Weird Al Yankovic - The Celeste Center-Columbus, OH- August 8, 2007
Posted by Jeff Modzelewski on 08.13.2007
The Ohio State Fair becomes White and Nerdy
“Weird Al” Yankovic is without a doubt the master of musical parody. Believe it or not, he’s been making fun of pop culture for over 30 years; he’s released four gold and six platinum albums, and has won two Grammies. Not a bad musical career for a former student of architecture. I’ve been a Weird Al fan for most of my life (his “In 3-D” album is one of the first I remember owning), but I never got around to seeing him live. However, when he came to Columbus this time around, I decided that it was about time to check out the show.
The first thing I noticed when I got to the Celeste Center at the Ohio State Fairgrounds was that there were fans out front with a petition. Upon further inspection, I realized that they where asking fans to sign petitions for Weird Al to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yep, Weird Al is going to be Rock Hall eligible next year, and, according to his fans, deserves serious consideration. The venue itself was set up for a typical mid-sized rock show, with a large stage and four video screens. The show wasn’t a sellout, but that’s probably just because of the fact that the venue primarily used for musical acts, instead set up as a rectangle with bleachers. The edges weren’t sold, but all of the seats where a fan could actually see the stage were filled.
The show opened up with a video montage of Al being introduced on a number of TV shows throughout the years. Al came out with his famous accordion in hand, the show opened with “Polkarama” off of “Straight Outta Lynwood.” After that, the band went into their Green Day parody “Canadian Idiot.” I’ve always appreciated how, on their albums, Al’s band does a very good job of mimicking the original band’s sound. Well, they might sound even better live than they do on their albums. Granted, Green Day isn’t the hardest band to cover, but they were on target throughout the show. Another thing that impressed me with the show was Al and his band’s ability to change styles without missing a beat. After “Canadian Idiot” was the Cake parody “Close But No Cigar” and the Bob Dylan parody “Bob.” Each one is a distinctly different style, but the band pulled it off without a problem.
Video clips where also a major part of the evening. The majority of the videos consisted of “Al TV” clips where Al would use “interview” a celebrity, using their quotes from an old interview and his questions. He also included parodies of public service announcements, and a hilarious video for the song “Weasel Stomping Day.
Another purpose of the video clips where to give Al and the band an opportunity to change outfits. Al and the band were dressed up in P-Diddy style outfits for “All About the Pentiums,” an authentic-looking red leather jacket for “Eat It,” a hoody for “Couch Potato,” and a Zach de la Rocha-style wig and outfit for “I’ll Sue Ya.” This was another way that the band paid attention to small details.
Al mainly stuck to hits off of recent albums for the majority of the setlist. He included a medley of 14 songs in order to hit his big hits, and limited the rest of the set almost exclusively to his most recent 3 albums. The exceptions where the classics “Yoda” and “Fat.” He also did the obligatory “The Saga Begins,” “Amish Paradise,” and, of course “White and Nerdy.”
That’s not to say that there weren’t surprises throughout the night. “Yoda” in itself wasn’t a song I expected to hear. Al also played “You’re Pitiful,” an unreleased parody of James Blunt’s “Your Beautiful.” He even re-created the video by removing shirt after shirt, ending up wearing a Spongebob Squarepants shirt, a tutu, and fishnet stockings. The song was originally supposed to be included on “Straight Outta Lynnwood,” but was removed after Atlantic Records protested. Al shot back by including a shirt that read “Atlantic Records Sucks” during the song. I was also surprised that the band closed with the 10 minute song “Albuquerque,” a crazy random rant/story about why Al hates sauerkraut.
The show lasted 2 hours, included Al’s biggest hits, and had everyone in the audience laughing. Even if you knew all the songs and weren’t laughing because you were surprised at the jokes, the stage show and video clips kept everyone in a good mood. Most impressive to me, again, was his attention to detail. From the band’s sound, the changing outfits, the fat suit during “Fat,” the left-handed guitar for “Smells Like Nirvana,” and the red-and-white lights for “Canadian Idiot,” Al and his band are always spot-on with their ridicule. A definite winner of a show.
The 411: Weird Al's comedy is just as good live as it is on record. Great music, great stage presence, and constant pop-culture comedy equal a fun time for everyone.
