Ween co-founder Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman celebrates his 55th birthday today, March 17th. Though Ween is currently on an indefinite break, we thought we’d celebrate “Birthday Boy” Gener’s birthday with this musical tribute from his brother in Brown Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo—a tender reading of Frank Sinatra classic “Summer Wind”.
The cover comes from Ween’s 2023 Las Vegas run, which so happened to coincide with Gener’s birthday on the second of three nights at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. Three-night runs were always a celebrated occasion in the Ween-iverse, allowing the legendarily eclectic band a chance to stretch out and explore its vast catalog. The ’23 Vegas run featured 96 unique songs over the no-repeat weekend, including notable bust-outs of “If You Love Me”, “Dirty Money”, Falling Out”, and “LMLYP”.
Shortly before the birthday tribute, Ween dusted off its first “Dirty Money” since 1994. The demo from the Chocolate and Cheese sessions was a perfect song for Vegas, only to be outdone by the tribute to Ole Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra with “Summer Wind”. After surprising the playfully reluctant Gener with a birthday cake onstage, Deaner washed down a smear of icing with a menthol cigarette as he crooned “Summer Wind”. Glenn McLelland‘s organ swells gave the cover and the entire Brooklyn Bowl an air of class as Deaner wailed away on his musical gift to his musical partner of four decades—burning cigarette still in hand.
Watch Dean Ween deliver a birthday serenade to Gene Ween and revisit Live For Live Music‘s full coverage of the 2023 Vegas run here. Ween announced in August 2024 that the band would “step away from the stage for the foreseeable future” out of concern for Dean Ween’s mental health. Most recently, Deaner was photographed in the studio over the weekend with his son.
Ween — “Summer Wind” (Johnny Mercer, Heinz Meier) — 3/17/23
[Video: Michael Neal]