World of Weird Al Yankovic

The whole show was so much more than I expected -- it was a life-changing epiphany

My first Al show (Greensboro, North Carolina, May 21, 2000) was like that. My friend Kim, who was a much bigger fan than I was then, took off work early to buy the tickets the minute they went on sale at 5 p.m. on a Thursday, and she got us five seats at front row center. I ended up in the middle of our group, right in front of the mic stand. So, obviously, I was doomed to become the raving geek fangirl I am today.



When Al came down from the stage during OMM and sat on Kim's lap, I swear I did not hear another word of the song! It was a brilliant moment in a fantastic evening. I heard later that Al had been sick the week before, but if anybody was feeling a little under the weather that night we sure couldn't tell from the front row.



My best audience memory is from the show at the Saenger Theater in New Orleans (October 6, 2000). The Saenger is this vintage 1920s movie palace with marble tile and fluted columns and the night sky painted on the ceiling. And the first thing I saw in this opulent, historic building was...five guys in funny hats trying to start The Wave inside the auditorium, 45 solid minutes before Al and the guys came on! That's when I knew it was going to be a banner evening.



Oy, I've rambled on more than I meant to. This is me shutting up now.



Becca

My favorite concert memory... Sheesh, tough question! Two of my very favorite concert memories were the two times I got to meet Al. After that first time I thought I would NEVER stop smiling! He was AMAZING. I really think I enjoyed the second time more, though, because I got out what I wanted to say (not the insane, excited babbling of the first meeting) and I actually made him LAUGH. It was such a nice feeling to give him a laugh, after all the millions of laughs he's given me.



My most memorable Al concerts were the last two shows on TWS. My friend Sharon and I drove 16 hours from Columbia, MO to Wilkes-Barre and Bethlehem, PA to see them. And it was a spur of the moment trip! It was just so amazing to be in that auditorium for the last concert, even though our seats were 20 rows back. You could feel the love in the air and it was so neat to see all the people with props. And meeting all the great Al fans was awesome.



One of the funniest concert moments was in Springfield, IL on September 30, 2000 (the first time I met Al)... Al fell off the stool during the second verse of TSB. He wasn't hurt and it looked like he almost meant to fall off the stool, because he was having problems with his mic that he couldn't seem to fix. So we finished off the verse for him as he re-situated himself and then he joined back in at the chorus. He had a really goofy look on his face. It was pretty funny.



Katie

Wow...what a bunch of great responses!!!



A few more of my most interesting concert experiences were also the wettest!



July 2, 2000 (the day before my birthday!), several of us die-hard Al Fans were in the middle of a 3 day concert trek. Navy Pier in Chicago July 1, Summerfest in Milwaukee July 2, and Merillville, IN on July 3. Al was scheduled to play around 10PM on one of the many stages at Summerfest. We took turns holding the front row seats all day while taking treks to the other stages to see Those Darn Accordions and Pat McCurdy. Around 7PM, some of us decided to make a run to the cars to get our prop bags and settle into our front row positions for the night. On the way to the car, we got caught in a deluge of rain. Luke and I sat in the car soaking wet for 45 minutes waiting for the rain to let up just a little bit. When we finally rejoined the group, we learned that while we had been sitting in the very open parking lot, there had been a tornado warning in the area. We thought for sure that all our waiting had been for nothing. But still, we waited. We started hearing rumors in the crowd about the Red Hot Chili Peppers cancelling their amphitheatre show because of the weather. Then came the announcements over the loud speakers that every stage in the fest was being shut down because of the weather EXCEPT FOR AL. While we waited (and the crowd grew!), we were entertained by Mongo rowing a roadcase across the stage. When the show finally started, there were video and other techincal problems, but Al and the band played through the show like pros. (Wonder what Flea would have to say about that!) The best thing was seeing the security guards face when it started to SNOW!



