CONCERT REVIEW: Weird Al Yankovic at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Weird Al 10 — Weird Al Yankovic at The Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan on March 11, 2018. Photo by Mike Shaler.

Sunday, March 11, 2018 – Weird Al Yankovic is a man of many accomplishments in the music industry. For over forty years the world has laughed along with Weird Al’s parodies that made him a household name and gave recording artists affirmation that they’ve made it in the industry with Weird Al doing a parody of their song. So why after several decades is Al doing a tour that focuses heavily on his original material? Is it because Weird Al has gone crazy? I say no, because Weird Al can and has the songs to make it happen. In fact, I think a tour like this is long overdue.

This tour, humorously titled, The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour; is a showcase of Weird Al’s song writing chops and vocal wittiness when it comes to non-parodies. But before I delve into more, Weird Al brought along with him on this tour, comedian Emo Philips. Emo is quickly a stand out performer with his quirky voice and witty material. Many will remember him as the character Mr. Butterfingers in the movie UHF. Emo is a master of leading you one direction and whipping the sails taking us the opposite direction in a snap. If he wasn’t saying something hilarious, then Emo was doing something strangely funny, like pulling several bottles of water and fruit out of his pants pockets to drop on stools but they wouldn’t fall and stay on the stools and later on he took off his long jacket and realized there wasn’t a spot to hang it so he stuffs the entire coat down the pocket of his pants. Oddly humorous and so likeable, Emo Philips was a delight that brought laughs aplenty to the audience tonight on March 11^th, 2018 at Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Emo ended his set by mentioning when he was working on UHF back in 1989 that he asked Weird Al when they were going on tour together, to which Al responds, when Donald Trump becomes President.

This was my first time seeing Weird Al in concert, I have been a fan since the early 80’s seeing his funny parody videos on MTV, so seeing Al in concert with his accordion and longtime bandmates Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz on drums, Ruben Valtierra on keyboards, Jim West on guitar and Steve Jay on bass on a tour that didn’t involve parodies was fine with me because I grew up listening to plenty of his original songs, some of which they performed this night, “Bob”, “I Remember Larry” and “Nature Trail To Hell” were a few. I was hoping to hear “One More Minute”, because the video and lyrics are so memorable but that song didn’t make the list for this show.

But despair not, there were plenty more songs of interest like movie soundtrack self-titled song “UHF” and “Christmas At Ground Zero”, which Al stated is not about the horrific event that occurred in New York City on September 11^th 2001, since this song was created many years earlier. Al also appealed to the masses by dedicating a song to the roughly 18 million people celebrating a birthday on this day with “Happy Birthday”.

Not to leave the fans completely empty handed with no parodies, Al and company did perform a polka melody of parodies the included “Eat It”, “Amish Paradise” and “Like A Surgeon”. The show was rounded out with a cover of The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” and ended the night with “The Saga Begins” which tells the story of being a Jedi in Star Wars, which is played and sung in the tune of Don McLean’s song “American Pie”.

Weird Al Yankovic is a music icon that’ll go down as the best parody artist in history, but don’t lose sight of his original material, for Weird Al has the uncanny ability to tap into other artists styles and emulate them in his own songs. As long as Weird Al continues to tour, fans from young to old will continue to show up to see him perform, because we know a good time is in store when Weird Al is around.

– Mike Shaler – Photojournalist for Go Venue Magazine [all photos by Mike Shaler]