Ween
"Live in Chicago" DVD + CD
Sanctuary
Records
Genres: indie pop, indie rock
band
website
Oct 4 - 10 2004 |
On November 7th, 8th, and 9th, Dean, Gene, and the rest
of Ween rented out Chicago's Vic Theater and hosted "An
Evening With Ween." Legions of fans attended and, up until
now, only the glowing reviews of the lucky audience members have shed
any light on how well things went. But it's deep into 2004, and
Sanctuary Records has done the public a great service in releasing the
performance in both DVD and CD form.
The key to this release is the DVD, as it boasts an impressive
twenty-six songs, and transports the listener (to the greatest extent
possible) right into the action. The CD only has seventeen
songs, and they're more or less the DVD's tracks without the video.
Right from their opening, that familiar, instantly hum-worthy pop
tune known as "Birmingham Green," we can tell the band is on
their game. The instrumentation is notably tight, the boys are
having fun, and the crowd is understandably elated. Watching Gene's
acrobatic, smoothly playful vocals escape from his lips in real time
is worth the price of admission alone, especially on classics like
"Pork Roll Egg and Cheese" and "Even If You
Don't." It's a wonder he can still do it after all these
years. "Mutilated Lips" and "Big Jilm" are
also standouts, but the legendary "Voodoo Lady," with its
monster solo, and "The Blarney Stone" (the last song of the
night) seem to be the grand attractions.
Live albums and videos are suspect releases, often just put out to
fund the gap between real records, but this is a remarkably enjoyable
DVD. Inessential, perhaps, but those who invest in Live In
Chicago should be thoroughly satisfied, Ween diehards or
not.
88%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
26 videos + 17 audio tracks, distributed everywhere, released 2004] |
