Sinatra. Elvis. Weird Al?
I don’t know, part of me feels like Weird Al was always the perfect fit for Vegas. He’s a larger than life personality and has a live show that is pure spectacle.
Why has it taken this long to get him a residency? And why is it only 5 days? I’d take Al over Celine Dion any day.
And I’m pretty sure every former 5th grader in America who went through the same phase I did, where the music you listen to is made up entirely of movie soundtracks and Weird Al would agree (and sometimes we got lucky and got Weird Al on a soundtrack. UHF – DOUBLE WHAMMY!).
For me, this show, the penultimate in a week-long residency at the Planet Hollywood, would be my first time seeing Al, due to my inability to convince my mom that taking me to a Weird Al concert was a great way for her to spend her birthday in the late 90s. I was finally seeing the curly haired, formerly-mustachioed legend live and boy, was the wait worth it.
After a nice selection of standby music including Devo and Gin Blossoms, Al started his set… via satellite?!
He came to us live from the upper levels of the Planet Hollywood as the on-stage band played “Tacky.” I thought the video segment may have been pre-recorded, but then Al burst through the theater’s main doors with a camera crew in tow and the venue now shown on screen (pre-recorded video did end up being a large portion of his set, however, as the group understandably needed time to change into matching “CIA” suits or for Al to squeeze into a squid costume).
Then we were treated to hit after hit, with original track “Dare to Be Stupid,” and Nirvana parody “Smells Like Nirvana” eliciting huge reactions from a crowd of fans ranging from age 8 to 80. But after nonuple (9) jams in a row, we were left to wonder – how will they be able to fit all the hits we crave into just one show?
We got our answer after a brief video montage. Al and his band regrouped in full rock band formation to play a collage of choruses with favorites like “Canadian Idiot” and “Gump” occurring with split second costume changes and tempos ramped up to a level that would leave strangers to assume he was auditioning for the ‘99 Warped Tour. (kudos to the lady whose job was to remove Al’s hair tie!)
Next, the group stripped down, taking the “More Than Words” approach to a few of his biggest hits like “Eat It” and “I Love Rocky Road,” complete with fake candles and loose-fitting tunics. It was a perfect lampoon of the days when “MTV Unplugged” was a thing and as an obvious acoustic lover, I approved.
Then Yankovic and crew But it wasn’t all reinterpretations and remigaininations. We came for the hits played in full and the hits were slammed right in our faces over and over and over.
“Amish Paradise?” Yeah, he played it.
“White and Nerdy?” Played it, nailed it. (on a segue and with video backup from fellow Vegas residency artist and full time white nerd Donny Osmond).
“Word Crimes?” Play it, almost nailed it. My pick for the best song on Fun was played with Al tripping up slightly on some of the more complicated wordplay. But hey, he’s only played it live a few times and with the lyric video displayed behind him the audience had no problem helping out in the singing department.
“Fat?” He played it, nailed it and the crowd bounced up every time the fat-suited Al landed a bounce.
Prince-style parody “Wanna B Ur Lovr” found Al once again traversing the crowd, this time with no mother – or grandmother – safe from Yankovic’s bumping and grinding (maybe my mom was right for not taking me to Al’s gig at the Joint in ‘96).
“Foil?” “Dare to be Stupid?” “Smells Like Nirvana?” Awesome. More awesome. The awesomest.
The night ended with Weird Al’s odes to Star Wars – two geeky flavors that go so good together. “The Saga Begins” is quite possibly the only good thing to come out “Episode I’s” existence and “Yoda” featured an amazingly impressive chant from Al and the band. I loved the stage set up, with Jedi, stormtroopers and of course, Vader completing the motif.
After waiting multiple decades to see Weird Al, there was no better feeling that leaving the venue with a gut sore from laughter, surrounded by some of the nicest fans I’ve ever met (decked out in tinfoil hats and homemade “I want a new duck” shirts).
-Emily Matview
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
Medley:
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
Unplugged Medley:
Eat It
I Lost on Jeopardy
I Love Rocky Road
Like a Surgeon
White & Nerdy
Word Crimes
Amish Paradise
Encore:
Cell Phones
The Saga Begins
Yoda
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