Straight Outta Puyallup
I went down to the big ol' Western Washington Fair in Puyallup, WA on Wednesday to check out the concert put on by one Alfred Matthew Yankovic. It's the new tour for his latest album, Straight Outta Lynwood. I have been to several Al concerts and he has always put on a good show, so I of course wanted to check out this one to see if he still has it, as he gets closer to turning 50 years old.
Amy, our friend Monika, and I went into the stands as the grandstand seating was included with the price of admission to the fair and the nice people of the Puyallup Fair PR and were kind enough to send us over some complimentary passes to be able to see the show. And even though we were pretty much as far back and as high up as the seats went, it still wasn't terribly far away as it wasn't a huge venue. Plus, there were a couple of fairly large video screens to either side of the stage which ended up being used to display closeups of our lead performer for the night. I also took note of a three-screen wide video display behind and above where the band would be performing. Al always adds a good A/V element to his shows, mostly used as time for him to run off stage during one of his many costume changes.
As the stands fill with the gathering crowd, we sit on a spread out little blanket to help lessen the stiffness of the bleacher style seating, waiting for his arrival. Munching on curly fries, a burger loaded with grilled onions, and the deepest deep fat fried corn dog around, Fun Zone starts to blare over the speakers as the lights flash around the stage. The moment has arrived.
We hear the melodious tones of an accordion start to fill the air, as good a ol' traditional polka, The Chicken Dance plays as Al steps into the spotlight. The tune picks up pace until "Let's get it started, ha!" breaks into the tune and turns a mere polka into Polkarama! The video screen displays the bits and pieces of the music videos from the pieces of pop music that make up this latest polka medley, sped up and cropped accordingly (accordioningly?) to match the polka mashup.
As the song finishes up, it shortly leads into Canadian Idiot, from the latest album. Al always puts on a great show and adds a bit of flourish and changes here and there to a lot of his performances, with this one being no exception. During Jim West's guitar riffs between verses, Al coos out the theme from the old SCTV sketch, The Great White North; an addition that would do Bob and Doug McKenzie proud. This song rocked pretty dang hard.
With no real costume change needed for the next number, the follow up tune of Close But No Cigar starts up right away. Well, as soon as a roadie hands Al a vibraslap to play at the appropriate parts of the song. Just as good as the album version, the band rocks the stage.
Interspersed between the numbers are various video bits on the screens as Al goes for a change of wardrobe. Most of them are the infamous fake celebrity interview bits from his Al-TV specials on MTV and VH1 from over the years. We get some Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, J-Tim, Celene Dion, Madonna, and others being made to look silly with some clever video editing. The ones where he really tears into K-Fed and Eminem are especially funny.
As the video finishes up, Al bursts back onto stage with shades, his hair pulled back, and sporting a shiny silver suit for It's All About the Pentiums. Al and the band rock the stage pretty hard during the number. You've really gotta be impressed by his band, being able to replicate so many different styles so well, and that they've stayed together pretty much the whole time.
Al disappears offstage for a few moments for a costume change as another silly video plays. He comes back on stage in some bulky looking clothing and starts to sing You're Pitiful. As the song goes on, he slowly starts removin shirts, revealing a shiny silver disco shirt, then a white t-shirt with big bold letters that spell out "ATLANTIC RECORDS SUCKS!" and eventually he's down to a bright yellow SpongeBob tee and removes his pants to reveal polka dot boxers and a pink tutu, looking quite the fool indeed. All for our amusement. What a classy guy.
The next song up requires Al to change into a bright red leisure suit-esque outfit. He croons out Wanna B Ur Lovr as he works his way into the crowd, dancing and gyrating for the audience. He gets up and close and personal with several fans, man and woman alike, as he sings the song full of corny pick up lines.
