"Weird Al" Yankovic at the
Greek Theatre –
Click HERE to
skip to the review of the concert and the "Weird Al" Experience at the 2002
Note: Included in my review and trip report from
2002 is an "Introduction for the Uninitiated" explaining who "Weird Al" Yankovic
is and what he and his band do.
Okay, I admit it.
I'm a big "Weird Al" Yankovic fan. To
me, by the way, that name is about more than just Al, it is also about his
loyal band members, very talented people themselves.
I'm not Al's biggest fan, but he IS my favorite performing artist,
and I DID find myself answering a lot of questions people at the concert
had about Al. Hey- I'm single and childless,
so I can get away with such indulgences.
Before I get into the events of September
5th, I wanted to mention that I purchased the latest Al-bum, Poodle
Hat, as soon as I could, and stood in line at the Virgin Megastore on Sunset Boulevard during the last few
hours of my twenties to have Al sign the CD. I
also got to formally meet Al's beautiful wife Suzanne, and most importantly,
Bella the Poodle. That was
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Immediately below are my Event Report
from that signing and my Album Review originally published in May, 2003. They are edited for this page.
Skip to the Greek Theatre stuff by clicking HERE.
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Event Report & Album
Review by Ken Pellman
Album Signing
"Weird Al" Yankovic
WAY MOBY <>
Volcano Entertainment III, L.L.C.
Now in available
for purchase online or in stores.
Event Report
In case I haven't told you a million
times already, I'll say once again that Alfred Matthew Yankovic is my favorite
performing artist. When I found out that his
was going to be signing his new CD on its release day, I knew I had to be
there. Never mind that the signing was scheduled
for Tuesday, May 20, 2003 at 7 p.m. at the Virgin Megastore
on Sunset Boulevard, and five hours later I'd be turning 30 years old, and
seven hours after that I would be reporting to work for the biggest day of
the year. Never mind that it would mean leaving
work *gasp* on-time the evening before our biggest day of the year. I needed to go. No doubt
about it.
To keep this from getting even longer,
I'll just say that I got out of line to rescue two stranded friends who were
also on their way to the signing but didn't quite make it.
When we returned to the line, it was
There was absolutely NO distinction
made between people with wristbands and those without.
We all waited in the same line, with those of us who had wristbands
behind countless people without them. Why did
they bother? And sure enough, there was plenty
of picture taking. I'm the kind of person who,
like a sap, follows the clearly provided rules. Fortunately,
my friends were in the habit of taking lots of pictures of everything, so
they had a camera with them.
Al had hired people to make balloon
poodles for people waiting in line. That was nice
touch. It took forever to reach Al. It wasn't until like
\Wouldn't you know it? Bella the Poodle
was there! She was right up there on top of the
table. (On the album cover, she is the "poodle
hat" Al wears while riding a subway train.) But
more importantly, Suzanne Yankovic, Al's wife of a little over two years,
was there looking after Bella! Suzanne, in case
I haven't mentioned it 27 times before, is cute as a button. She's very attractive. She's
looking great, and you couldn't even tell that she gave birth to a daughter
a few months ago. That's right- Al's a daddy!
Okay, so we'd finally arrived. I chatted a bit with Suzanne as I waiting my turn. I asked how familiar she was with Al's work before
they met. She replied that she was somewhat familiar
with his work and that she'd enjoyed it.
Al greeted me with a smile and signed
my CD and the one I picked up for my friend Dale while I gave Bella some
scratchin' and pettin'. That dog was getting a lot of attention, and was
behaving so well. While my friends got
their CDs signed, I got a picture next to Suzanne. From
what little interaction I had with her in that chaotic excitement, I got
the impression that she was highly educated by the way she spoke. Maybe it was more of an accent or something. I know how intelligent Al is, though, so I'd expect
him to have finally settled down with a bright lady.
I had my CD, signed.
Sure, I only had a couple of hours before my live was "over" because
I'd no longer be in my twenties, but all was right with the world. Too bad that moment couldn't
have been frozen in time.
Album Review
As detailed in my report on the 2002
Orange County Fair concert, there was a moment when Al's wife Suzanne pointed
a camcorder and us and caught us on tape.
When I heard this was going be another
"enhanced" CD, containing Al's "home movies", I held out hope that footage
from the concert would be included. Oh, to be
immortalized on an Al-bum without having to write a hit song that Al subsequently
parodies.
