Weird Al Yankovic @ The EnmoreTheatre, Sydney (19/03/2011)

Fri 25th Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Prolific performer Wierd Al Yankovic has returned to Australia yet again. For many years his career of music parody and video direction has continued unabated and The Enmore tonight was about to cop all three decades of his career.

Al begins tonight with Polka Face, his most recent pop focused polka giving Gaga, Bieber, Britney, Pink, Perry etc the full polka treatment as only he knows how. Setting a good mood for the evening which was set to last a solid two hours.

Of course, It would be difficult for a 51 year old to rock out for two hours without a break. Although Weird Al is looking very fit. Each song tonight tends to be separated by Al TV, including interviews with musicians with himself edited in as interviewer, mixed with the vast array of guest appearances and a multitude of TV and movie scenes referencing him. This was all in aid of allowing Weird Al and band time to get into costume for the following song.

In all the show went along in three main phases. The first phase was a mix of lesser hits highlighted the hilarious original You Don’t Love me Anymore, You’re Pitiful, Smells Like Nirvana and Canadian Idiot as well as newer style parody songs such as CNR (White Stripes) and Skipper Dan (Weezer).

After nearly an hour of this material with five minute breaks in between each song it would be hard not to understand if someone felt this show was beginning to become just a little bit tedious. Yes there was a good laugh now and then however apart from the odd flash moments the set was beginning to become dull.

Thankfully phase two came upon us to save us all. A medley! Yep, a ten song long medley including some real classics of which may have made better songs for the first phase including Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies, Whatever you Like, eBay, old classic Another One Rides the Bus, Trapped in the Drive-Thru, Gump and major hit Eat It. This all raised the evening out of the doldrums and prepared us to a state where we were expecting but now happy to do a few more video watching sessions.

Phase three, more costume songs, however, this time we got the cream. Devo style Dare to be Stupid, Doors style Craigslist, Amish Paradise, White & Nerdy and the best costume song of all time for Fat. Surely weird Al dancing around in that suit was the highlight for many tonight, a fitting climax to an improved set.

Okay so maybe I lied, after phase three comes the encore. Led with a joke song based on an Al TV interview with Michael Stipe titled We All Have Cell Phones it was plain to see by the garb being worn that The Saga Begins was upon us next and if judging a songs popularity can be based on how much of the crowd sings along unprompted then you would call this a success. this was followed with the apt and classic Lola parody Yoda featuring a rather strange and very impressive vocal jam interlude.

All in all, after the midterm lull Weird Al eventually raised a smile to my face and proved that he is the king of the parody. You cannot argue with two hours of entertainment, and he obviously has the material created over the years to fill it, it just came down to song choice. However with over 1000 shows under his belt it may be no surprise why he likes to mix it up, and perhaps a bigger fan would have loved the variety more.