Concert review: “Weird Al” Yankovic at Peace Center
This was not the “Weird Al” Yankovic experience I’d envisioned. But had I read the fine print — and been convinced to take it seriously — I would have known what awaited.
At Peace Center on Aug. 18 for “The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour,” the king of parody songs eschewed the likes of “Eat It,” “Like a Surgeon,” and “The Saga Begins” in favor of his originals — none of which sounded familiar to a casual fan like myself.
That’s not to say it was a disappointing or non-worthwhile evening — especially when it began with an opening set of stand-up by Emo Phillips. The legendary comic, introduced as Yankovic’s co-star in UHF, dazzled the fairly packed crowd with hilarious, high-pitched jokes that intelligently worked in references to the South, disarmingly blunt greeting cards, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which he wittily noted resulted in his long-held goal of attracting a younger audience, albeit at a great cost.
Following a brief intermission, Yankovic and his longtime band took to the stage, and from the opening notes of Jim “Kimo” West’s guitar shredding in “Close But No Cigar,” it was clear that we were in super-fan territory. Even with the frontman’s subsequent warning that the show would consist of “unpopular songs,” thereby showing off the band’s immense instrumental talents, his commitment to that pledge was nevertheless a surprise.
Quality banter ensued between songs, much of it tied to the show’s alignment with drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz’s birthday, resulting in fun “impromptu” solos from the players throughout the night. But discerning Yankovic’s lyrics during songs proved far more difficult, perhaps due to a subpar audio mix, rendering the setlist fairly tedious for casual fans who were unfamiliar with the selected content.
Nevertheless, amusing exercises managed to rise above the technical shortcomings, namely “Bob,” an especially nasally, Dylan-esque assemblage of palindromes; the purported super-early Talking Heads song “Dog Eat Dog,” which inspired some Stop Making Sense-inspired calisthenics by a seated Yankovic; and “My Own Eyes,” whose Green Day and Foo Fighters influences were fun to pick up on.
Through it all, I held firm to a belief that some Weird Al hits would get worked into the set, and while that dream felt farther away with each new song, gains were made as either the mix improved or the lyrics were suddenly able to cut through the (expertly crafted) noise. “Good Old Days,” “Why Does This Always Happen to Me?” and “Don't Download This Song” were all pretty much crystal clear, resulting in some of the biggest laughs from us fair-weather fans.
Despite a lingering desire to escape early and avoid the post-show rush, my trust in Yankovic and his inability to entirely avoid his most popular anthems held firm, manifesting in a perhaps overly specific vision of an encore consisting of a medley of hits.
Indeed, after a rousing encore rendition of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” — “requested” by West, who was “chosen” by Yankovic out of “everyone” in the room and then chastised for not picking it in June when school is actually let out — attendees were rewarded with a lounge-lizard medley of “Amish Paradise,” “Smells Like Nirvana,” “White & Nerdy,” “Word Crimes” and “Yoda.” Through it all, Yankovic’s vocals remained in peak form, particularly in the Kinks’ parody, belting out the “Yo-yo-yo-Yoda” chorus like it was the last song he’d ever perform.
The ultimate middling feeling that I felt exiting the venue wasn’t entirely Yankovic’s fault — he’d been as up-front about his intentions in the press materials as a noted funnyman could be. But having been introduced to his live antics in the form of an esoteric set with a smile still mostly on my face, it gave me hope that I would still one day get to witness the Weird Al of my projections before too long and experience the fullness of his talent.
(Photo courtesy of Peace Center)
