Spend An Evening With Weird Al
Doesn’t this sound like the idyllic summer evening? Lounging on the grass at Riverfront Park, sharing an al fresco dinner with your sweetie, watching Weird Al Yankovic screaming, “I’m fat, I’m fat, you know it!”
Sounds good to me. Maybe Weird Al won’t put on the most romantic of open-air concerts, but he will put on one of the funniest.
Weird Al is the Spike Jones of his generation, a man who has had a remarkably long-lived career parodying the world of rock or pop. Having first hit the charts in 1984, Weird Al has survived longer than some of the acts he parodies, not to mention some of the acts that won’t allow him to do a parody.
“There’s one guy in particular who has consistently turned me down,” said Weird Al, by phone from the road. “I can’t really mention his name, because (pause) he doesn’t HAVE one anymore.”
A name, that is.
Weird Al says that legally, he could do a parody of any song he wants to.
“But ethically, I’ve made it a policy to only do a parody when I have permission from the original songwriter,” he said.
Hardly anybody turns him down, because to be parodied by Weird Al is an honor.
“Most artists realize that when I do a parody, it is not a putdown or a slam, it’s meant as an ‘homage,’ ” he said, rhyming “homage” with “fromage” (cheese). “Kurt Cobain was once quoted as saying that he knew his band had made it when Weird Al did a parody.”
That classic parody, “Smells Like Nirvana,” contained these lyrics:
“Crank the volume, ears are bleedin’ / I still don’t know what I’m singin’ / We’re so loud and incoherent, boy this ought to bug your parents.”
More recently, his “Amish Paradise,” a wicked parody of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” has been a huge hit on both the pop charts and on MTV.
His show at Riverfront Park should be familiar to those who saw his show at the Spokane Interstate Fair last year.
“There will be precious few surprises,” said Weird Al. “We’re still doing the Bad Hair Tour. It’s a live rock and roll show with the same band I’ve had from the beginning, great musicians, lots of costume changes, Amish costumes, fat costumes, ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ costumes, and a lot of video and film bits on the big screen.”
And no doubt there will be a few of his famous polka medleys on accordion, in which he sets the unlikeliest of tunes (heavy metal, grunge) to a perky polka beat. In Weird Al’s hands, even such lyrics as “Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage,” sound positively cheerful.
He’s already the most popular song parodist ever, but soon Weird Al will turn his talents toward a different medium.
“The Weird Al Show,” a Saturday morning kid’s show, will debut this fall on CBS. Described as similar to the old “Pee Wee’s Playhouse,” Weird Al will preside over a mix of sketch comedy, music and celebrity guest appearance, all from a cave miles below the surface of the earth.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: CONCERT Weird Al Yankovic performs Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Riverfront Park Lilac Bowl. Tickets: $15 in advance at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets, 325-SEAT; $18 at the gate.