As it turns out, those home movies are
almost entirely from Al's childhood, so I'm not in them.
Regardless, I was happy to get my copy
of _Poodle Hat_, Al's most recent Al-bum. It
has been four years since the last one, which was 1999's _Running With Scissors_. While it was a long hiatus for fans, it should be
noted that Al did go on an extended and popular tour following the release
of that work, released a concert on DVD and VHS, worked on the DVD release
of his cult film from the 1980s, "UHF", finally got married, and became the
father of a little female bundle of joy.
Al writes and arranges the songs, writes
lyrics for the direct parodies, and the music as well as the lyrics for the
rest of the songs, sings lead and background, and plays accordion and keyboard.
Al's longtime band is back: Jon "
Female vocals are performed by Lisa
Popeil, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, and Carmen
Twilley
Track by track:
1. "Couch Potato" (
This song continues Al's long tradition
of songs about television.
Sample lyrics:
"Never missed Melrose Place or Lost
In Space/I've seen each Amazing Race and Without a Trace/But I only watched
Will and Grace one time, one day/Wished I hadn't, 'cause TiVo now thinks I'm gay"
Al with all of Al's direct parodies,
this song is funny on its own, but can only be fully appreciated when compared
closely to the original. Al's inflections, rhyming
pattern, and so forth are carefully calculated.
2. "Hardware Store" (
Sample lyrics:
"In my sleeping bag I camped out overnight/Right
in front of the store, then as soon as it was light out/I pressed my nose
right up against the glass/You know I had to be
the first in line"
This song also contains Al's special
"random" number that his fans love to hunt for. He
teased the number in the previous album.
3. "Trash Day" (
Sample lyrics:
"Look at all this garbage I keep generatin'/(Come on) I
sit around all day and watch it biodegradin'/Bet
there's a hundred health codes that I'm violatin'/Even
my dog passed out an needed recussitatin'"
4. "Party at the Leper Colony" (
Sample lyrics:
"I said 'Girl, now don't fall to pieces
on me/But she cried her eyes out - literally"
...and...
"There's a guy in the hot tub, I don't
know who/Wait a minute it looks like Stu"
(You may need to say that last one out
loud to get it.)
5. "Angry White Boy Polka" (5:03) - Al's traditional polka medley arranging verses and
choruses from many recent hit songs into traditional polka style, replacing
any swear words with sound effects. The effect
is not just inherently comical, but it actually exposes some of the songwriting
talent and poetic lyrics that went in to the originals.
6. "Wanna
B UR Lovr" (
Sample lyrics:
"Your face is real symmetrical/And your nostrils are so nice/I wish I was cross-eyed,
girl/So I could see you twice"
7. "A Complicated Song" (
I'm not going to include sample lyrics,
because it is best to hear the song in a continuous context, and I think quoting
would diminish the effect.
8."Why Does This Always Happen to Me?"
(
It's fun to play it for other people,
prefacing it with a comment like "Listen to this- Weird Al does serious songs,
too!"
9. "Ode to a Superhero" (
Sample lyrics:
"Now Harry the rich kid's a friend of
his/Who horns in on Mary Jane/But to his great surprise/It seems she prefers
guys/Who can kiss upside-down in the rain"
10. "Bob" (
Sample lyrics:
"Rats live on no evil star/Won't lovers
revolt now?/Race fast, safe car/Pa's a sap/Ma
is as selfless as I am/May a moody baby doom a yam?"
11. "eBay"
(
Sample lyrics:
"Tell me why (I need another pet rock)/Tell
me why (I got that Alf alarm clock)/Tell me why (I bid on Shatner's old toupee)/They
had it on eBay"
12. "Genius in
Sample lyrics:
"I'm dumber than a box of hair/But those
Frenchies don't seem to care/Don't know why,
mon frere/But they love me there/I'm a genius in France/Yeah...I'm
a genius in
Al's parodies are meticulous. They must be internally coherent, the lyrics correspond
to the original's, and the music will usually also be a parody or exaggeration
of the original. Much of Al's humor also tends
to be understated, sly, and educated. On the
other hand, he always relies heavily on pop culture to parody. This album is a little more adult in content, yet
also ventures into scatological humor more than Al has in the past.
The craftsmanship of the album is top-notch. Al and the band continue to grow as artists.
In addition to the music, the multimedia
extras include pictures and home movies from Al's childhood.
