'Weird' Al Yankovic – Hard Rock Live Universal, Orlando, FL (07.21.10)

Posted by Michael Melchor on 07.23.2010

The Father of Nerd Music and Pop-Culture Satirist Extradordinaire still has what it takes on stage.

“Weird” Al Yankovic has quietly grown over the last several years.

Not as in physical size, mind you (although there was the performance of “Fat”, but that’s getting way ahead), but in repertoire. Of course, his musical catalogue has expanded after having done this for more than 30 years. During his show in Orlando, FL at Hard Rock Live on July 21, though, something else became apparent.

Using video clips to entertain while the band changed costumes for particular songs, much of “Al TV” played, showing him interviewing several celebrities. To say “musicians” would be a stretch (since Jessica Simpson was one of the “interviewees”, after all), but all of them, to be fair, were of a musical bent. Nonetheless, all of them touched on subjects across the board from movies to TV to video games and all points in-between. As did the many other film and television clips featuring mentions or other appearances of “Weird” Al. It could be safe to say, at this point, that “Weird” Al is not only the Father of Nerd Music, but now a Pop-Culture Parodist as well as just a “parody sing singer”.

The simple title of “music parodist” has been a misnomer for many years, anyway. Al has made many parodies, yes, but his list of originals is just as long and as strong. For every “White and Nerdy” (which Al hit the stage for not only in the “gangster” outfit from the video, but riding a segway, no less), there’s a “Craigslist” - which, again, was done not only in the “Doors” outfit, but Morrison’s drunken mannerisms to match.

“Weird” Al and his band - Steve Jay (bass), Jim West (guitars), Ruben Valtierra (keyboards) and, of course, Jim “Bermuda” Schwartz (drums) - changed outfits often to stay in character to fit the songs. They also showed that they’ve been at this quite a while. The band was tight, not missing one step, note, vocal cue, you name it they were on top of it. Each member was in tune at any given moment and kept right up with their bandleader.

Al may not have displayed some of the physical antics that he had in shows past (the man is nearly 51, after all), but more than made up for that by staging, and overall performing, one hell of a show. “Weird” Al is arguably one of the most underrated live performers active today. Much of the tightness of the performances still belied a magic, “anything-can-happen” atmosphere. Not unlike many of the shows and attractions at Walt Disney World; everything is choreographed down to graphic detail, but it’s so well rehearsed and performed that it’s almost guaranteed to be a great time.

The audience was proof of that, laughing and cheering throughout the entire set. No one walked away disappointed, as not only was the performance aspect top-notch, but just about every base was covered. Everything from Al’s newest material, such as the White-Stripes-esque scorcher ”CNR”, all the way back to ”Another One Rides The Bus” (still performed with very minimal accompaniment, just the way it was recorded) was represented - many of them the way fans loved them. The Amish uniform was donned for “Amish Paradise”, and his “traditional” Hawaiian shirt was worn for the opening number, another of Al’s patented Polka tunes parodying everyone from Lady GaGa to Justin Bieber. Al even donned the full fat suit for the show closer, ”Fat”. Outdoing himself on a grand scale, Al and the band not only wore Jedi outfits for the encore performance of”The Saga Begins” (and his elder “Star Wars” parody, “Yoda”), but brought an entire troop of “backup dancers” featuring Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, and “the boy” himself, Darth Vader.

The 411: “Weird” Al and his band have quietly become not only pop culture satirists of the highest order, but also one of the best live shows the whole family can enjoy. Al still has what it takes on stage to send a crowd home thrilled to have seen him, and those lucky enough to have seen him in Orlando on July 21, 2010 can attest to that as well.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]