WEEN strapped on their jammy pack and put the hammer down at the end of their 2018 fall tour with two nights of sold-out shows at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lots of local fans turned out to be sure, but as I spoke with people in the audience each night, I would often learn that not only were they from out of town but also that this was their 2nd, 3rd, 4th (or more) show that they’ve attended on this tour.

WEEN
Palace Theatre
St. Paul MN
Photo by Marty Lang

Saturday 11/3/18 Highlights:

     Opening with “Nan”, “Take Me Away”, and “ The Stallion Part 1”. Lead guitarist Dean Ween took a moment between the first two songs to reminisce and tell some quick stories about his time spent in the Minneapolis / St.Paul area as a child, which made a real connection with the crowd, especially the local folks.

     A quick change over to acoustic guitars to perform some fan favorites “Chocolate Town”, “Kim Smoltz”, “The Mollusk”, and for the end of “I don’t want it” Gene Ween picked up his electric guitar and scorched out an absolutely crushing guitar solo.

      An extended jam session of “I’ll be your Johnny on the spot”, a rare performance of “Transitions” and a psychedelic light show during “Happy Colored Marbles” were certainly noteworthy as well. A dedication of the song “Springtheme” to Prince was a nice nod to the local legend, but what I didn’t expect was a cover of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” as one of the encore songs.

WEEN
Palace Theatre
St. Paul MN
Photo by Marty Lang

Sunday 11/4/18 Highlights:

     Opening the night with a mellow start “Don’t Sweat it” and building up into “Don’t get 2 Close 2 My Fantasy”, things shifted into high gear pretty quick with “Gabrielle”, a funky jammed out “Monique the Freak” and “Voodoo Lady” all back to back.

     “Israel” was a special treat for the final show of the tour, but what I definitely would not have predicted was to witness a WEEN cover version of the Metallica mega-hit “Enter Sandman”.

     “Push th’Little Daisies” and “Homo Rainbow” were also included in the setlist, ending the night off with “What Deaner Was Talking About” and “You Fucked Up”.

If you haven’t had the chance to see WEEN in concert, put that on top of your list of things to do because their live show is an absolutely incredible experience. It’ll put you in the mood to move, goddammit.