Official "Weird Al" Yankovic website:
http://www.weirdal.com
_Poodle Hat_
Pellman's Bottom Line(TM): If you're
an Al fan, you probably already have this album. It
is a must for fans, and worth considering if you aren't.
Pellman's Rating:
4 Brooms(TM) out of 4
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Poodle Hat Tour Concert Review and
Trip Report by Ken Pellman - Really!
Having last had my
"Live Al" fix way back when I was still in my twenties (this past May), I
was eager to catch Al and his band in concert again.
Once again, they were appearing at the Greek Theatre, which is where
I first caught them on their previous tour. I
ended up seeing them two more times that tour.
It has been over a year since I'd seen them in concert. I definitely needed a fix!
I'd bought six tickets,
and the other five ended up going to Liz, her daughter Stephanie, Dale, Judy,
and Johnny, all people I know through my time at the Disneyland Resort.
When you arrive at the
venue, the crowd is unmistakable. Hawaiian shirts. Lots of curly brown hair, glasses, and mustaches - guys looking
like Al from his various ages. The geeks, the nerds, the outcasts, the accordion lovers,
Dementoids - Al-oholics. Yup, it is a motley bunch.
Gotta love the
Greek. You drive on a
dirt patch into a dirt clearing where you are stacked
and therefore unable to move your vehicle. This
only costs you TEN DOLLARS! This is in addition
to all of the surcharges on the tickets.
After I made sure my
car was covered in a thicker coat of dust, I walked around and chatted with
various other early-birds. While we were lined
up outside, the folks from http://www.WeirdAlStar.com, who
are trying to get Al a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, passed out buttons
and a little ad for Stephen Jay's fourth solo CD - http:///www.StephenJay.com. Mr. Jay is one of the regular band members.
Lo and behold, while
we were waiting, we bumped into current and former coworkers we had no idea
would be there. It was kind of eerie.
Found our seats in the
front row of the "B" section, then chatted it up with each other and some
of the people we recognized at the event.
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This is Kevin
and Cid. Kevin can look very much like Al,
and this is him looking like Al does on the album cover. Cid made headbands
with poodles on them to pass out to other concertgoers. |
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One group of
people gave a cheer across the seating area to Barry "Dr. Demento" Hansen, pictured here with Dale and Judy. The warm up was
comedienne Loni Love, from "The Best Damn Sports
Show, Period". She took the stage at |
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Before too long, the
instrumental "Fun Zone" faded in and got louder. Much, much louder. This
is always the signal that the concert is about the start, and it is sure
to cause a pavlonian reaction in me every time. I get all hyper and loud. Then
came the video montage of classic, bad sci-fi
films, old TV shows, and television personalities mentioning Al's name. The crowd went nuts.
Al and the band went
straight into "Angry White Boy Polka", which Al followed with his "It's great
to be back in
Then Al "introduced the
band", and took requests. Well, of course everyone
was shouting like crazy and it was just a roar of noise.
Al launched into the classic "One More Minute", during which he ventures
into the audience to serenade females and give them things like boxer shorts
he just pulled out of his pants.
The first of several
hilarious video breaks (to allow for costume changes and set-up) featured
an "interview" (lifted from Al's MTV specials) with Avril
Lavigne. This led
into the classic Talking Heads-style "Dog Eat Dog", during which Al sings
about office life and wears an "oversized" white suit.
The second video break
featured "Wheel of Fish" from "UHF", which always gets great audience participation,
a clip of the video for "Bob", and the mock-disaster movie preview for "60%
Chance of Rain".
It was time to rap, as
"It's All About the Pentiums" was next.
A mock 50s educational
film on dirt was followed by various TV clips.
"I Wanna B
The "Titanic" clip played,
then an "interview" with Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, and a clip
from the clay animation "Celebrity Death Match" between Al and Al Gore.
After that, they performed
"Trash Day" and then the "UHF" clip for "Plots R Us" continued into the "Beverly
Hillbillies" song, which started a medley that included "Jerry Springer",
"
Celine Dion
was featured in the next mock interview, and it was killer.
"Smells Like Nirvana" is always a winner, because these middle-aged
men get to jump around the stage like grunge youngsters.
The next video segment
was Al's inspired appearance to announce the winner of an MTV award - Al
was placed in each of the five nominated videos through special effects. The "Firehose" bit from
"UHF" followed that, then "Really Bad Haircut", and Al's appearance on this
past season's episode of The Simpsons.
