Ep. 49: 06/11/2022, The Borgata Event Center, Atlantic City, NJ.

Ween Cast

New Jersey has a special place in the history of Ween. Hailing from just across the Delaware River, Ween basically got their start in Jersey, in now defunct but once iconic venues such as City Gardens in Trenton, and Court Tavern in New Brunswick. Before they were big, there was Jersey! Given this rich history, it might be surprising to learn that they hadn’t played in Jersey in 12 years. Damn, that’s a long time without Taylor Ham! But that all changed last month when Ween descended upon The Borgata in Atlantic City. Playing like they had house money, Ween rocked out yet another epic two-night stand. Weencast was there and we lived to tell the tale!

The second night started off loud and proud with a rock block that included You Fucked Up, Nan, and The Grobe. Nothing too rare here, but it was pretty cool because this was only the eighth time You Fucked Up was used as a set opener. After a hard rocking opening, they eased into the show with some jammed out commons from Chocolate and Cheese like Can’t Put My Finger On It and Roses are Free. Nothing too fancy, but some sweet bait for the less initiated fans among us.

Things started to really get brown when Ween laid out a trifecta of rarities: Oh My Dear (I Must Be Falling In Love), Stay Forever, and I Wuz Nuthin’. I think I’ve seen those live a grand total of 7 times, and in particular, Oh My Dear was played live for only the seventh time ever. It also featured Aaron with some superior solos on the guitar, and that is always a pleasure for sure!

Much like the previous night, Ween played music from all across their discography. Unlike the previous night, this night featured two songs from the Friends EP. Classic tunes that just don’t get too much airtime, if you ask me. Light Me Up, and then a little bit later Got To Put The Hammer Down, showed that the Friends EP is a force to be reckoned with. And I can’t be stopped when I break out my dueling hammers dance for Got To Put The Hammer Down! It’s smashing to say the least!

It was still early in the evening, after they finished off a slow and sombrous Albino Sunburned Girl, when they laid down one of the absolute highlights of the evening: Beacon Light with a ferocious 3-minute Deaner solo. Jammy pacs were strapped on and we were gone!

The evening was beginning to get a little late, when they once again blew our brains away with a trifecta of rarities: this time El Camino, Put The Coke On My Dick, and The Enabler. El Camino included some spontaneous Borgata related lyrics as well as a White Rabbit tease. Put The Coke On My Dick was hilarious, as you’ll hear about on our episode, because Claude had tons of family at the show and his moment to shine was all about coke and dicks and cocks. As he said, “It’s a living!” The Enabler is probably my favorite Ween cover and it is such an amazing and epic tune. I also love me some Dave, so it was a delight when he got to come up to mic.

In the lead up to the end of the main set, we were then treated to another amazing highlight: Claude on an epic 7-minute drum interlude for Never Squeal on the Pusher. At one point, he even dropped his stick, but just kept going bongo style. Rock on Claude, you legend!

Well, I don’t want to spill all the tea here because you should check out our episode! Saturday night was another big time throw down from Ween. Enjoy the episode and stay brown my friends!

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