Fluffy at the Raccoon Motel -- April 13.
Saturday, April 13, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Composed of Geoff Rusch on vocals, Phil Lazzari on guitar, Jim Allen on bass, Don Nudi on drums, and Tom Flavin on guitar, keyboards, and smoke machine, the Midwestern Ween tribute artists of Fluffy headline an April 13 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the group playing favorites from such rock favorites as The Mollusk and White Pepper, both of which made the top five on Billboard's U.S. Heatseekers chart.
A rock outfit from New Hope, Pennsylvania, Ween was formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are known for their irreverent, highly eclectic catalog of songs inspired by funk, soul, country, gospel, prog, psychedelia, R&B, heavy metal, and punk rock.
Ween self-released several cassette recordings from their formation until 1989. Afterward, they put out three officially-released lo-fi albums: GodWeenSatan: The Oneness (1990); The Pod (1991); and Pure Guava (1992). For the latter release the band signed with major label Elektra Records, and the album spawned the single "Push th' Little Daisies," which was a chart hit in Australia and the United States. Under Elektra, the band released the professionally-recorded albums Chocolate & Cheese (1994), 12 Golden Country Greats (1996), The Mollusk (1997), and White Pepper (2000), though Ween returned to independent labels for their albums Quebec (2003) and La Cucaracha (2007). After a 28-year run, Freeman quit the band in 2012, but Ween reformed in late 2015 and toured extensively with no stated plans to release new recorded material.
For their first 10 years of existence, Ween performed live as a duo backed by a Digital Audio Tape. With the release of Chocolate & Cheese, they expanded to a four-piece act, later adding a fifth member as well. With their members including Claude Coleman Jr., Dave Dreiwitz, and Glenn McClelland, Ween also collaborated extensively with Andrew Weiss, who joined the band as a bassist in 1989 and also produced five of their nine studio albums. Despite never receiving much mainstream recognition, Ween developed a large, devoted cult following and garnered critical acclaim, with La Cucaracha named the 2007 Album of the Year by Magnet magazine.
Fluffy headlines their Davenport engagement on April 13 with an additional set by Cactus Lee, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $19.84, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
