World of Weird Al Yankovic

Thanks for the pictures Bobbi!

Roseland is a tiny theater that is for sure.

TMBJon wrote:Glad you had such a good time and I hope you get a chance to say what you thought of each song performance once you get some rest...

Ok, you asked for it...

I went to this show just about as spoiler free as you can be unless you never spend ANY time online. I didn't get to see any of the SOL shows, and I didn't read any of the reviews from that tour or this one. Too depressing if you aren't going to get to experience them first-hand. So I knew a few things, like the fact that the beloved Mighty Silver Suit is dead. And OMM is gone. And where there were alterations to the songs I did know, I didn't know what they were for the most part. So, in many ways, there were a lot of WAY firsts for me in this show. Which was nice. AIH set in fairly early, so I'm going to rely on the setlist for song orders and such.

The venue was quite small. I would guess about 500 or so seats? And the stage was so small and crowded. I was in the balcony, second row back. I had a good view, except for the big headed girls in front of me who felt the need to lean their oversized melons together to try to talk during the show. Yeah, that's right. They came to a rock show to catch up on all the latest gossip or something. I guess those people come to every show, but why do they always sit in front of me? I was ready to smack them by the end of the Polka.

Speaking of the Polka. I didn't know a single song referenced. I did recognize some of the faces in the video playing behind the guys. I thought it was a nice touch to sync up the original artist's videos with the pace of the polka. Is this new, or have they always done it and I never noticed? Anyhoo, Pink singing with Al during the polka medley was a hoot.

Before I continue in the song by song review, I just want to mention some of my strongest impressions.

I don't know why it always surprises me, but it does: Al is so much better looking in person than he is in pictures or video. And he's a good looking guy in pictures and video. But in person, he's a really handsome guy.

As mentioned this was a teeny tiny stage. The instruments, speakers, amplifiers absolutely filled the space. I had no idea how Al was going to do his normal physical performance. There were a few places where they had to change things, but for the most part, they made it work. Of course it was helped by the fact that Steve was gone for so many songs. What's up with that? I know that some of the songs were bass-less, but honestly. A Steve-less song just isn't as much fun. Know whut I mean?

I was excited thinking I was going to actually see Jon playing. But because the stage was so cramped, Jim was in front of him the whole night. Don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing. I really enjoyed watching Jim play. I just would have liked to see Jon play too.

Every show I've been at I've been on the Steve side. This time, Steve (when he was on stage) was hidden by Ms. Mega Head. I had to lean forward and around her huge noggin to get a glance of him. But I had a great view of Jim. The last time I saw a concert was before I started playing guitar. So I didn't fully and adequately appreciate Jim's playing. I gotta tell you, I was dazzled! He is so freakin' good. I know we know this, but seeing him actually doing it, and knowing a little bit about what he's doing, just made it that much more impressive. And the Taylor he plays for the Starwars stuff at the end? That is one gorgeous guitar. I would love a chance to play it.

I enjoyed the costume change videos, which was a good thing, since it seems like nearly every song had a costume change. I was struck by the sheer number of clips. Al has been mentioned in a lot of places over the years! My fan-girl heart was so proud of him.

Ok, on to the song by song review:

Frank's 2000 Inch TV. It has always been one of my very favorite Al songs. It was a real treat, and a surprise to hear it live. Al's voice just gets better each year. It's unfortunate that the stage was so small, and I didn't get to see the touring screen. Still, a wonderful surprise. Thanks Al, for dipping into the vault for some of the treasures.

You Don't Love Me Anymore. Steve and Jon.... gone. Sigh. Ruben cracked me up in this song. He was so into it. Once again, Al's vocals were to die for. Can I just stipulate now that Al is sounding better than ever? Even this deep into the tour, he had control with his voice, and he was just amazing. There, now I won't have to say if for every single song. But it's true. So anyhow, Al holding a guitar. Photo-op time! I cracked up, every time he was in danger of needing to play it, he pulled it away. So funny. The audience reaction to this song was wonderful. Appreciative laughs in all the right places. Another winner from the vault of old songs.

I'm not a fan of wanton instrument destruction, even if the guitar in question is a POS. But unfortunately the axe he was using looked like a nice guitar. Sigh. But just as he was getting ready to bust it to smithereens, the people who had the inside seats decided to arrive. Could they wait til the next costume change to barge in? You know the answer to that. So I was spared watching the destruction of a perfectly good guitar.

Why do inside seat people arrive late? Stupid late arrivers.