"Amish Paradise" always
gets the audience to dance along. From there,
a side-splitting "interview" with Eminem played
on the well-publicized fact that he let Al parody "Lose Yourself" with a song,
but not a video. Sure enough, the next song was
"Couch Potato", that very parody.
The final video segment
started with the tongue-in-cheek MTV ad with Al doing acoustic performances
of his songs in an intimate setting, talking about getting back to the basics. That gave way to the "Fat" video segment, which kicked
off the "big" finale with Al in the fat suit. Each
time he jumped, the other band members would react as if he'd sent out a
seismic wave. We and other members of the audience
react as well to continue the effect. Of course,
Santa appeared and was sent packing by Al.
We stayed right where
we were at the end of the song and Al really introducing
the band before saying "goodnight", because we knew what was next.
"Saga Begins" and "Yoda"
were their usual great times as the encores. The
crowd was still in a frenzy.
One group held up a banner that said "LA SEES AL", a tribute to the
palindrome masterpiece "Bob".
Overall, it was the usual
well-done multimedia funfest, the previous standards "Dare to Be Stupid"
and "Like A Surgeon" making way for newer material. There were couple of moments where there were minor
microphone problems, but Al, Jon, Jim, Steve, and even Ruben were their usual
amazing selves.
Ken's Rating: 4 Brooms(TM) out of 4
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We filtered out,
taking pictures with Dr. Demento (who I thanked
for helping to make me the warped guy I am) and the very personable and
accommodating Jon " He apologized
for not being able to smile (no kidding), but I was just happy to have
a picture with a guy who has been so great to the fans of the band and
has made me laugh countless times. |
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I was deaf and
hoarse, just as I'd intended. For some unknown
reason, somebody walked up to our coworker David and his sister and gave
them backstage passes. Good for them. I tried not to be jealous. Dale, Judy, Johnny,
and I waited outside the venue as the people with backstage passes trickled
out. Liz and Stephanie were long gone. We waited, and socialized, and waited, and waited. We speculated on what
happened to David and his sister, since we hadn't seen them come out. Finally, Dale, Judy, and Johnny gave up after we'd
seen a coyote walk by and a homeless man walk by. The
moment my friends were gone, David and his sister emerged. They were so euphoric that they were floating. |
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Then Stephen
Jay came out to meet with the handful of die-hards remaining, signing autographs
and posing for pictures. Here he is signing
my shirt from this concert as I wear an autographed shirt from a previous
tour. He's great with
the fans and is developing a subset who follow
his solo career. Each of the band members are
talents in their own right who make a great band when they join with Al. I understand that Al is a perfectionist and I think
it says something that he's had the same guys in the band for so long. |
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The Weird One himself did emerge along the tour buses, and he
climbed into one. One of the crew members came
over to tell us Al was going to meet with us.
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Sure enough,
Al came right back out. After such a long night,
Al was as gracious as he has been the other times I've met him, even though
he had to get to the next town for the next night's show. It was after
With that, a
few of us exchanged e-mail address as we walked as a group back to our
cars. It's always a great crowd of mixed ages,
and always a great show. Now, if you'll pardon
me, I've had about seven hours of sleep all weekend and I need to be back
in the office at |
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"Weird Al"
Yankovic
at the 2002
Introduction for the Uninitiated
| Click Here
to Skip to The "Weird Al" Experience
Click Here to Skip
to the Concert Review
Alfred Matthew Yankovic is a musician, but he's so much more. His intelligence and multifaceted sense of humor shine through in his sharp parodies, which he is most famous for, as well as his original works. Some of his original works are done in the style of pop artists, and others are simply comedic ventures of Al's strange imagination. The corresponding music videos are works of comedic genius in their own right. His albums also tend to contain a medley of samples from recent pop hits, arranged as polkas.
His instrument of choice, besides his voice, is the accordion.
He sings a lot about food, television, and twisted love.
He's a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, lyricist, and impersonator, contortionist, comedian, and music video director. He was the star and a major creative force behind a cult classic major motion picture (UHF), a series of cable television programs, and a Saturday morning CBS Television show. He's made numerous cameos in films and television programs.
This perfectionistic satirist of pop culture has sold more comedy music records than anyone else in the history of recording, with some of his works going Platinum.
