by Jason Ankeny
The first in a projected series of Dick's Picks-styled archival live recordings on Ween's own Chocodog label, Live in Toronto Canada s an October 23, 1996, date in support of the now-classic 12 Golden Country Greats. Backed by the Shit Creek Boys -- a group of veteran Nashville session men led by pianist Bobby Ogdin -- the tour in question was perhaps the apotheosis of the live Ween experience: Ogdin's countrified arrangements breathed new life into chestnuts like &Doctor Rock& and &What Deaner Was Talkin' About,& and the Jack Daniels-fueled interplay between Deaner and Gener with the aging Nashville cats was pure magic. (As Deaner's liner notes point out, &The 8-piece band sounded like a 747 landing on your house.&) Far more effective in capturing the life-altering genius of the Ween live show than the earlier Paintin' the Town Brown collection, the disc divides evenly between 12 Golden Country Greats Material (including &Japanese Cowboy& complete with &Chariots of Fire& coda and an epic set-closing &Fluffy&) and fan favorites (i.e., &Push th' Little Daisies& and &Buenas Tardes Amigo&), culminating in a rendition of Billy Joel's &Piano Man& complete with the new chorus, &Sing us a song, you're the piano man/Put some coke on my dick tonight.& F*ck yeah.