Ween Says Cheese 14-CD Live Boxed Set

Ava Taylor 09/25/2026

Ween performing live at the U.K.’s All Tomorow’s Parties, on May 9, 2008

Ween is taking its audience on an epic journey, digging deep into the sonic vaults of the 1990s with a sprawling new collection of live recordings. This latest archival push, centered around the sprawling Boognish Provides, pulls back the curtain on the band’s wild, genre-hopping road tours that defined a pivotal era.

This expanded collection draws from seven complete, previously unreleased concerts recorded between October 1994 and June 1995. This was the time when Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween) and Mickey Melchiondo (Dean Ween) were testing the limits of their musical range, taking the manic spirit of their records out onto the road with a full backing band for the first time. The project itself is named after the “demon god” Freeman claimed appeared to him as a teenager and insisted he hang out with Melchiondo.

The archival material is available in multiple formats, with a deluxe edition stretching across 14 CDs, or a 2LP version that condenses the seven shows into just 19 unforgettable performances. These concerts were captured across a diverse landscape, ranging from McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California, to the Metro in Chicago, First Avenue in Minneapolis, and the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia.

The sessions further explore the transition phase of the band, particularly the era surrounding the album Chocolate and Cheese. The recordings allow listeners to dive into twelve of the album’s sixteen tracks, offering rare glimpses into the band’s creative process. Fans can discover multiple takes of iconic tracks like “I Can’t Put My Finger on It,” “Take Me Away,” and “Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down),” alongside a rare acoustic rendition of “Voodoo Lady” and what is billed as the live debut of “A Tear for Eddie.”

But the journey doesn’t stop at the nineties. The collection pulls in sonic threads from earlier masterpieces, reaching back to foundational works like GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, The Pod, and Pure Guava, featuring tracks such as “Fat Lenny,” “Doctor Rock,” and “Push Th’ Little Daisies.” This deep dive highlights how the Ween sound evolved, showcasing early live versions of songs that would eventually grace later albums, including “Piss Up a Rope” from 12 Golden Country Greats and “The Blarney Stone” from The Mollusk.

One particularly memorable moment from these historic performances was a stunt that still sends a shiver down the spine: a 24-minute version of “Vallejo” recorded in Athens, which featured Melchiondo diving over the drum kit into drummer Claude Coleman before they both rolled down the stairs into the dressing room.

The history of the performances also touches on the band’s subsequent path. Following the archival work, Ween took a five-year hiatus between 2011 and 2016. In 2024, the band announced they would step away from the stage for the foreseeable future, a decision attributed to concerns regarding Melchiondo’s mental health. While the future of the group remains open, these newly unearthed recordings stand as a vibrant testament to a truly experimental and legendary period in rock history.