Going to see "Weird Al" Yankovic entails
more than just going to see one person. In addition to Al, the band includes
Jon "
Al rose to fame via the Dr. Demento radio show. Dr. Demento has the most amazing collection of rare, novelty, and comedic recordings, many of which he plays on a weekly radio program. Al sent in a tape one day when he was a young teenager, complete with accordion music. Al went off to college at a young age, where he recorded "My Bologna" in a bathroom. He graduated with a degree in Architecture, but pursued his blossoming musical career while he worked regular jobs for money. Al's career took of, but he has always been quick to pay Dr. Demento a visit on his show, where he got his start.
Dr. Demento
and Al are two of the reasons I have the sense of humor I have today, but
please don't hold them accountable for it.
The "Weird
Al" Experience -
I lived in
A friend I met at
As the day approached, I brushed up
on my Al listening. I took half a day off from work to give myself plenty
of time to drive down and check the fair out before the
We got to
The "Weird Al" Experience was an exhibit in a tent. It featured bright colors. There was even a sign that read: "Caution - Eye Protection Required in this Area"
Displays and pictures abounded.
The first thing I saw was a Lynwood High School Yearbook from 1976, opened to a page with Al as the Valedictorian, and his graduation cap and gown.
Next was his first accordion, from when
he was just seven, and the case that
There's some Cal Poly San Luis Obispo architecture stuff, childhood pictures, and album covers of Al's biggest musical influences: Spike Jones, Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, and Frank Zappa.
Next I saw pictures of Dr. Demento, production shots, studio shots, album art, and copies of print stories on Al. Costumes from his videos and concerts were displayed throughout the tent, and some are taken out to be used in the concert.
The first kiosk of several kiosks featured "The 'Weird Al' Experience"- a 30-minute audio commentary produced and narrated by Dr. Demento, complete with earphones. It chronicled Al's musical career, and it is very well done... the Dr. is the MAN.
There's a merchandise stand, of course, featuring mainly dated merchandise exclusively for the fair.
The second kiosk featured "The Compleat Al" (home video, TV special), "Al TV" (8 MTV specials), "The 'Weird Al' Show" (CBS), and "There's No Going Home" for the Disney Channel.
The third kiosk played "Behind the Music" from VH1.
The fourth kiosk had a keyboard/mouse to see the official "Weird Al" website and Weird Al Trivia Quiz.
There's a display of Hawaiian shirts (Al owns hundreds and he wears them...not all at once, though).
A very popular element was a continuous presentation of the Al's music videos loop. Fans and the curious alike could sit around and enjoy them.
A case displayed awards such as platinum records, etc.
Next was a picture of Al's wedding (he married Suzanne, who is a real beauty, on February 10, 2001) which was the only picture I could see in there of the Mrs. There was also a picture of Al with Jake Lloyd (who played Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace") on stage at the Greek Theater in 1999 (I was there!) and another from the same night with Stan Freberg (I got a picture with Stan...only my film wasn't loaded properly....aaagh!).
The last kiosk played UHF.
Finally, there was some stuff from the CBS show, and the first correspondence between Al and Dr. Demento.
Ken's Rating of the Experience: 3.5
BroomsTM out of 4
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Seven p.m. finally arrived, which brought the Dr. Demento live show, complete with Whimsical Will, just outside of the arena, I was able to chat with Will for a second, only long enough to confirm that he no longer works at the Disneyland Resort and that Dr. Demento is not on the air in southern California anymore. Darn it!!!
With reserved seating, we didn't need to rush. We were let in at about twenty minutes until 8, meaning I didn't get hear all of the Dr. Demento presentation.
We had Section 2, Row D, Seats 1-6. That meant we were in the middle section, fourth row from the front, and facing the stage, we are on the right, directly in front of the large speakers and under one of the two video screens.
It looked like Jay Levy, Al's manager, was walking around on stage. Al's Stage Manager looks like he's lost weight. Maybe it is just my imagination. Bass player Steve Jay was doing some prep work, too.
A sign-language interpreter was working away throughout the evening, and I have no idea how she kept up. Then, I have no way of knowing if she actually did.
At 8, Dr. Demento
appeared again (still in his top hat, of course) to introduce the opening
act, a good comedian by the name of Tom Ryan. Tom did about 15 minutes, and
then there was a break for almost ten minutes.
"The Fun Zone" faded in, and that meant IT WAS TIME!
Al's parents did not introduce him, as they have been known to do at some local concerts.
