Gene Ween's Kid Sings... Ween

The Invitational; Johnny Williams Benefit
John and Peter's Place
96 S Main St
New Hope, PA
August 26, 2026

"I always say, Deaner is sports, Poppa is art and THAT'S Ween. You can just tell by the way they perform. I love the band, I saw them 80 times."

-Seth "Cooter" Morton, Ween fanatic (scroll down for a video interview with him)

Dean (Deaner) and Gene (Poppa) Ween started playing music with each other in high school. Dean was more of a jock and Gene was the weirdo. Although both of them are highly creative musicians, it's this dichotomy that makes Ween stand out. In Ween, you have at once a straight hard-rock band and an avant-garde experiment existing together as one, often even in the same song.

For the uninitiated, let me enlighten you... this area you live in, that is Philadelphia/Trenton/South Jersey, is Ween country. The Ween lore rolls deep here and the Ween family and fans even deeper. And if you are a true Ween fan you know that Gene and Dean Ween (Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo) hail from New Hope, Pennsylvania, and that many of their earliest gigs were at the infamous "John and Peter's Place" on Main Street in New Hope.

I hopped a ride with some friends headed to a Ween-themed event on Wednesday and got in over my head. We were swept up with a current of folks headed to this Ween mecca who were there to party and sing along to their favorite songs. John and Peter's has been a bar/restaurant/venue since 1972, and every Wednesday they host "The Invitational," which is a rotating band of industry professionals that get together and jam on covers they love. Over the years, Ween members have stopped in to play with them and do sets. It would be safe to say that this is a very Ween-centric event. This night was pretty special and the lovely Ashton Freeman (that's Gene Ween's kid!) was there to hang out and sing with the band.

The bar itself felt like a relic of a disappearing America. It was a dark, oddly shaped place with all the trappings of a good dive bar. The smaller entrance area opens up to a larger room with low ceilings that is the venue. There are deep wooden booths and banisters surrounding a slightly elevated stage that really works as a great spot to watch live music. You quickly adjust to the views of the players with their heads half invisible from hanging stage lights. The venue is covered in stickers and has a bunch of gorgeous stained glass windows (one amazing one of Rick Flair), plus framed press photos of all manner of well known musicians from the past with autographs praising the show space. 

"The Invitational" band was a full seven-piece crew including saxophone, guitars, a great keyboard/synth player and a rotation of different singers. The first half of the night was like a warm-up with the band hitting cover after cover, sometimes in medley form, of groups like Pink Floyd, the Cars, Hendrix and other heavy hitters. We got to see the technical prowess of each player as they took turns letting loose and showing us what could do. Here's a wild little synth solo the keyboardist gave us a taste of:

As half time rolled around, the band took a break and most of the bar let out into the backyard for a smoke. That's when I got some good time in meeting some the local characters that came in for the event, including Cooter, who, as stated at the beginning of this article, has been to more than 80 Ween shows.

By the time the band started back up for the Ween set, the crowd was more than ready and very rowdy. Looking around, it was cool to see representations from multiple generations. Ween seems to draw effortlessly from so many different genres that it makes sense that the people who listen to them are all huge music fans themselves, and it was amazing to see that coalesce in a party atmosphere around live music. In an era of live-streaming and reels, it's important to remember there's nothing quite like being there and feeling the music and everyone here was so present in the moment.

I'm sure its apparent from the footage what a good time it was being here. So if you've been wondering what it might be like, or intrigued by the whole 'Ween thing,' let me be the voice that tips your decision and lets you get over yourself and go have a good time. Put on whatever manner of weird "Boognish" gear you can find, join in on this season of summerween and let the crowd booze you up and get you high.