I just got back a little while ago from Weird Al Yankovic’s concert here in Topeka Kansas. Boy, did he have the crowd whooping and hollering by the end. The first part was fun, but mostly had material I wasn’t familiar with. Then he and the band segued into “Amish Paradise”, “I’m Fat”, “Smells like Nirvana”, and many others. Oh!, the two Star Wars parodies as well! In between some sets the stage screens showed clips from shows and movies he’s appeared in. That man sure can get the audience bouncing in their seats, waving their arms, and even singing along!
One thing. The only mention of his bereavement was the first item to appear on the stage screens, before the performers came on. “Tonight’s performance is dedicated to the memory of Nick and Mary Yankovic.”
We saw Weird Al here in Indy on April 1. WinkieHubby is a huge fan, and I like him. We both thoroughly enjoyed the concert - I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. He definitely puts on a great show! He did the two Star Wars songs as the encore here.
We were really impressed to see the age range of people at the concert. It was definitely a family event - and we were home by a reasonable hour on a work night
I think I am going to buy a bunch of his stuff and see him in concert ( things I’ve always meant to do but got side tracked by shiny pennies) because he has always been a class act.
And, to irritate me with this new found plan of seeing him, the day Weird Al is in Michigan, August 19, will be our first day on our vacation in Germany.
I’ve seen him three times (twice in one day at Magic Mountain lo these many years ago, and last year). He’s great fun. If you like his stuff, and get the chance, do go.
He’s going to be in Mississippi about an hour and a half from me next week, but I’m saving money to go to Texas to see Great Big Sea. I am such a non-concertgoer that I have never had to turn down one to go to another…but GBS wins, I’m afraid.
I guess I reveal my hopeless geek state when I say I’ve had a bit of a crush on him for years. I find a sense of humor to be highly attractive, and Lord knows he’s got that…
Yay!
Bud did you get to touch him on the tattoo?
j/k
That’s one concert I’d definitely want to go see but probably wouldn’t get to go to. I don’t think hubby and F-in-Law are Big Al fans.
I have more Weird Al cd’s than any other groups, I think.
He is awesome!
I was wondering how he’d do after his parents passing like that. It’s good to know he’s such a trouper.
I’ve seen Al in concert ten times. I am a huge pathetic dork and I go whenever he’s in my area. Only once so far this tour, but hopefully he’ll come by here again sometime. It’s always a great time.
I saw Al in concert a few years back. Unfortunately, due to some communication problems, I had to get tickets at the door, and ended up in the very last row of seats. After the first five minutes, though, I didn’t care.
My brother-in-law knows Al personally & he’s as nice as you would imagine. They’re not best buds or anything, but BIL has a photo of their night on the town, tossing down Dom Perignon. Al was gracious and fun.
Al started getting “serious” about his music c1980. Gets his first hits in 1984. Fast forward to 2003. “Poodle Hat” is also a hit, more gold and a Grammy. His latest video collection is a big seller.
How many musicians on the charts in 1984 are still hitting the charts, making gold records, getting Grammys?
We are talking about a very uncommon length of career in “The Biz”. Normally such an icon would be always asked to do joint projects and such. "Hey, we need a good accordion riff here, do you think would could get Al to sit in?
If you dig thru the Ask Al part of his web sites, you’ll see kids asking who Eddie Vedder is. He was famous before Eddie was, and is famous still.
Basically all the credentials of a major cultural star, but still not taken seriously. Maybe it has to do with having his picture taken with a poodle on his head, I don’t know.
Last year he toured outside of America for the first time - he came to Australia. This was the beginning of this Poodle Hat tour as far as I know, and he came to Melbourne on my birthday! How could I pass up a convergence of coolness like that?
It was a lot of fun, though I think excessively loud (I’m not a concertgoer - I bet most concerts are excessively loud). It did have a feel of being a bit over-rehearsed, but it was still marvellously entertaining!
I saw Al a few years ago at the Arizona state fair and he packed the veterans coluseum. Everyone seemed to know every lyric to all the songs and we had a terrific time. This is only possible because Al loves what he does.
I saw him in Australia last year. What impressed me (while simultaneously giving me the shits) was that when he came out into the audience he didn’t care whether people took photos or videos. People were running over to take shots and Al just mugged for them. I always carry my camera in the car so that it is available if I see something worth shooting. That’s where it was while I watched Al.
On the new DVD collection of Al’s videos, he includes a clip from a 1981 appearance on *Tomorrow * with Tom Snyder. Even then he had drummer John Schwartz accompanying him on “Another One Rides the Bus” (by banging on Al’s accordion case).
I saw Al and the band at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix last September, and they most definitely rocked the joint. Al came down into the audience during a couple of numbers–he was standing about six feet from me when he sang the immortal line, “I’d rather rip out my intestines with a fork” (while pulling a large fork out of his jacket).
Dr. Rieux, Al came out into the audience during the performance I saw in the OP, but it wasn’t for the fork scene, it was the romance song(can’t remember the title) He would sit on a girl’s lap, get up, take the silk scarf from his neck(ant then pretend to wipe his face or armpit with it), and drape it around the girl’s neck. They were thrilled. After I left the theater I was walking to my car and one of those girls was walking nearby. I saw the scarf in her hand, and she was still dithering about it. One coherent comment was “His hair smells nice.”
Al rules, and I’ve always had a bit of a crush on him too.
My dream concert-going experience would be a Goofapalooza type thing, with BNL, They Might Be Giants and Weird Al headlining. Gives me shivers just thinking about it.
“Everything you know is wrong.
Black is white, up is down, and short is long.
And everything you thought was so important really doesn’t matter.
Everything you know is wrong.
Just forget the words and sing along.
All you need to understand is
Everything you know is wrong.”
Incidentally, I was listening to Weird Al on the Doctor Demento radio show, in the L.A. area, back when his number one hit was “My Bologna.” Who wants to touch me?