The series of introductory video clips played, but unlike last tour did not include the opening of the CBS show, but rather things abruptly ended with Al and the band starting "Horoscope", a fast-paced original going over the signs of the Zodiac with statements (derision of Astrology, really) satirizing horoscopes, like "A big promotion is right around the corner - for someone much more talented than you." and "You will never find true happiness/Whatcha gonna do - cry about it?". I don't think this was performed on the last tour. It's from the most recent album.
Steve Jay didn't assume his position. Someone else was in his place for the entire show. More on that towards the end.
It was only mere seconds before we installed makeshift earplugs in our ears. It was just WAY too loud.
From there, Al did his traditional acknowledgement of the local audience.
The second song was a new one, perhaps for the upcoming album that is currently in production. You can tell the new ones because all of the Al-oholics don't cheer to the opening notes, sing with precision memories of the lyrics, and engage in prechoreographed hand signals. If I had to guess the title of the song, it would be "Leper Colony". It was a pun-filled song about life in... a leper colony. Sample lyric: "Someone's in the hot tub; I guess it must be Stu."
Time for a costume change and the corresponding video to keep the fans occupied. It was one of many "interviews" with celebrities that Al put together for cable television specials. These consist of Al taking moments from actual interviews with celebrities and make up new questions for their answers and/or behavior. Example: (Al to Ozzy Osbourne) "Now say something totally incomprehensible." In this case, it was an interview with Madonna. Al's delivery and facial expressions are the key to what makes these work.
"It's All About the Pentiums" was up next, with the band dressed as nerds and Al dressed in a silver, shimmering suit and sunglasses singing a rap parody of "It's All About the Benjamins" by Sean "Puffy" Combs. "Benjamins" is a reference to $100 bills (Ben Franklin). Al's version is about a boastful computer user. Sample lyric: "While your computer's crashing, mine's multitasking/It does all my work without me even asking."
Just about this time, I noticed someone across the narrow aisle from us. She had a small video camera and was taping away. What's up with her? I thought. Didn't she see the signs or hear the announcements about video taping? What about common sense? On top of it all, she should have known better because she was wearing a backstage pass around her neck.
Then I noticed how cute- how beautiful this woman was, and it hit me.
It was Suzanne Yankovic! It was the woman who was the envy of half of the females in the audience and no doubt hundred of millions of women around the world - the woman who married the most eligible bachelor in the world - the woman who pinned down the famously single (never married) 40+ "Weird Al" Yankovic, marrying him in February of 2001.
I excitedly elbowed my buddy. "Look!", I said, "It's Suzanne! You wanted to know what she looks like, and she's right there next to you!" We told the rest of our group.
Now, I sat in on a "Weird Al" Concert that had a bunch of celebrities a few rows behind me, and they certainly couldn't distract me from Al and the band. But with Suzanne, sitting a couple yards from me, my attention was definitely divided.
She noticed our reaction (how could she not?) and looked our way. Being the smooth, subtle operators that we are, we smiled like lunatics, waved, and gave her enthusiastic thumbs up. After all, any woman who Al would marry (and who, conversely, would marry the Weird One AND videotape his concert) MUST be quite a woman! I know who set them up originally, but if anyone knows anything about how long Al and Suzanne have known each other, who she is, and what she knew/thought of Al before meeting him, I'd love to hear about it. After all, the first I'd heard of her was weeks AFTER they'd gotten married. Anyway...
Suzanne even pointed the camera at us. Our images are probably already in some file as dangerous fanatics, but let me assure you, if you're reading this Al/Suzanne, that we're totally harmless. We just love your work. I don't even own a Hawaiian shirt.
Back to the actual program...
During the next break, there was a music video medley where Al was inserted into various videos, probably as part of an awards show. There were also TV clips.
Up next was "Melanie", an Al original about unrequited love. I believe it is from Even Worse and I didn't hear this one in the last tour. Sample lyric "I just can't understand it. Why won't you return my phone calls? Are you still mad I gave a mohawk to your cat?"
Suzanne got up a few times so that she could get right up next to the stage to film. At one point a security guard came over and tapped her on the shoulder, telling her she couldn't tape or even stand there. She held up her pass and said (if my lip-reading was correct) "I'm his wife." Oh, the look on the poor guy's face was priceless as he raised his hands to a "hand's off" gesture and backed away. She let him know that it was okay. She seemed nice.