So fast forward a couple months to Sept of 2000. Gorgeous day in Kansas City. Not a cloud in the sky. Hmm...wonder why I was compelled to buy a poncho at WalMart that day!!! Sure enough, we get to the beautiful outdoor venue at the Kansas City Zoo and it starts to POUR. There were announcements made for people to sit in their cars and security would let them know when the concert would start. We stood under an overhang watching the rain come down when suddenly the entire venue went black for a few seconds. Lightning had stuck a spot tower and that was only the beginning of the technical difficulties for the night. There were numerous sound problems. I noticed the lights were fading in and out, but there weren't any actual light cues happening beyond that. By the time of the Yoda chant, Al and the band were in the dark. They had lost their lights completely. After working as a professional stagehand for the past five years with many touring musicals and concerts, I had never seen a show with so many technical problems. Then again, many many shows would have started packing up at the first sign of bad weather or the show would have been edited considerably. Not Al and the band. There's a certain rare dedication that they have to every single person that comes to one of their shows. Every single person who is willing to risk pneumonia by standing around in soaking wet clothes just to see some silly band playing silly songs. It's definitely something to be appreciated.



So the moral is, never go to an outdoor Al show without sufficent raingear (ponchos, waders, those weird hairbonnets.....but never umbrellas during a show because they just block everyone else's views!)

On 2001-11-07 07:36, Evita27 wrote:
Wow...what a bunch of great responses!!!

So the moral is, never go to an outdoor Al show without sufficent raingear (ponchos, waders, those weird hairbonnets.....but never umbrellas during a show because they just block everyone else's views!)

I agree whole heartedy on both points!

Some EXCELLENT stories, some I hadn't heard!



I would love to type my stories in their entirety, but as some of you know, I post in these groups, clubs and forums from work.

It's kind of hard to be "on the air" and retelling old times at the same time.

Maybe someday I'll have an ISP at home!!

Boy, it is really tough to narrow it down to just one experience. I'd have to say my all-time favorite concert moments were:



The Rochester, NY show on May 7, 2000. I drove 6 hours by myself to meet up with a bunch of Al fan friends. My friend that lives there was kind enough to camp out at the box office and get tickets, so we had front row, Steve side!! We randomly distributed the tickets when we all arrived, and I ended up on the aisle. As I was sitting I looked at the stage, which was across a sunken orchestra pit. I realized that the only steps leading from the stage to the audience (for OMM) led to the aisle right next to me. AAGH! And sure enough, I was the lucky recipient of the boxers. I still cannot recall what Al was singing at the time, I was in seventh heaven.





My other favorite concert experience was the entire Tiffin, OH concert on Oct 22, 2000. We had 6 gals in the front row Steve's side, and boy did Al and Steve play to us! It was a blast.



-Shelley

*sigh*.. I really need another concert!!

Oh...man, this is hard.

Even though I've only been to one concert.



Course two are pictures in the wa.com gallery! Yeah!



But also the OMM speech which I can not remember the words to.

The TNSWC little diddy, course it was October then, but still! Um...The little clips between songs...Rubén getting shot...twice!

So many memories...



My brain is fried for no particular reason. I can't put together real sentences.

The best times for me have been the two times I got to meet Al and of course hugging him;)

But the best concert experience was getting the Nirvana cup! After driving by myself four hours to Columbus and waking up sick and then riding up three hours to Toledo and waiting in 90 degree weather for 7 hours I got the best "gift" when Al threw the cup in our direction and it hit the barrier in front of us and bounced off into the grass and landed right in front of me, my freinds held my camera, glass and my legs:) (thanks gang!) so I could hang over the four foot barrier to try to get the cup, I couldn't reach it but a very nice security gaurd handed to me!!!! I was SO happy and a month later Al signed it for me!!

I know most everyone here has heard this story but you know how I love telling it;)

Heather

My favorite Al moment was the entire Tiffin concert. I have never had so much fun. Half the front row was AL-gals. I had second row seats but gave 20 bucks to the guy in front of me for his seat. Best 20 bucks I have ever spent!!!!!!



Maria