Smells Like Nirvana. Add two more people to an already crowded stage. Yikes. One of the girls (the one on my left, Al's right) seemed to be doing a really good job. The other girl, was struggling, and it was hard to tell if it was because she didn't know the dance that well, or because she was trying not to run over/get run over by the lead singer.

Skipper Dan. Nice vocal showcase. Meh.

You're Pitiful. Really made me laugh. When he came onstage, with his costume all lumpy, I was wondering just how many layers there would be. Loved the "Atlantic Records still sucks" tshirt. Even though I knew it was coming, I about died when he got to the Spongebob tshirt. Great random sight gag. Fishnets, Al? Nice legs!

Dare To Be Stupid! One of my regrets til now has been not having seen such a classic live. Jim's suit was at least three sizes too big for him. Loved the Devo Flower Pot hats. Thanks for bringing it back, Al.

CNR. Ok, I've got a confession to make here. I'm not a huge fan of any of the Internet Leaks. I haven't even bought the iTunes download yet. Waiting for the physical CD. CNR is an ok song, but it's just ok. But the live performance was really fun. And the costume is nice. Yeah, real nice. Al looks good in black. Yeah.

Let Me Be Your Hog. Uh huh.

Canadian Idiot. I love this song. It was as much fun live as I thought it would be. Man, oh man... can the boys rock.

WBUL. The last time I saw this, he was still wearing the White Suit. That was pretty hot. Horrible for pictures, though, so I was glad to hear it went away during the SOL tour. I missed the Red Suit. Probably for the best, I'm not sure that my head wouldn't have exploded. The Tiger Suit? Oh... so cartoonish. Which perhaps fits the song better than a truly sexy outfit would have. But still. It is so over the top.

But his performance did not disappoint. Wowza. I've got a bunch of pics to go through, so hopefully a few of them will be worth sharing. Let's just say, he's not being coy with the chest hair anymore.

Medley. I was pretty deep in AIH at this point. Just after WBUL. Coincidence? I think not. Good song choices, but I can't really give you any thoughts on any of them.

Craigslist. This is a great Doors parody. Musically and vocally spot on. I never cared much for the Doors. So, let's discuss the costume shall we? swoooon! Only one complaint. Al, could you please just ditch the dead animal pelt you're wearing on your head? Man, that wig is bad bad bad. Distracts from the overall yumminess. Just wear your own hair. Please? No? Fine, I won't look at your head then.

Amish Paradise. Still one of the great songs and performances. Al, you can turn the other cheek for me any time.

White & Nerdy. He managed to use the Segway even in that cramped space. And nobody got hurt. I love this song, and I love this performance. Awesome, awesome, awesome. And the dancing. Hahahah! Loved watching the guys dance.

Fat. This was one place they had to change the choreography a little. There just wasn't room for all the guys to lay on the floor. This is always a fun performance, but I hate to see it come up in the setlist. Because it means the show is nearly over. I hate that.

WAHCP. Come on, let's get real. Wondering why it was added here, since we had seen it earlier in the video clips. Shrug. Random concert only placement? Laundry Day is better. Let Me Be Your Hog was better.

Saga Begins. What can I say? I love this song. It's the reason I'm a fan. I'm glad he's kept it in the concert. I hope it never goes away.

The 501st was there. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to fit five or so SEVEN extra bodies onstage. But they did it. And a stool for Al to sit on. And an accordion. I guess Al can defy the laws of physics in the pursuit of the perfect concert experience.

Yoda. Oh no, it's almost over. Nooooooooooooooo!!!

Yoda Chant. Freakin' awesome. So random, yet so well executed. And the extra harmony stuff at the end? Just in case you're forgetting, these guys are amazing.

I really enjoyed the instrumental ending. Man, oh man, are these guys amazing musicians. Wow, what a show! Thanks guys! It was incredible and so much fun. Let's not wait another six years to do it again, huh?

http://oregonmusicnews.com/blog/2010/08 ... -roseland/
A good review of the Roseland show which, IMHO, had one dumb thing in it (the review, not the show). Dumb thing reproduced below for your consideration:

A band with two and three decades of time together is tight to say the least, but talking about how the band played at a Weird Al show is the definition of missing the point.

Um, no, no it's not. A Weird Al show stands on BOTH legs: the comedy and the musicianship. But still, overall, a gratifying review. I don't believe I've seen a truly bad one this whole tour (if someone else has, please don't burst my happy bubble). And Bobbi, the Roseland supposedly has a capacity of 1480, but its downstairs GA is normally standing, not seated, so that would bring Al's numbers down. But the place was pretty full. It was kind of a challenge to get past all the standees and reach the facilities. The local ale was very tasty, but perhaps a strategic error in this context.