There was a quiet moment where Al came to the edge of the stage to have a heart-to-heart with the audience, and Ruben played in the background.
There was no gunplay (tour veterans and those with the concert video know what I'm talking about). Instead, Al talked about the pain of unrequited love. He then proceeded to hack into his arm with a large blade and he bled all over the place. Oh, wait... it was just fake! Given the way he was dressed, it was no surprise that the next song was...
"One More Minute", an Al original about unrequited love, arranged in the style of the 1950s. Sample lyric: "I'd rather spend eternity eating shards of broken glass than spend one more minute with you." Ah, so poignant... so poetic. This is a concert favorite because Al comes down off the stage and serenades individuals in the audience, giving them props and items of clothing off of his person, including scarves. The scarves are immediately replaced by his stage manager/bodyguard, who is following close behind in costume.
Next on the rear-projection screen was the "Plots R Us" clip from UHF. It is so nice to have UHF back at the concerts after it was kept from the last tour (long story involving a movie company going out of business).
That clip lead into "Beverly Hillbillies", which was part of UHF. The song applies the lyrics to the television show theme to the music from "Money for Nothing".
Next up was the short version (no video) of "Jerry Springer". In addition to the common Al theme of mocking bad television, it is also a parody of "One Week". Sample lyric: "It's been one week since we go to see/Cheatin' lovers and cousins that marry."
"
"The Toppings Go On", an unreleased parody of "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic that praises pizzas. Sample lyric: "You...must.../Try our special crust..."
I could hardly believe my ears when I figured out the next sample was "The Theme from Rocky XIII" which is a riff on "Eye of the Tiger" with lyrics like "Fat and weak/What a disgrace/Guess the champ got too lazy..." and "You can have your roast beef on the rye...or the kaiser."
Continuing with the food theme was "Lasagna" ("La Bamba")
One of the recent hits was next with "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", a parody of Offspring's "Pretty Fly for a White Guy". After headbanging to the opening measures, I savored lyrics like "So how's by you?/Have you seen this Jew?/Reads the Torah/Does his own accounting, too/Working like a dog/At the synagogue."
Al got back into food for a moment with what could be his first hit, "My Balogna" which features excellent accordion playing while turning "My Sharona" by The Knack upside down.
The Presidents of the United States of America were given tribute next with the catchy "Gump", which parodies "Lump" and chronicles the fictional character with lyrics like "Gump sat alone on a bench in the park/"My name is Forest" he'd casually remark/Waiting for the bus with his hands in his pockets/He just kept saying 'Life is like a box of chocolates.'"
Finishing up the set was one of the best-known
earlier parodies, "Eat It", based on Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Sample
lyric: "Why you always such a fussy young man?/Don't
want no Captain Crunch, don't want no Raisin Bran/Well don't you know that
other kids are starving in
We were treated to another scene from UHF, "Wheel of Fish", featuring a game show hosted by a martial arts expert. This is always good for audience participation as we scream in unison when a contestant chooses a box that contains: "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Stupid! You're so stupid!" Also in this break was the fake film trailer "60% Chance of Rain" which makes fund of disaster films. Sample line: "Someone has to warn these people that they might need an umbrella."
The next song I'd never seen Al perform live before. "Dog Eat Dog" is a style parody of the 1980s groupTalking Heads during which Al performs in an oversized white suit and delivers lyrics like "Nobody's sure what I do here, and that's just fine with me", about life in an office.
Another break brought us video of Al dropping a banana off of the Space Needle in Seattle to disastrous results, the "Firehose" clip from UHF, featuring Michael "Kramer" Richards, Al conducting an orchestra, "Really Bad Haircut", a fake interview with Sting, a fake 1950s style-educational film called "Our Friend Dirt" (with lines like "Rocks are dirty, because they are found in dirt. Some people study rocks. Whatever."), as well as some other tidbits.
We could see the goth cheerleaders getting ready, so we expected "Smells Like Nirvana", the always popular "Smells Like Teen Spirit" parody featuring Al dressed as Kurt Cobain (only, his head it still intact).
The was another break with more AL TV, including a clip spoofing Titanic, the "Badgers" scene from UHF, a clip of Andy Richter quoting a line from the "Badgers" scene, and the "Celebrity Death Match" clay animation boxing clip of "Weird Al" vs. Al Gore, and then a fake interview with Ozzy Osbourne.
