It’s not often you need to start a review with a spoiler warning, but… here’s one. This is no ordinary gig, as fans of Weird Al will know, and a major part of the enjoyment for many is not knowing exactly what’s going to happen. So, for those with tickets for upcoming shows who don’t want to ruin the surprise, your short review is as follows:
Worth every penny. Bring hankies to mop away the tears of laughter.
For everyone else… read on.
Emo Philips is a name that should be familiar to most Weird Al fans, with the two having had a connection since the 80s (at least). Emo popped up in Al’s classic UHF film and his oddball style of humour gels perfectly with the mop-headed headliner’s. Ambling onto stage to a huge cheer, the gangly comic launched into a set which started off goofy and rapidly went very close to the knuckle. How me manages to get through a set without laughing at his own material is beyond me.
I obviously won’t reveal any of the actual jokes, which will likely change slightly from city to city anyway, but I was pleased to get through the entire thirty minutes without having heard a single one of the gags before. What I did notice was what really makes Emo’s humour work is that rarest of all knacks: timing. His joke telling is as off-kilter as his visual appearance. Some jokes work because you’re expecting more… and then you realise that the laugh was because he stopped where he did. Then the next gag relies on you assuming he’s finished when he adds a perfectly scheduled zinger to round it off. Just when you think your ribs couldn’t hurt any more… bam.
In honesty, Emo was one of the main selling points of the gig for me as I had never seen him live and my only disappointment was that his set was only thirty minutes long. Another fifteen minutes may have destroyed my ribs, in fairness.
Unusually this was a seated gig, which for the Academy meant importing some bolt-down flip seats that were too small for the average 21st century adult’s bum. Thankfully the seat next to me remained uninhabited – which is odd, as it’s the seat I’d originally tried to buy but the transaction failed and I had to retry using another web browser. So I ended up with both of them. Bargain. So out of three gigs, I’ve seen Al at a permanent seater (Sydney, 2007), a standing venue (Glasgow ABC, 2015) and a “what the hell, let’s put some seats in”.
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This is not a normal tour for Weird Al, and has been advertised as such. It’s self-indulgent, it features “deep cuts” and original material rather than the usual parodies, and there are no costumes or big screens. Just five musicians, who remain more or less stationary for the duration, and two hours of absolute gems. Yes, two hours. These says it seems to be the norm for bands to play for 1hr 20, with even 90 minutes being too much for many. Not so, Weird Al Yankovic. Including the comedic banter, the set was a blink away from 120 of your earth minutes and every one of them was hugely enjoyable.
A quick check with setlist.fm confirms that no fewer than twelve albums were visited during this mammoth set. The great thing about Weird Al is that the songs straddle musical genres, so nothing ever gets stale. We had manic numbers, slow numbers, acoustic, trippy, and complete madcap. Sometimes the album script wasn’t stuck to precisely, but always for the benefit of a laugh. One or two of the song intros were stories of how the lyrics came about, or what prompted Al to write them. Thing is, they also sound like genuine stories – though told in a humorous fashion, they do seem completely believable.
Rather than reel off the song titles (see that link in the previous paragraph if you’re that concerned), I just want to focus on the band. Al gets all the press. He’s the frontman, after all, but his four bandmates very much deserve more than a mention. Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz is probably the best known if only for the nickname. He was ensconced behind one of those glass partitions to protect the others in the band from rogue flying drumsticks (probably) but was still let loose with, without a doubt, the two best drum solos I’ve ever experienced at a gig. Hands down. Do not use these solos as a toilet break. Trust me.
Stage front with Al were Jim West on guitar and Steve Jay on bass. Both had their instruments on racks around them, with no sign of a single roadie wandering on to switch them out mid-set. The stripped-down essence of the show extended this far! Rubén Valtierra is well worth keeping an eye on as well. Although off to the rear of the stage, the keyboard/percussionist really sets out to make himself noticed and is a great showboater.
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Al’s voice as well… his talking voice is way deeper than you’d expect and then you hear him rattle through the songs… It’s not till you see/hear him go through this wealth of material that you can appreciate his vocal range. I’ve been a fan for decades and I’ve never really noticed this before. Then there’s his ability to rattle off machine-gun speed lyrics (“Your Horoscope For Today”) without missing a beat. Oh, and the whole band going through an extended choreographed “dance” with sound effects rather than lyrics. I know you’ve seen this before, but I swear this was twice the length as the last time. Oh (again), and if you thought “Albuquerque” was a long track on the album…
The closing medley is a novel twist, too. Whereas the recorded ones are all polka medleys based on original tracks, this is a lounge music medley based on parodies.
With the world being in such a state of chaos these days, sometimes you just need a break. A complete escape. And some laughs. Tonight, thanks to half a dozen gentlemen (and their crew), a couple of thousand people in Glasgow got that break and those laughs in spades. I would almost be tempted to say that this “indulgent” low-budget, stripped-down performance is the best of the three shows I’ve seen. But even it it is, it’s a close-run thing.
Suffice it to say, though, that the lack of screens and costumes is not a negative. This was a two hour performance – not just a bunch of songs, but a real performance. There was so much more than just the music, and every one of those 120 minutes included a laugh, giggle, snort or cheer. Feel free to indulge yourself all over us any time, Al!
