I got two reactions when I told people I was going to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert. The first was “Why?” and the second was “How can he put on a show? Is he a REAL musician?” You will notice that neither answer was “Who is he” or “Is he still around.” Everyone knows who Weird Al is. I grew up listening to him. My kids now listen to him. Even my mom knows who he is! So, let me answer those ‘other’ nagging questions.


First: Why? Well, why not? Ha! No, really….I’m a music fan. I love it all and I don’t think there is a concert you could offer that I wouldn’t go see. If you were a teen in the 80’s, then you watched Mtv take its first steps and with that came Weird Al. Al is now a cultural icon and I felt a duty to see what his live show was all about.


Second: Is he a real musician? YesYesYesYesYes. Am I clear? I always thought that Weird Al was more ‘comedian’ than ‘musician.’ I was certainly schooled at this show! Some might say ‘musical comedian’, but I think even that is just too casual for what Al does.

Al has had the same band line up since 1982: Steve Jay (bass), Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz (drums), Ruben Valtierra (keys) & Jim West (guitar). These guys just don’t get all the credit they deserve. Think about it: Al writes and parodies a wide variety of music and his band has to have the chops to keep up with him. And they do. They are just tight, tight, tight! So, credit to the band as they are most certainly the glue that holds this circus together every night.

But you really want to know about is Al, right? I admit it; I was curious about the kind of show I was going to see. Al came out sporting his trademark accordion and treated us all to “Polkarama” from the current release “Straight Outta Lynwood.” A triple wide video screen played the actual videos from Snoop Dogg, Kanye & the Black Eyed Peas. It is easy to see why Al has trouble getting permission for his parodies and polkas from the rappers: It’s because he brings out the ridiculousness that is their career. You have to wonder if these guys know how silly their songs are and maybe, are they worried that people will eventually see that the emperor has no clothes?? Headline: Talentless Rappers Exposed by Weird Al, Story at 11!!

“Polkarama” went right into “Canadian Idiot,” complete with a confetti explosion at the end. Fantastic! Does anyone know if he performs this song when he’s in Canada? Because I know Green Day does “American Idiot” here in the US….just a thought. The lights went out…the video screen came on and it was Weird Al doing one of his celebrity interviews, this time with Jessica Simpson. These ‘interviews’…clearly pasted together for effect…are an absolute stitch, but I thought that this one went on a little too long. I was secretly hoping that we would have more music and less video.

When the lights came up, we had Al in a gold glitter shirt singing “You’re Pitiful” (the parody of ‘You’re Beautiful’). Just a few lines into the song and I realized why the video clip had been so long: Al has a costume addiction!! He pulled off the glitter shirt to reveal a skeleton t-shirt, pulled that off to reveal a t-shirt that read “Atlantic Records Sucks”, pulled that off to reveal a SpongeBob t-shirt. When he reached for the zipper…you just KNEW the pants were coming off!! By the end, Al was in boxer shorts and a tu-tu. Of course, we had to have another video short because not even Weird Al can segue smoothly from boxers and a tu-tu.

(**Backstory note on the Atlantic Records Sucks t-shirt: “You’re Pitiful” was only released on Al’s website due to a dispute with James Blunt’s record label, Atlantic, who rescinded permission for the parody after it was recorded. The song is still available on Al’s website as a free download.)

Highlights:
*’Eminem was given a harsh video interview before “Couch Potato” (parody of “Lose Yourself”). Al made him look like an idiot. “Couch Potato” was all too short for me as it was meshed into a medley with “Do I Creep You Out.” I would have liked to have seen more of this song because Al raps better than anyone. So angry!!

* “Trapped in the Drive-Thru” was a treat with the video playing on the screens. This version was shorter than the album…for good reason. The album version is almost 11 minutes long! Great song.

*”The Saga Begins” was followed by “Yoda” of course…because what else are you going to sing while you and your band are dressed in Star Wars costumes? This song was a full-out production. The audience (me included) knew all the words and sang along. A chorus line of Stormtroopers danced behind Al while Darth Vader looked on. (see my video) In the middle of Yoda, we were treated to an a cappella break by the band. I don’t know if it had a name, but I wasn’t familiar with it….Kind of Hawaiian, kind of funk. But great. These two songs were definitely show stealers!

*”Eat It” came with the red Michael Jackson jacket…and he can do the dance! *”Fat” was the most impressive costume (& the last) complete with fat suit AND the fat latex face just like in the video. It was a riot!

As I have been told, Al always likes to throw in a new song or something that could not be released. This concert was no exception: We got “I’m in Love With the Skipper” (a parody of “I’m in Love With a Stripper”) Al was in a Gilligan outfit while a video montage of the Skipper and Gilligan played on the video screens. It made me very uncomfortable in kind of a “don’t even go there” way…..but then again, I think that was the point.

Al’s current VH1 hit is “White & Nerdy” and YES, he DID come out on a Segway! He raps, he busts a move and the best part: he had Donny Osmond on the video screen. I feel a personal attachment to this song. It’s the anthem of my people! (side note: I have also seen Donny Osmond in concert in 2002. So, put Weird Al AND Donny in the same show??? Yep. Life Complete.)

The encore was a fan favorite: Albuquerque. And a short song about cell phones that he made up on the spot, causing everyone to turn on their phones and wave them about. Albuquerque…how do I describe it? If you don’t know the 11 minute song from the album “Running With Scissors,” you need to dig that one up and give it a listen. Eleven minutes of song that EVERYONE knew how to sing (except me). Live in concert, this song was about 20 minutes! He expanded the pastry rant (“We are OUT of JELLY DONUTS”) which was probably the funniest part. Great song…great energy. I love seeing fans that really KNOW a song. This was the die-hard fan’s song for sure!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention just a few of the originals that Al performed. That’s right! He writes original songs! “Weasel stomping day”, “I’ll Sue Ya” & “Wanna B UR Lover” were outstanding. “Close But No Cigar” was a riot! They were great songs by a great writer, but they were really held up by an outstanding band.

I tried to keep a running set list, but that is nearly impossible at an Al show. He runs a lot of new medleys by so fast that it’s easy to miss something. The set list I have posted is a close approximation.

Polkarama
Canadian Idiot
Close But No cigar
Bob
It’s All About The Pentiums
You’re Pitiful
Wanna B UR Lovr
Medley: Couch Potato- Do I Creep You Out- Isle Thing,
Bedrock Anthem, Confessions Pt. III, Ebay,
Ode To A Superhero - Eat It-A complicated song-Pretty fly for a rabbi-Gump-Trapped in the drive thru
Headline News
I’ll Sue Ya
The Saga Begins Yoda
Weasel Stomping Day
Smells Like Nirvana
Amish Paradise
White & Nerdy
Fat
ENCORE: Cell Phones & Albuquerque


Total costume changes: 17
Song with the most costume changes: “You’re Pitiful” for a total of 5.
High point of the show: “The Saga Begins”
Low point of the show: There just wasn’t one. Really. I haven’t laughed so hard ever!

Music: great. Comedy: fantastic. Visuals: stunning. What can I say….”I’m just so White & Nerdy.”


(you can see more of my Weird Al photos at: http://flickr.com/photos/lonelymoose/ )