Some concerts are about nostalgia. Some are about spectacle. Some are about musicianship.
“Weird” Al Yankovic’s Bigger & Weirder tour stop at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center on June 14 somehow managed to be all three.
Forty-plus years into a career that should have been impossible to sustain, Yankovic remains one of the most unique performers in popular music. Packed with elaborate costume changes, hilarious video segments, a stellar expanded band, and a setlist that balanced fan-favorite classics with a few more recent soon-to-be classics, the two-hour performance reminded everyone why “Weird Al” continues to pack arenas across the world all these years later.
Although “Weird Al” put on an absolutely unforgettable show, I think what stuck out to me the most was the diversity of the audience. People from ages 8 to 80, longtime fans to recent converts, country folk, punk rockers, metalheads, Parrotheads, Deadheads, doctors, lawyers, Walmart cashiers, and Waffle House cooks, all there to celebrate the undisputed king of song parodies.
But before Yankovic ever stepped onstage, the audience was treated to a rather unusual opening act: Puddles Pity Party.
Towering over the stage at 6 feet 8 inches tall, dressed in his signature white clown costume, Puddles delivered a set that was as endearing as it was hilarious.
Although many may remember Puddles from his appearance as a contestant on season 12 of America’s Got Talent (where he made it to the quarterfinals before being eliminated), some (including me) may not. So when you see this huge, sad-faced clown walk on stage, it’s a bit confusing, to say the least. And with Puddles, what you see isn’t what you get.
There is a certain expectation when you see a clown act. You expect silly, slapstick humor and general goofiness. What you definitely do not expect is a massively talented, booming baritone singing voice to come from said clown.
Without speaking a word, Puddles captivated the audience during his 35-minute, nine-song set with a combination of physical comedy and surprisingly moving vocal performances. Taking on a wide range of genres from showtunes to heavy metal while using a combination of hilarious pre-tapped scenes and real-time live video, Puddles moved effortlessly between humor and sincerity, often within the same song.
Highlights came during his cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and the accompanying video of mildly infuriating things (cake being cut wrong, Skittles and peanut M&Ms being poured simultaneously into the same bowl, a spoon fully sinking into a bowl of soup, etc).
The Little Roger and The Goosebumps cover of “Stairway to Gilligan’s Island” (which mixes the music of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” with the lyrics to the Gilligan’s Island theme song) and its accompanying video consisting of scenes from the movie Waterworld used to comedic effect.
And the set closer, his cover of “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie, in which an audience member clad in a Kevin Costner mask, (there was a Kevin Costner theme throughout Puddles’ set), was all but force fed what looked to be Hostess Cup Cakes, which was shown up close through the use of Puddles’ own cell phone on the huge video wall that made up the backdrop of the stage.
After a brief 15-minute intermission (not really a set changeover because Puddles is a solo act, so there isn’t much to change over), the lights went down and the first of the night’s many ridiculously entertaining and wildly hilarious videos played.
Then came “Weird Al”.
Opening with the infectious “Tacky” (his take on Pharrell Williams’s “Happy”), with the live band already on stage, Yankovic, was shown live on the video wall behind the stage and matching monitors to both sides, walking and singing from his dressing room through the many corridors of the KFC Yum! Center, while numerous hilarious staged events were happening around him – this also included hitting Puddles in the face with a pie – before suddenly appearing at the back of the arena and working his way through the crowd. When all was said and done, he and his band delivered a two-hour, 24-song extravaganza that tied his entire career together, and Yankovic did it all with the energy of a performer half his age. Seriously, he’s pushing 67 years old, but still has the voice, the stage stamina, and the physical comedy moves that he had back in the 80s.
One of the defining features of the Bigger & Weirder tour is the scale of the production. In the past, some of Yankovic’s tours deliberately stripped away many of the theatrical elements in favor of intimate performances and deep album cuts. This tour went in the opposite direction. It is a full-scale arena production featuring additional musicians, lots of visual elements, elaborate costume changes, and many of the songs that helped make Yankovic a household name.
Yankovic’s backing musicians are easily among the most versatile performers in the business. They have to be. Al’s set Sunday night jumped from pop to rap to heavy metal to polka in a matter of minutes, sometimes within the same song. This larger ensemble of backing musicians gave these songs warmth, depth, and richness that often overshadowed the fact that this was technically a comedy show.