It’s hard to find an artist, of any kind, that has left more of a mark on popular culture than Weird Al Yankovic.

And yet he still doesn't have a Star on the Walk of Fame, or been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Something should be done about that.

Yes, a good review for the most part. He did like the band, so I'll forgive him.

Upon opening the topic, I saw that Bobbi, also known as Scottidog had posted a written review of the "Weird Al" Yankovic concert she attended on the third of August 2010, at the Roseland Theatre.

The review starts by quoting TMBJon saying how happy he was for Bobbi having a good time, and requesting that she give her thoughts on each of the song performances, after she has some rest, obviously being tired from the concert experience.

The response to this was "OK, you asked for it..." which is normally used as a threat, but in this case was an answer to a request, which I believe gives the post an interesting spin on classic phrases and what they mean.

The first paragraph deals with the experience of going to the show without any sort of idea of what was going to happen, as Bobbi had attempted to be free of spoilers for the show. In fact, she had not read any reviews of the Striaght Outta Lynwood Tour, as she had not been able to see any of them, and it would be much too "depressing if [one isn't] going to get to experience them first-hand".

However, she was aware of a number of things, such as the Mighty Silver Suit used for It's All About The Pentiums has been retired, and that One More Minute is gone from the setlist. This means that, in multiple ways, this was a first time experience, as there were multiple changes to the setlist that had made it different from previous times.

However, Bobbi believes that this is nice, presumably because a first time experience for many things is nice, including concert experiences, getting money from a job, jam, viewings of The Room with Tommy Wiseau and romance with an Australian man. (Wink, wink.)

The next paragraph deals with the seating arrangements of the concert and the size of the theatre. It seems that it was not a large venue, with only something close to five-hundred seats, and a cramped stage. Bobbi sat in the balcony, in the second row back, which would have given her a good view of the stage; however, there were two large headed girls sitting in front of her, constantly obscuring the view of the stage by leaning together, presumably to talk. Bobbi believes that they came to the concert to catch up on gossip, however, I'm much more inclined to believe that they were discussing the concert and how great it was.

The next paragraph is about the polka, and the lack of knowledge of any of the songs referenced. This is an increasingly common problem with all concert and album reviews with many people on the World of "Weird Al" Yankovic forum not knowing anything about the songs being parodied or polkaed by "Weird Al" Yankovic. The question of if they have always synchronised the video to the polka is one that I believe started on the Poodle Hat tour; however, I am likely to be mistaken, as I have not been to any concerts aside from one on the Straight Outta Lynwood Tour at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney.

Next there is mention of how Bobbi believes that Al is much better looking in person that in pictures, something I am sure is true of many people, including the original poster.

There is another paragraph about how small the stage was, with this one being much more detailed than the previous mentions of it; Everything was incredibly cramped and Bobbi was wary of how "Weird Al" Yankovic would do his regular, physical show. However, for the most part, Bobbi believes that they made it work, despite having to change the show around a little in various places.

Another complaint about how small the stage was, was one of how Steve Jay, "Weird Al" Yankovic's bassist, was absent from many of the songs. The fact that many of the songs did not have bass in them was not lost on Bobbi, however, she believes that a Steve-less song isn't much fun. Another complaint relating to how small the stage was was that Jim West, "Weird Al" Yankovic's guitarist was placed in front of "Weird Al" Yankovic's drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz, thereby preventing Bobbi from seeing Jon play. This however isn't regarded as a bad thing, as she enjoyed seeing Jim play. However, she would have liked to see Jon play, too.

Then there is mention of how every show Bobbi has been to has been on the side of the stage that Steve was on, however, at this show, she had a bad view of this, since one of the girls in front of her (Nicknamed "Ms. Mega-Head" by Bobbi) was blocking the way. There was a good view of Jim, which was appreciated, as since Bobbi had gone to a concert last, she had been learning to play guitar, as such, she was extremely impressed at how well Jim plays guitar, as she knows more about it. She was also amazed at the guitar used for the Star Wars songs at the end of the show, and would love a chance to play it at some point.

There is a short paragraph detailing how she enjoyed the costume change videos, and the number of clips within each of them, with many of them mentioning Al.

The song by song review is next in Bobbi's review of the concert. The first song she makes mention of is Frank's 2000" TV, which has been one of her favourite songs by Al, and was surpriesed to hear it live.

