Let’s face it, “Weird Al” Yankovic fans: If you’ve seen one “Weird Al” show in recent years, you’ve seen ’em all. There’s the big-single opener, the obligatory costume romps through “Fat” and “Smells Like Nirvana,” even more costume changes, video montages, and the one-two encore punch of “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course; “Weird Al” is great, “Weird Al” is immortal, and “Dare To Be Stupid” still kicks all kinds of ass. Stick your head in the microwave and get yourself a tan, indeed.
But wouldn’t it be great if Al did a tour strictly for the hardcore fans? Like, the really hardcore fans? The hardcore fans who have been waiting decades to hear, say, “Frank’s 2000″ TV,” “The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota,” or “Mr. Popeil” live? Well, here we go: Yesterday, The Weird One announced his “Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour,” an intimate, bare-bones (no costumes, props, or video), no-two-shows-alike, largely non-parody tour featuring himself and his band playing “deep cuts and obscure tracks. The songs that were never hits. The ones you barely remember.” Oh, we remember, Al. We remember. (Cue “I Remember Larry.”)
And here’s the really great news: The “Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour” is coming to Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater Tuesday, April 10. Yes. And Emo Philips is opening. YES.
“I know that there’s a small but enthusiastic subset of fans that literally have been waiting decades for this kind of a show, so…this tour is for them,” Al said yesterday on Facebook, reading our minds. “And me. And the band. After putting on ‘multimedia extravaganzas’ for 35 years, we just wanted to take it down a few notches and have a little musical palate cleanser.” (Full tour dates here.)
Tickets to the Pabst show are $39.50, $49.50, and $65.50, and go on sale Friday, October 20 at noon. So long, “White & Nerdy”; hello, “Stuck In A Closet With Vanna White.”