“Weird Al” Yankovic

with Ken Evans

Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa, FL • November 16, 1999

Julio Diaz

If you don’t like “Weird Al” Yankovic, you have no sense of humor, and you’re just going to walk around under a gray cloud of depression, writing profoundly black words on tear-stained black paper in the deepest black ink for the next 70 or 80 years, anyway – at least, until you decide to either tear out your internal organs with a spatula or go on a kill-crazy rampage and blow up your school. Wouldn’t it be better if you just spent a little time learning to laugh by getting in touch with your inner Al?

It seems that in Tampa, at least, there are plenty of people who agree, as eager Al-fans filled the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s largest venue, the 2,557-seat Carol Morsani Hall, to near capacity. Along with hardcore fans bearing signs that read “Al 3:16” and “I Hate Sauerkraut/I Love Al,” a surprisingly large number of families turned out for a night that was more than a concert, it was a multimedia event.

After a short but witty warm-up set from Orlando stand up comic Ken Evans, the lights dropped and a video screen slid into place as the Claymation introduction to the short-lived Weird Al Show heralded the arrival of Al and his band to the stage. Launching straight into the Presidents of the USA parody, “Gump,” Al kicked off the show in high gear, as the video screen synchronized clips from Forrest Gump to the beat of the music.

The video screen was a key element of the stage set, as it was used to both provide video accompaniment throughout the show and to keep the show moving while the band was offstage for their myriad costume changes (everything from Devo-inspired radiation suits for “Dare To Be Stupid” to Mennonite garb for “Amish Paradise” to the infamous 800-lb. Michael Jackson suit for “Fat”), entertaining the crowd with bits from various Al productions.

That’s not to say that video was the only multi-media element either, as Al combined everything from samples, sirens, and fake snow for his special Christmas tune, “The Night Santa Went Crazy,” to numerous live action bits with both his band and a chorus of dancers who acted as everything from cheerleaders on “Smells Like Nirvana” to bodyguards on an Elvis-inspired run through the audience for “One More Minute.” Keyboardist Rubén Valtierra seemed to be Al’s chief foil, getting nearly as many laughs as Al by playing such memorable roles as a Truth Or Dare -era, cone-brassiered Madonna for “Like A Surgeon,” and even taking a couple of bullets when Al felt he was stealing the spotlight.

Musically, the show spanned Al’s entire 20-year career, a feet managed by the penultimate tune of the set, a sprawling medley of Al’s parodies, from early stuff like “Another One Rides the Bus” to new material like “Pretty Fly (For A Rabbi),” along with some hilarious new material, parodies of Alanis Morrisette’s “Thank You,” Celene Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and the Offspring’s “Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated).” Al’s band proved once again that they are a sorely underestimated musical force, gliding through the set’s wildly diverse musical styles with a grace that seemed effortless.

After closing with “Fat,” the audience’s wild cheering for more brought an almost immediate response. Valtierra quickly re-appeared, disguised as Darth Sidious from The Phantom Menace , and using the power of the dark side of the Force, he goaded the cheering throng to get up out of their seats and make more noise. In short order, Al and the rest of the band came back dressed as Jedi Knights for a Star Wars -themed encore of “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda.” It was a perfect capper to a fun and entertaining evening. Next time you’re feeling the word is a dark, sad place and you don’t want to live there anymore, go see Al – I guarantee, his show’s a lot better than ritual suicide! ◼