Next is her review of You Don't Love Me Anymore, in which she laments the leaving of Steve and Jon for the song. However, Ruben being in the song was enjoyable, as he was "so into it". She makes mention of how Al has great control of his voice and has amazing vocals. There is mention of the audience reaction to the song, in which there were appreciative laughs in all "the right places", thankfully not being in inappropriate spots in the song.

There is then a tangent in which Bobbi complains about how people were arriving late to the show, sparing her the part of the show in which the guitar being played by Al gets smashed in a rage; one she is not a fan of, as she doesn't not like wanton instrument destruction, especially for what she believed to be a very nice instrument.

The next song reviewed is Smells Like Nirvana, in which two more people - Dancers dressed as cheerleaders from the video - were added to the already crowded stage. One of them was apparently struggling woth the moves, nd it is speculated that this was either because of her not knowing the dance all that well, or trying not to get knocked over by Al who moves around physically during this song.

The next song reviewed was Skipper Dan, in which there is not much to be said aside from it being a nice vocal showcase and "meh", which intrigues me, as every other song has had at least a couple of sentences dedicated to it, and this song has four words to it. It is made mention of how Bobbi is not a fan of any of the songs from Internet Leaks later on during the CNR discussion, but I must admit that I am disappointed to not read more discussion of it.

You're Pitiful is discussed next, in which it "Really made [her] laugh" as Al takes off multiple shirts, and Bobbi was wondering how many layers he would have on underneath. The "Atlantic Records still sucks" and Spongebob Squarepants shirts were of particular amusement, as was the fishnets that Al wears at the very end of the song.

Dare To Be Stupid, having been absent from previous tours, was of particular enjoyment, as one of Bobbi's regrets was that she had not seen a song like this live yet. As with the next song, CNR, the costume for the song is the focused on part of the performance, as she "loved the Devo Flower Pot hats" (Although, they are actually referred to as Energy Domes by official Devo sources) and how "Al looks good in black"

The songs Let Me Be Your Hog and Canadian Idiot are somewhat glanced over, as the next song on the setlist is Wanna Be Ur Lovr [sic]. The last time Bobbi had seen this, Al was wearing a white suit, which had been changed on the previous tour to a red suit, which she missed. During this tour, however, there is a dark red, tiger print suit that Al wears for the song, which Bobbi believes that is "cartoonish". However, she believes it fits the song much better than a sexy suit would have. She believed the performance itself was amazing, and it is made mention that Al is "not being coy with the chest hair anymore", probably referring to the fact that his shirt is mostly unbuttoned for the song and thereby bares his chest a lot during the performance. (Something that I would do myself, were I performing the song, but I digress.)

The medly of songs is passed over, as Bobbi was deep in "Al-Induced Haze" as this point of the show, unfortunately obscuring her memories on the songs contained within. She did, however, believe that they were good choices.

Another song that is mostly glanced over musically to focus on the costume was Craigslist; however, there is mention of how it is musically and vocally spot-on. Her only complaint with the costume was with the wig, or as she refers to it the "dead animal pelt", which she believed was distracting from the general "yumminess" of the costume. However, since it is unlikely that Al would lose the wig, as it is an integral part of him looking like Jim Morrison, she decides to look somewhere else, probably referring to other parts of Al's body, such as his leather-clad lower-body region.

The rest of the songs only have one or two sentences dedicated to them, unfortunately, but there is mention of how great each of the performances of Amish Paradise, White And Nerdy and Fat are all fantastic performances. However, the apperance of Fat on the setlist usually means that the show is almost over, which is unfortunate.

The review of "We All Have Cell Phones" is mentioned that it isn't a fantastic song and that it doesn't need to be in the show, seeing as how Let Me Be Your Hog and Laundry Day is better than the songs.

The Star Wars songs, The Saga Begins and Yoda are talked about very briefly with mention of the 501st being onstage for the songs, adding seven more bodies to the already crowded stage, along with speculation that Al has the ability to warp the space-time continuum to create more space onstage to create the perfect concert experience. The Yoda Chant also has a mention, with it being called "[f]reakin' awesome" and "o random" with yet another mention of how amazing Al and the band are.

This post is an incredible review of Scottidog's concert going experience. However, I do have a couple of complaints in which I believe could be solved in the sequel, assuming one gets made. The post starts out very strong, however it seems to wind down and sputter out near the end of the review. The ending is also quite cliched, with the concert ending with Yoda, something that I have seen many times in previous posts beforehand. I do believe that this is an enjoyable post detailing the concert going experience, with only minor flaws ruining it very slightly.

Four stars.