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THURSDAY
Neo-hippies have been discovering Ween in greater numbers since the turn of the century, but the way-burnt duo won’t be replacing Phish as the earth-kids’ band of choice anytime soon. Gene and Dean Ween embrace acid-eating, sure, but they also have no patience for orthodox psychedelic bullshit. In their world, drugs are for laughing, not noodling. But the two do have one thing in common with all those endlessly galavanting head-trip bands: As they age, they’re much better onstage than on disc. The duo hasn’t put out an unequivocally classic CD since 1997’s sea-soaked The Mollusk, but when they’re up in the club, they’re usually locked and loaded. Their secret weapon is longtime drummer Claude Coleman Jr., a man who’s never met a beat he couldn’t spank. He looks just as happy blasting through the band’s infamous encore of “Hot for Teacher” as he does when Gene and Dean require him to keep time for a faux-Floyd excursion or an overfried country ditty. If that concept seems a bit “meta,” so what? It’s the kind of thing that keeps the nonhippies coming back. Feel the love at 9 p.m. Thursday, June 10, at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $25. (202) 397-7328. (Joe Warminsky)