘Nan’ opener, the area breakfast sandwich staple of a pork roll egg and cheese was given homage mid-show in ‘Frank’ and somewhere in the crowd Jimmy Wilson was dancing during a raging ‘Wavin My Dick in the Wind’ during the latter part of the show. Just as the song ‘Mutilated Lips’ suggests, “everything was turning brown.” Even the humor was present especially after ‘Roses Are Free’ (arguably their most popular song) when Gener announced to the crowd : “and that song is called Roses Are Free.” It’s the kind of sarcasm no other band can pull off as good as Ween without seeming cocky and it’s part of the reason why I’m such a big fan of their work. Before ‘Freedom of ’76,’ which appropriately ended the show, Gener gave a shout out to the Eagles, Flyers and talked about missing Philadelphia (as he now lives in upstate NY). In the end, the only thing that poured on this Sunday night in Philadelphia was the onslaught of songs from Ween’s large catalog. Thirty-one in total and not one dull moment. At this point I can only hope for another local Ween show in the not too distant future as seeing them twice this year has been a treat compared to the previous ones over the last decade. The Boognish was shining brightly upon the crowd last night in Philadelphia with Glenn, Claude, Double D, Deaner, and Gener responsible for bringing its power back to the musical stage. If there’s one thing missing in this world when Ween is not playing music it is that the world is most certainly less brown.
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Bananas and Blow
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Roses are Free
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Freedom of 76
The Grobe
8/21/2016 - Philadelphia
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
Stallion Pt. 1, Transitions, I'll Miss You, The Mollusk, Kim Smoltz, Kim Smoltz 2: The Smoltzening
Chocolate Town, Tried and True, The HIV Song, Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)
How High Can You Fly, Wavin' My Dick in the Wind, Dr. Rock, Freedom of '76
Encore:
Big Jilm, Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?, Buenas Tardes Amigo
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
Stallion Pt. 1, Transitions, I'll Miss You, The Mollusk, Kim Smoltz, Kim Smoltz 2: The Smoltzening
Chocolate Town, Tried and True, The HIV Song, Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)
How High Can You Fly, Wavin' My Dick in the Wind, Dr. Rock, Freedom of '76
Encore:
Big Jilm, Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?, Buenas Tardes Amigo
