Watch Gene Ween & Sean Lennon Perform “Oh Yoko” Live In 2010
See video of Aaron Freeman joining Sean Lennon in covering the classic tune written for his mom by his late father during Plastic Ono Band event in Brooklyn
Today, while listening to the Fiery Furnaces song, “Far Away,” the piano in the chorus reminded me of John Lennon‘s playing. That led me to pause my new copy of the group’s Blueberry Boat reissue and put on the song “Oh Yoko” from Imagine. That action, in turn, reminded me that Aaron Freeman, aka Gene Ween, once performed the song with the reformed Plastic Ono Band. There’s been a somewhat surprising trend of me posting about not only WEEN, but Yoko Ono and even Sean Lennon, as of late. It’s a bit odd, now that I recognize it, but I follow my tangents where they lead me. Leading me toward WEEN is a bit more expected than the other two.
The performance of “Oh Yoko,” which consisted of Sean Lennon and Freeman as a duet on acoustic guitars, was part of a much larger event that coincided with Yoko Ono‘s 77th birthday. Advertised as ‘We Are Plastic Ono Band‘ and held at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music in February of 2010, the concert saw the core unit of Sean, Yoko, Yuka Honda, Haruomi Hosono, and Cornelius resurrect the project, joined by a rotating cast of collaborators including Paul Simon, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Bette Midler, and original Plastic Ono Band member, Eric Clapton.
I remember hearing about it when it happened, and I believe I even heard a recording, but I can’t remember if I ever watched the footage. Either way, I’m watching it now and posting it for anybody else who wants to join me.
Before he brings Freeman on stage, you’ll hear Lennon discuss how he first became acquainted with the members of WEEN. As he mentions, the year after Yoko‘s Rising (1995) album, a small group of artists, including WEEN, Thurston Moore, Tricky, and Cibo Matto, contributed to the Rising Remixes EP. Sean adds that it was also how he first met Yuka, whom he would go on to date, even joining Cibo Matto for a period of time. Gene and Dean referred to doing the Yoko remix in the only volume of their Cirlce Of The Brotherhood newsletter, stating that it went so well that Ono wound up recruiting their producer and former bassist, Andrew Weiss, for her backing band, IMO. Check out WEEN’s remix of Ono‘s “Ask The Dragon.” It’s a wild one.
Check out the Gener and Sean Lennon clip below.