The interview with Eminem is shown after Al leaves the stage, setting us up for a rendition of Couch Potato (y'know what I'm sayin'?) But it's not a full version as it's time for the traditional mid-concert medley. Al's got such a huge library of songs from over the years, that it's hard to hit all the fan favorites every time, so he always includes a cool medley of some of his most popular numbers. After a verse of the hip hop parody, the hood on his sweatshirt comes down and reveals a silver Taylor Hicks style wig for Do I Creep You Out?, shortly followed by another special treat. It's an exclusive concert-only tune, as he now sports a red polo and bucket hat, declaring that "I'm in Love with the Skipper" (a Gilligan's Island themed parody of I'm in Love Wit a Stripper). A new verse of Headline News is next, describing Paris Hilton's recent trip to the hoosegow and asking why anyone should "give a crap abooooooooout heeerrrrrrrrrr". Some recent songs are up next, Confessions Part III, A Complicated Song, and eBay, followed by a slightly older favorite of mine, Bedrock Anthem. We get a little bit of kosher action with Pretty Fly for a Rabbi up next, and then one of the best parts of Trapped in the Drive Thru, while the Doogtoons video plays on the screen. During the radio turning on part, Jim rocks out on some killer Zeppelin riffs. Tom Hanks in a tan suit and a dorky crew cut appear on the video wall while Gump blares on the speakers. And the medley is finished up with an all-time Al classic, Eat It, while Al shakes his leg around while wearing a Jackson style red leather jacket. The crowd really got into the medley, with a whole bunch of awesome songs all mashed together like that.
A couple of Star Wars tunes are up next. Ruben has his black Palpatine cloak on as a cadre of Stormtroopers march onto the stage. Al appears in his best Jedi robes and gives us a great rendition of The Saga Begins. (By the way, I enjoy the old song/new movie parodies that have been on some of the last few albums, eg. Jurassic Park and Ode to A Superhero.) It was pretty neat watching the troops swaying back and forth to the music, almost surreal, really. Soon, the song is over and the Imperial March plays as the Troopers depart. Al grabs his trusty accordion and it's time for Yoda, which is usually reserved for the encore number, but Al's got something special instead for that tonight. Anyhoo, Yoda is always a huge fan favorite, especially with the legendary Yoda Chant, which gets bigger each year. I can do most of it, and through the magic of YouTube, I think I'll be able to learn all of it for the next tour. It's really quite an amazing sight if you've never seen it.
Some of the biggest fan faves are still to come. Al hits yet another costume change and comes out all grungified and in a blonde wig for Smells Like Nirvana. Al and the band just seriously rock the house with this number. And of course, the local crowd went crazy for the line "...a garage band from Seattle." It makes me wonder if Al ever changes the lyrics during not-so-complimentary parts of songs referencing different locations, such as when I'll Sue Ya declares that New Jersey sucks.
The crowd is ready to get all hip hoppy for (mildly controversial, screw you Coolio!) Amish Paradise. The crowd throws their hands in the air and waves them like just don't care. But we do care. We really do.
The latest hit single is up next as Al comes rolling onto the stage on a Segway for White & Nerdy. On the album version, Al can rap pretty well, but it's not all studio magic. Even live in concert, Al's flow be quite fresh indeed. As with the music video, the best part of this song is Donny Osmond appearing on screen and dancing around like a big goof.
Al goes back for one more costume change, and it's probably the most difficult one. A trio of plus size 1980s gangsters appear on the screen to offer Al some pizza, burgers, and Ding Dongs. Al prances out on stage in his oversized costume to perform another all-time great, Fat. At a couple points during the song, al calls out ho! The second time, his call works as a ho walks out on stage and hands him a hoe. The crowd really gets into the song, bouncing from their seats when Al jumps, mimicking Jim and Steve on the stage. As the song wraps up, Al names of the members of his band and gives us the big "thank you, goodnight!" A few of the people in the crowd start to leave, but the rest of us know better.
After calling for Al to come back on to the darkened stage, we see a bit of light peeking through the briefly parted curtains in the back, showing that he has indeed heard our calls. He tells us that he knows what we're all there for, and busts into a rendition of "We all have cell phones, so come on let's get real." It was a song from one of the "interview" videos with Moby from earlier in the night. The crowd pulls out their cell phones and waves them like lighters, just like the GBAs and DSs at the PAX concerts. But it only lasts for a little while when all of a sudden, the guitar starts to wail and Al shouts out "Way back when I was just a little bitty boy living in a box under the stairs in the corner of the basement of the house half a block down the street from Jerry's bait shop." It's time for some friggin ALBUQUERQUE! Wooooooooooooooo!!!
For those of you who don't know about Albuquerque, it's the big one we've all been waiting for. It's a big deal for Al fans. It's our Stairway. It's our Freebird. It's our Alice's Restaurant. It's the first time we've seen it performed live and it was amazing. What a way to wrap up the night. It was a fantastic show. Of course, I'm a big Weird Al fanboy, so my judgment is fairly biased.
For those of you who are at least casual Al fans, you should at least go to one of his concerts some time. Because he's not a super huge mega star, you get to see him in smaller venues, so even the furthest away seats are still pretty good. So check it out some time.
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