A musician who has made a successful career parodying nearly every hit song since the early’80 ‘s, “Weird Al” Yankovic has become a legend through his unique brand of comedy. On this “Mandatory Fun” Tour, “Weird Al” and his band were able to bring a night of laughs and excitement for an excited crowd looking for their midweek fix.
After a generic carnival-esque synth rock song served as an introduction over the sound system, the lights went down and the audience was already full of applause. Yankovic kicked things off with the parody of “Tacky” by Pharrell via a live video of him coming out from outside to backstage to straight into the theater singing down the aisles while the audience was raving. After the song “Weird Al” picked up his famous accordion and went into one of his many trademark polka medleys, “Now That’s What I Call Polka!” with songs such as Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”, Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” and nearly every other catchy pop song known to man.
It got even crazier when Yankovic and the band got dressed up in a bunch of weird costumes for the Lady Gaga parody of “Perform This Way.” At one point he wore a purple octopus outfit to go along with an upside down smashed ice cream cone as a hat, while everyone else on stage wore strange costumes, especially bassist Steve Jay, in a skeleton suit with a top hat. There were even more costume changes to come. Such as when everyone dressed up like Devo for the parody “Dare To Be Stupid.” Yankovic changed in record time to perform the Michael Jackson parody “Fat” and then everyone got all-grunged out for his classic take on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Nirvana”.
In between songs, to allow for stage changes, there were more video slideshows showcasing Yankovic’s numerous references in pop culture, appearances in movies and online like the YouTube series “Epic Rap Battles as Isaac Newton,” as well as his fake interviews with Celine Dion, Eminem, etc.
After the Chamillionaire “White & Nerdy” and the Robin Thicke parody “Word Crimes,” the infamous “Amish Paradise” came through the speakers and a roar from the crowd took over the room with the entire theater waving their hands in the air like they didn’t care for an epic finale to an amazing performance. But they weren’t done yet. Within a few minutes of a brief intermission, people were chanting and clapping for more. The band got the audience revved up and they dressed like Jedi’s while Darth Vader and a bunch of Storm Troopers stood in the background. Starting off the encore with the fabricated Michael Stipe collaboration “We All Have Cellphones, So Come on Let’s Get Real,” everyone waved their cell phones in the air. The band then transitioned to the “Star Wars Episode 1” Don Maclean parody “The Saga Begins” and the crowd sung the ending chorus in emphatic fashion.
The keyboard driven “Play Ball!” resonated over the speakers and then another “Star Wars” themed track entitled “Yoda” took things over before an absolute ripper parodying of The Kinks’ “Lola.” The crowd was singing the chorus and then Yankovic gave the mic to a guy who was tone-deaf, and that had Steve Jay in a daze of confusion. Going into a rapid-fire acapella medley right back into “Yoda” for the encore finale, it was a fitting ending to a show chock full of the screwy and bizarre. You couldn’t deny how enjoyable and hilarious it was seeing Yankovic and his band on stage, bringing songs to life that are rooted in parody, but display a true brilliance in the songwriting and craftsmanship.
Setlist:
Tacky
Lame Claim to Fame
Now That’s What I Call Polka!
Perform This Way
Dare to Be Stupid
Fat
First World Problems
Foil
Smells Like Nirvana
Party in the CIA / It’s All About the Pentiums / Handy / Bedrock Anthem / Another One Rides the Bus / Ode to a Superhero / Gump / Inactive / eBay /
Canadian Idiot
Wanna B Ur Lovr
Eat It / I Lost on Jeopardy / I Love Rocky Road / Like a Surgeon
White & Nerdy
Word Crimes
Amish Paradise
Living With A Hernia (instrumental)
Encore:
Cell Phones
The Saga Begins
Yoda
Photos by Gus Griesinger.
We would like to thank David Wedekindt from UB for helping with the credentials to review the show.
