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Ween at Music Tastes Good 2017 9/30/17. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.
Ween at Music Tastes Good 2017 9/30/17. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE MUSIC TASTES GOOD 2017 COVERAGE!

Long Beach, CA- Ween ain’t for everyone. Then again, everyone ain’t got an open mind about musical talent.

Ween is one of those bands people have a hard time putting in a genre. Often described as “alternative rock”, that nomenclature is the easy way out for “fans” to describe their music. Dean and Gene Ween (a/k/a Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo) have been rocking out since 1987 to music far beyond the reach of any categories. From blues to punk, to rock to country, this band’s free creative spirit- and basic middle finger to what’s “cool”- has endeared fans to their music with their clever (both musically and lyrically) albums.

And their fans? They are about as loyal as they come. Having met a handful of them on the first day at Music Tastes Good, they travelled from far and wide (the furthest flying in from Toronto for the weekend) and spoke ever so enthusiastically about their headlining spot at the festival. When I brought up the topics of shrooms and the band’s sacred cow, demon god “Boognish”, I got laughs and sly smiles from basically each person I talked too. I got the impression that a few of them may have added some fungi to their Taste Tent cuisine.

Ween at Music Tastes Good 2017 9/30/17. Setlist.From the perspective of an  outsider looking in, having Ween headlining night one of the two-day festival may have seemed a bit peculiar. After all, I’m not sure Live Nation or Goldenvoice would have even considered  slotting the band in to headline a major festival day . But this wasn’t a Live Nation or Goldenvoice event. This was a Long Beach event. This was an event inspired by the late Josh Fishel. This was an event that was curated in the image of its late founder. Apparently, Josh loved Ween- their cooky songs and their unorthodox approach to music- and it was only fitting that they were approached to be a headliner.

And, fans of the band … the ever so loyal fans … came out to enjoy that which might have never been. Considering that the band first called it quits back in 2012, Ween headlining anything, let alone playing together, seemed like a pipe-dream.

But after a 5 year hiatus, Freeman and Melchiondo reunited and raised the band back up from the dead, playing live and even releasing a new compilation album of live cuts.

Even if it was lost on other attendees- and whether it was even contemplated- their appearance at Music Tastes Good was about as poetic a tribute to Josh as there could be.  It was symbolic of the idea that even if something happens to go away, there’s always the possibility that it could come back … as long as there’s music to be played.

Follow Ween on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE MUSIC TASTES GOOD 2017 COVERAGE!

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