As a child of the ‘80s with three older siblings, I’ve been listening to Weird Al for quite some time. My brothers used to play “The White Stuff” to annoy my sister, who was a big New Kids on the Block fan, and “Amish Paradise” was a family favorite.
I have a lot of respect for Weird Al. It takes a talented musician to embrace every genre of music, and it takes a talented comedian to make musical parodies relevant. Plus, Weird Al has been at this for 30 years. He began before YouTube and social media, and he helped pave the way for musical comedy without relying on shock value or vulgarity.
Last night, Weird Al “dared to be stupid” and delivered. He began his concert by singing “Tacky” outside the Louisville Palace. He walked in through the crowd, taking selfies with fans all the way down the aisle.
Weird Al mixed old favorites with new gems. I was happy to hear “Fat,” “eBay” and “Amish Paradise” as well as “Foil,” “Handy” and “Word Crimes.” He performed a polka medley of pop songs as well as an acoustic set of his own tunes that included the ever-popular “Eat It.” He changed costumes multiple times, even donning a fat suit for “Fat.” His show was really a multimedia experience. During the costume changes, the audience saw clips of interviews, mentions from television shows and Weird Al’s own video clips. Weird Al ended the night with two Star Wars themed parody songs, “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda.” He had Darth Vader, Boba Fett and a group of Stormtroopers join him on stage for this encore.
The Louisville Palace was packed with fans in Hawaiian button ups. A few fans dressed themselves as Weird Al for the show while others chose the more subtle foil hat as an accessory. There were many children in attendance, and I’m happy to say that this was definitely a kid-friendly show.
For more information about Weird Al, visit his website at weirdal.com. To learn more about upcoming shows at the beautiful Louisville Palace, click here.
Weird Al Photo courtesy of David Becker
Fan Photo by Donovan Jones
