For those of you who have been waiting for my recap of Friday’s concert, here it is. My official recap of Friday night when I attended the Weird Al Yankovic Mandatory World Tour at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
My journey officially began when I rode with my brother and parents to Mount Pleasant. Fueled with excitement, I told dad my favorite Weird Al song and started to play “Couch Potato” on my cell phone. Mom wanted to hear “Handy”, “Foil” and “Inactive” so we played those songs from the Mandatory Fun CD that I brought with me.
So we parked the car in lot section C-2, which coincidentally was the same section that our seating was in. After getting out, I looked at the clock. It was about 7:00. Only one more hour to go…
After getting inside, we checked the line at the Firefly Buffet, which I then discovered was called the Aurora Buffet. There was a line there, so my parents decided to try the vendors instead, since we needed something to hold us over.
Since I wanted my concert swag, I split the tickets. I gave two to my parents and gave one to my brother. I entered the concert hall and went straight to the Mandatory Merch stand. After some waiting and $55, I left the stand with a Mandatory Fun T-shirt and a Mandatory fun cap. Since I couldn’t wait to put it on, I went into the bathroom and changed into the T-shirt.
Now dressed in my new T-shirt and new cap, my transformation was complete. I was totally ready and psyched for the concert to begin. I advanced my way forward to C-2, in seat E 7. Kind of behind the front most part of C-2, just behind C-1. It may not have been the front row, but I wasn’t about to drop $250 for a VIP lanyard, trading cards, a concert concierge and a pre-concert meet and greet with Weird Al himself.
After my brother found his seat, he decided to hit the casino slots. With 45 minutes remaining, he better hurry, if he doesn’t want to miss the concert. I wasn’t about to leave my seat, so I told him to call me when he made the first spin. He called me at that time, and again when he stopped. Altogether, he gave $4.50 to the Chippewa tribe in just three minutes and eighteen seconds. Yes, I was keeping track.
After my brother returned, my parents arrived, with a Mountain Dew and a pack of Peanut M&M’s for me and my brother to share. Since I wanted to sing most of the songs, I started eating my M&M’s right away.
About 20 minutes later, it began. The lights turned off and the music started playing. The song was “Fun Zone”, the song Weird Al typically uses to start off his concerts.
After the opening interlude, I looked around. Weird Al was nowhere to be found. Where was he? During the time that I spent wondering where he was, “Tacky” started playing. The screen showed Weird Al dancing through the backstage of some studio. But after watching the video for a while, I made a sudden realization. Wait a second! This looks a lot like the casino! After he danced through the employee’s only area, he came out around the casino floor and started dancing his way towards the concert hall. As he approached the entrance, I turned around, hoping that I could catch a glimpse of him entering. Seconds later, I saw him running through the aisle with a cameraman running close behind him. He finally got onto the stage and finished “Tacky”. The crowd went wild, with the resounding cacophony of whistles and shouts And just in case you missed it, you can watch the action unfold documented from this lucky guy here:
Weird Al started with “Lame Claim to Fame”, a Southern Culture on the Skids style parody from his latest album. The pastiche basically outlines a person’s lame second-hand associations with famous people (i.e. I threw up in an elevator, next to Christian Slater; me and Kim Kardashian’s birthday’s are exactly the same).
After the catchy number, Al continued with “NOW That’s What I Call Polka!”, his latest polka medley from his latest album. It featured polka covers from various artists, including Miley Cyrus, Psy, Carly Rae Jepsen and Daft Punk, to name a few.
After that fast-tempoed number, Al continued with some various clips, with one from “Sports Song”. Weird Al then came out, dressed up as a cross between a purple caterpillar and a multi-colored peacock and began singing “Perform This Way”, his parody of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”.
Following that, Al continued with the classics. He performed “Dare to be Stupid” and “Fat”.
Al then played more segments, with one of them being “Gandhi II”. He continued with “First World Problems”, a Pixies style parody off his latest album. After that was “Foil”, a parody of Lorde’s “Royals”. Continuing with a classic, he sang “Smells Like Nirvana”.
Weird Al then pulled out “The Medley”, an assortment of various song clips including songs from the past and present and sometimes rejected parodies. This ten-song medley included “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” and “Canadian Idiot”.
After “The Medley”, Al came out in his next outfit and played “Wanna Be Ur Lover”.
After that song, Al broke out his acoustic set. He performed slow acoustic versions of “Eat It”, “I Lost On Jeopardy”, “I Love Rocky Road” and “Like A Surgeon”.
After another clip, just when I thought that it couldn’t get any better, it happened. Al got out the big guns. His powerful triad began with “White & Nerdy”. The next hit in his arsenal was “Word Crimes”, a parody of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”. His finishing blow was “Amish Paradise”. Following the audience, I waved my hands back and forth during the chorus.
At the end of the song, the concert was over…or was it? I and everyone stood up, giving Mr. Yankovic a standing ovation. I demanded an encore.
And that is just what we got. Al and his band came out, wearing Padawan Jedi costumes. He began singing the song that was inspired from the Michael Stipe interview: “We All Have Cellphones”. During that song, Al asked everyone with a cellphone to stand up and hold it out. And moment by moment, I noticed a sea of faint lights in the audience. Cellphones of every shape and size all open and being waved back and forth.
Al then proceeded to the real acts. He sang “The Saga Begins”, a parody of “American Pie”. The song was totally epic, and towards the end, he sustained the word “he” for nine seconds. Like an old-time classic, I sang the ending with the audience.
After that, Al sang “Yoda”. As the song was ending, the music literally grinded to a halt, and began transitioning into a series of chants. It was at that time that Al and his band performed the “Yoda Chant”, an interpolation which consisted of mnemonic syllables used by Indian tabla players. The chanting was coupled with synchronized movements. The chant continued with a sample from the Hawaiian War Chant, which Al encouraged everyone to sing along.
After the epic chant of nonsensical words, the chorus of “Yoda” finally resumed and truly ended. The concert too, was over.
I exited the concert hall with my brother and parents with a feeling of euphoria. We went to the Aurora buffet and discussed our favorite parts of the concert, while stuffing our faces.
With the buffet done and the concert done, I went back home with my brother and parents. The fun was mandatory, and I indeed had fun. And my, was it a glorious night.
Today’s high is going to be 55 degrees and the silver lining is having the day off.
To those of you who are enjoying your Sunday, I hope that you all have a fantastic day.
Muse: Now I’ll…
Tomorrow! It continues tomorrow.
Muse: It better, because I’m ready. Heh heh heh…
You must be logged in to post a comment.