Does Al take private bookings (just a thought)?

[spmahn]

Just a thought I had, not something I am interested in inquiring about. Say you're obscenely wealthy and money is of no object whatsoever, and for his birthday your kid wants Weird Al to play at his party, does Al take private bookings? I know most celebrities and performers do, although it will generally cost an absurdly large amount of dough to do so, but I've never heard of Al working a private gig. Does he not do them, or has it just never happened? Or maybe it has happened and it was just kept on the DL and went completely under the radar? I'd imagine in Al's case it'd be tough since you couldn't just book him, you'd have to make sure the rest of the band was available and willing the take the booking as well, but assuming your wallet was deep enough and the stars and the planets all aligned properly, could you in theory make this happen?

[Orthography Enthusiast]

Al did play a private concert for a homeowners' association in 2004:
Aug 7 Mission Viejo, CA Lake Mission Viejo
(open to lake association members & guests only)

So I think the answer to your question is "yes." I would guess that you'd probably have to schedule it in with a tour Al was already doing... just getting that circus on the road must be amazingly expensive.

[minnick27]

I would totally hire Al to do a stripped down set, might get some rarities performed that way too

[HalifaxKat]

Fun topic!

If I were obscenely wealthy, I'd offer to fund a new movie, TV series, or musical, depending on what Al had ideas for and most wanted to work on. I'd also book a small, private acoustic concert. Up close and interactive, kind of like his old coffeehouse days.

[NH Weird Al Fan]

I would totally hire Al to do a stripped down set, might get some rarities performed that way too

When I first read that, I thought it said, "I would totally hire Al to strip down..."

[DrDecay]

I think Al would do a private show if it worked out for him. I am not sure how much that would cost. However, that would be an amazing 30th birthday president. I'm 28 now so maybe if I don't eat, don't keep up with car payments, forget having a cell phone, and maybe not affording cable TV, then maybe that could happen. However, I would rather see a live show sometime!

[Killingsworth]

In the Permanent Record booklet, Al was quoted as saying that there's an extra verse to "Melanie" that he sings only to friends sometimes. This makes me think he's done a few private gigs here and there in the '80s and '90s.

[DrDecay]

I wonder how that version went? Sounds like it could be quite the gem. I am sure Al has performed some private bookings, like most artist have.

[HalifaxKat]

I would gladly chip in on a Jim West solo gig if there were other diehard fans in my area who wanted to see if they could book him. Or a private Al gig for that matter, as a unique sort of experience.

[sethmartin]

The "friends only" verse must be non-family friendly. Now I want to hear it!!!!