"Bedrock Anthem" was up next, a Red Hot Chili Peppers parody with lyrics about The Flinstones. Sample lyric: "Barney Rubble laughing like a hyena/Barney Rubble- what a little wee-nah/Where's Wilma - anybody seen her/Got a baby elephant vacuum cleaner." Al invites the audience to sing along during this one.
There was a fake Interview with Sir Paul McCartney, a clip of Al with Coolio at an awards show (before Coolio decided he didn't like Al). This of course, led to...
"Amish Paradise", a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's
This break had an MTV ad in which Al talked about "getting back to the core" and played acoustic versions of his songs in a serious tone. Then came the clip from the start of a video that signals the finale..."Fat"
When the opening clip is done, Al appeared on stage in a fat suit, complete with jowls and dressed like Michael Jackson from "Bad" As Al sang lyrics such as "My zippers bust, my buckles break/I'm too much man for you to take/The pavement cracks when I fall down/I've got more chins than Chinatown", sound effects enhanced his dance moves. Every time Al jumped, his band would jump a second later, as if there was a seismic jolt originating from Al's feet. Some of the fans would jump a second after that to continue the effect.
After the song ended, the band played as Al introduced them all. This is when we found out that the name of the unknown fellow on bass was Miles Jay. Was he a relative of Steve's? Al and the band vacated the stage.
The people who either weren't clued in or just weren't into the group enough took this as their signal to leave. Most people knew enough to stay around.
Some of us started to chant "We want Al! We want Al!"
Sure enough, Ruben started to play. It was the Mexican hat dance, and he teased the audience, which would try to clap at the appropriate points.
Al and the rest of the band reappeared in Jedi garb for "The Saga Begins", Al's hit adaptation of "American Pie" chronicling the story of young Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Everyone sings along to lyrics such as "My my, this here Anakin guy/May be Vader someday later now he's just a small fry/He left his home, kissed his mommy goodbye/Singing 'Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi. Soon I'm going to be a Jedi.'"
Next, the band (including Al with his accordion) jammed a little and then broke into the classic concert finisher, "Yoda", the other Star Wars-based song, this one a parody of "Lola". Sample lyric: "Well, I left home just a week before/And I've never ever been a Jedi before/But Obi-Wan he set me straight of course/He said 'Go to Yoda and he'll show you the force'." Again, the audience sang along (though most couldn't keep up with the strange "Yoda chant" that Al and the band break into in the middle of the song.
With that, "Weird Al" Yankovic and his
very talented band had finished their terrific performance.
We started to make out way out of the
arena, then noticed some others flocking to a low wall that gave somewhat
of a backstage view. We saw Jim West and
Trying to find the best way to find out who in the world he was, I asked "Is Steve your brother?"
He replied with a little disbelief "No, he's my dad!" Fortunately, I wasn't the first person to ask that question, they later told me.
Miles already has quite a following, especially among the females. Gee, what a surprise... tall, young, good-looking, nice guy with musical talent who is the son of Steve Jay. Now what female "Weird Al" fan would find that appealing? Someone had 8" x 10" photos of Miles with Steve, and the best I can figure is that they must have taken them the night before. When Steve joined his son at the wall, they accepted a copy of the picture and autographed another copy. Steve also signed and posed.
Eventually, it was really time to go. Staff had said right away that Al had left, which is always hard to believe when the people with backstage passes have just gone backstage. But, I understand what they are trying to do. Alas, no Al appearance this time, which I didn't expect anyway. For goodness sakes, they were performing every night and if Al had come out, he would likely have been there for hours, which would put a burden on the staff of the fair.
I'd been able to yell my adoration for
Jim West and
There were some things that were missing/replaced in the concert compared with the previous four concerts I've attended, no doubt to keep things fresh and to keep the concert from going on for three hours.
There was no Steve Jay, of course.
There were no "solos".
There was no rendition of "Another One Rides the Bus", "Like a Surgeon", "Dare to be Stupid" (another "audience participation" song), "Germs", no polka medley,
Al's parents did not introduce him, nor did they appear after the concert to pose for pictures and sign autographs.
Ken's Rating of the Concert: 3.5 Brooms(TM) out of 4
You can visit the official "Weird Al" Yankovic site at http://www.weirdal.com, the Steve Jay site at http://www.stephenjay.com, and the Dr. Demento site at http://www.DrDemento.com
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'99-'00 tour reviews - soon! |
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