The giant video wall behind the stage became a star of the show in its own right. Throughout the evening, it provided hilarious visual accompaniment, parody clips, and original content that kept the audience laughing even during costume changes. Rather than feeling like downtime, these transitions were part of the entertainment, and you found yourself oddly excited when songs were ending to see what would be shown next.
Through it all, “Weird Al” was, well, “Weird Al.” Whether he was just being his normal, goofy self or embodying one of his many music video personas through elaborate costume changes, Yankovic never let up and was every bit as entertaining as he was funny.
One of the evening’s biggest highlights came early on in the form of “Polkamania!,” Yankovic’s frantic medley of numerous recent pop songs sped up and rearranged into polka numbers, accompanied by parts of the original artists’ music videos, also sped up and synced perfectly with what the band was playing for hilarious visuals.
A few songs later, Yankovic appeared on stage clad in a ratty blonde wig, a beat up guitar, a grungy sweater, and ripped jeans ala Kurt Cobain for his hit parody “Smells Like Nirvana.” No comedic visual was spared, as two cheerleaders with pom poms perfectly mimicked the dances in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video while off to the side, a janitor pretended to mop the stage. Watching Yankovic perform during this song in particular was highly impressive; jumping around, twisting and turning his body every which way, creating a dead-on impression of the energy and aggression Kurt Cobain exuded during Nirvana’s live performances, demonstrating Yankovic’s unique ability to lovingly poke fun at an artist while simultaneously celebrating them.
Not long after came “Fat,” his smash hit parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” which began with the intro to his music video shown on the video wall before Yankovic took to the stage in full fat suit and facial prosthetics, giving him the exact appearance he had in the music video for the song. What surprised me most was how limber “Weird Al” was able to be in his dance moves during this number, given the amount of material he was wearing while performing it. For added comedic effect, there were spots where he would jump during a dance move, and the band would all jump a step behind him, simulating a shock wave effect caused by his weight. Fat shaming? Sure. Could he get away with putting out a song like this now? No way. But it was nostalgia that kept us laughing through the song. As an overweight kid myself, God knows I was relentlessly teased when this song came out back in the late 80s. Still, as an overweight adult, I was cracking up right along with the crowd Sunday night.
Later in the set, “White & Nerdy” drew a huge response from the crowd. Nearly two decades after its release, the parody remains one of Yankovic’s most popular songs. Yankovic began the song by riding around the stage on a Segway scooter while singing the opening chorus, dressed in a hoodie, red skull cap, and khaki cargo pants as fans rapped along enthusiastically. Many, myself included, were astounded that he can still keep up with the fast-paced lyrics celebrating all things geek culture.
This was followed by “Amish Paradise,” generating a similar reaction. The song’s opening notes alone drew one of the loudest cheers of the evening. What followed felt less like a performance and more like a communal experience, as thousands of fans gleefully joined Yankovic in recounting the hardships of life in a fictional Amish community. Yankovic and band performing the song in full Amish gear, complete with fake beards for the men and pioneer-style bonnets for the women. This would be the last song of the main set.
The encore proved to be my favorite part of the show. As an admitted Star Wars nerd myself, I was thrilled to see several movie-accurate, detailed costumed Stormtroopers, Jawas, Boba Fett, and, of course, Darth Vader, line the back of the stage as Yankovic and band first played “We All Have Cell Phones,” which inspired the packed house to raise their cell phone flashlights in the air, lighting up the arena. This flowed smoothly into “The Saga Begins,” Al’s parody of the Don McLean classic “American Pie,” with lyrics detailing the story of Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, told from the character Obi-Wan Kenobi’s point of view, which saw the backline of characters on stage dancing along.
But the Star Wars-themed encore was not over yet, as “The Saga Begins” gave way to Al’s 1985 fan favorite “Yoda,” a parody of The Kinks’ “Lola” told from the point of view of Luke Skywalker upon his first meeting the Jedi master, which closed the night with a grand sing-along, leaving the fans reluctant to let it end, but left them smiling ear to ear afterwards.
Concerts these days can sometimes feel transactional. Audiences arrive, hear the songs they expect, record a few videos, and leave. As I found out Sunday night, “Weird Al” concerts operate differently. There is a communal spirit to it. Fans arrived wearing costumes, parody shirts, accordion-themed apparel, and references that only fellow “Weird Al” enthusiasts would understand. The audience becomes part of the performance, laughing, quoting, and singing along to every word.
For one unforgettable night at the KFC Yum! Center, Louisville entered Yankovic’s wonderfully bizarre universe. It was bigger. It was weirder. But most importantly, it was an absolute blast!
