I met “Weird Al” Yankovic last Sunday.
My sister, Kristen, invited Melissa and me to join her at his “Mandatory World Tour” performance at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia. Our VIP tickets included seating close to the stage, a gift bag, admission to a pre-show party, and—best of all—a chance to meet the man himself.
If you have never been to a “Weird Al” concert, I suggest you remedy that as soon as possible. He and his band put on an amazing and hilarious show. They perform his most well-known parody songs, always perfectly capturing the sound and style of the original, while going through constant costume changes and interacting with props (and the audience). During breaks for costume changes, video clips of “Weird Al’s” weirdest stuff—television and film cameos, clips from his own shows and videos, and more—plays on the screen.
He also puts a few interesting twists on his songs now and then, most notably in an acoustic set near the concert’s mid-point. That’s why, when I met him, I suggested that he do a live album. His response, without missing a beat, was something like this: “We’ve done a couple of live DVD’s, and if you look away from the TV that’s just like a live album!”
Indeed.
