by Patrick Austin, 630WPRO.com
What good can come from a tall, thin, awkward 56 year old man with crimped hair that walks around stage in a giant fat suit singing about his love for ham on whole wheat sandwiches? Turns out, quite a bit.
The upscale Providence Performing Arts Center served as host to one of the oddest, most entertaining concerts I have ever been to: “Weird Al’s The Mandatory Fun Tour.”
Here are five things that I completely did not expect.
1. There were just as many young kids as there were 40 year olds
I have literally never been to a concert where there were children. Like full on kids. In retrospect, that makes sense. I don’t think my kids would really enjoy Dave Matthews or the Steve Miller Band – but after seeing the Weird Al spectacle, I can absolutely understand how it plays to both older and younger. It was funny, engaging – and not at all inappropriate for children, while at the same time, completely entertaining for the over 40 crowd – especially the gentleman next to me screaming every word to the song “White and Nerdy” which happened to fit this guy to a tee.
2. Exceptional Stage Show, Sound and Performance
In complete honesty, I thought a man named “Weird Al” may not have the most professional and polished presentation. Turns out: untrue. The performance was incredible. Al dressed the part and performed every song as if it were a live version of his infamous parody videos. I was super impressed with the transitions in between songs, the sets and the ease with which he performed every single song. His voice was true to the albums, and the live concert factor simply made it that much more entertaining. For a guy who is 56, he has seemingly not lost a step at all. In fact, I would suggest he has only perfected the live experience of his shows, based on footage I’ve seen from years past.
3. Weird Al is All Over Pop-Culture
In-between nearly every song there was a video package showing Weird Al and Weird Al references from TV shows and movies throughout the years. From the Simpsons to the Cartoon Network, How I Met Your Mother, the Naked Gone and dozens more, it was cool to see just how many places have Weird Al fingerprints on them.
4. “Amish Paradise” is the Anthem of a Generation / He’s Got Hits
When Yankovic bumrushed the stage wearing a full Amish outfit (including a giant brimmed black hat), you would have thought the audience was seeing the Pope say Sunday Mass. People were out of their minds excited. The sound at PPAC is superb, and the audience was singing along to every line. This was definitely one of the biggest moments of the night, and certainly reminded me of being back in high school (not to brag, but I did own an Amish Paradise CD single). Aside from that song, I couldn’t believe how many songs I knew. I’m a casual fan and probably know as much about Weird Al as most music fans, but nearly every song that came on I knew immediately of his version. That made the show that much more fun. There were no b-sides, it was all hits.
5. The Mandatory Tour Really Should Be Mandatory
I heard Weird Al on WPRO’s Matt Allen Show earlier in the week joking that last year’s “Mandatory” tour had to come again this year because “not everyone understood that the show really was mandatory,” so he’s giving people another chance to see the show. After watching the exceptionally well executed performance and stage show, I would say the term mandatory isn’t far off. I think anyone who has even a passing interest in the absurd songs would love the show. It is visually engaging and fun, the music sounds as polished as an album, and the performance was flawless – with the bonus that there is no age restriction. Likely anyone of any age group would enjoy something if not everything about it.
An intimate venue, excellent show and very fun evening. A definite recommendation to see Weird Al on his next tour through our area.
Setlist:
Tacky
Lame Claim to Fame
Now That’s What I Call Polka!
Perform This Way
Dare to Be Stupid
Fat
First World Problems
Foil
Epic Rap Battle: Bill Nye vs Issac Newton
Smells Like Nirvana
Party in the CIA / It’s All About the Pentiums / Handy / Bedrock Anthem / Another One Rides the Bus / Ode to a Superhero / Gump / Inactive / eBay
Canadian Idiot
Wanna B Ur Lovr
Eat It / I Lost on Jeopardy / I Love Rocky Road / Like a Surgeon
White and Nerdy
Word Crimes
Amish Paradise
We All Have Cell Phones
The Saga Begins
Yoda
