Ween Unveils ‘Boognish Provides’

2026 has been an exceptional year for Ween fans. 

No, they haven’t announced a reunion tour or a new album or anything like that. Rather, Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo — known famously as the gimmick brother duo of Gene and Dean Ween — have been in archival mode lately and getting deep into the catalog game. . 

Working in collaboration with Rhino, the New Hope, Pennsylvania, duo kicked off the year with The Brown Box, which collected remastered versions of all the Ween studio albums from God Ween Satan: The Oneness to La Cucaracha for the very first time. While completists will never part with their OG CDs or cassettes, to have all nine albums in one neat brown package is pure physical media manna. 

Next came the 30th anniversary edition of the pair’s 12 Golden Country Greats over the summer, which expanded the album into a three-disc set that included demos and outtakes from their inspired sessions in Nashville with such legendary musicians as Charlie McCoy, Hargus “Pig” Robbins, Bobby Ogdin, Buddy Harman, Buddy Spicher, Pete Wade and The Jordanaires. 

Now the duo has announced their second box set of the year in Boognish Provides, which arrives Oct. 16 via Rhino and contains seven previously unreleased concert recordings from Ween’s storied Chocolate and Cheese tour spread across 14 CDs.

This tour marked the first time Gene and Dean hit the road with a full band rounded out by bassist Andrew Weiss and drummer Claude Coleman as opposed to their DAT machine playing drum loops and the occasional involvement of bassist Chris Williams aka Mean Ween.

Boognish Provides captures seven full concerts from that tour: McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA (10/9/94), The Metro, Chicago, IL (10/30/94), First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN (10/31/94), The 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA (2/10/95), Hof Ter Lo, Antwerp, Belgium (3/27/95), Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO (5/20/95), and Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA (6/16/95).

Across the seven concerts, Ween plays 12 of the 16 songs from Chocolate and Cheese, with multiple performances of “I Can’t Put My Finger On It,” “Take Me Away,” and “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down).” Album highlights include a rare acoustic “Voodoo Lady” at McCabe’s Guitar Shop and the live debut of “A Tear For Eddie,” Deaner’s heartfelt instrumental tribute to Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel, at The Metro. 

The setlists reach back to Ween’s earlier albums with “Fat Lenny” (GodWeenSatan: The Oneness), “Doctor Rock” (The Pod), and “Push Th’ Little Daisies” (Pure Guava). They also look ahead with early performances of songs that would appear on Ween’s next three albums, including “Piss Up A Rope” from 12 Golden Country Greats, “The Blarney Stone” from The Mollusk, and “Flutes Of Chi” from White Pepper. 

The tour’s sound engineer, Kirk Miller, says the 24-minute “Vallejo” played at The 40 Watt Club in February 1995 and can be heard below was extra special. 

“From the start, the band and crowd were hyped, and the show ended with Mickey diving over the drum kit into Claude, and the two of them rolling down the couple of stairs into the dressing room, locking the door behind them,” he recalls.

Also available will be a 2LP set containing 19 key performances from the box. Both titles can be preordered here.

 

Show Listing

McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA (10/9/94)

The Metro, Chicago, IL (10/30/94)

First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN (10/31/94)

The 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA (2/10/95)

Hof Ter Lo, Antwerp, Belgium (3/27/95)

Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO (5/20/95)

Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA (6/16/95)

 

2LP Track Listing

LP One

Side One

“Don’t Sweat It” (02-10-95)

“Take Me Away” (10-31-94)

“Don’t Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy)” (05-20-95)

“The HIV Song” (10-30-94)

“Ode To Rene” (10-09-94)

 

Side Two

“Weed Whore” (06-16-95)

“Demon Sweat” (10-30-94)

“Flutes Of Chi” (10-09-94)

“Fat Lenny” (03-27-95)

“Pumpin’ 4 The Man” (06-16-95)

“Nan” (02-10-95)

“The Stallion, Pt. 3” (05-20-95)

 

LP Two

Side Three

“Doctor Rock” (02-10-95)

“Papa Zit” (10-30-94)

“Voodoo Lady” (06-16-95)

“Drifter In The Dark” (02-10-95)

“Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?” (10-09-94)

“Reggaejunkiejew” (10-31-94)

 

Side Four

“Vallejo” (02-10-95)

 

AUDIO: Ween “Vallejo” (Live at the 40 Watt Club in Anthens, Georgia, 2/10/95)