‘Weird Al’ Yankovic wraps ‘Bigger & Weirder Tour’ with fantastic Fiserv Forum show

Saturday night’s “Weird Al” Yankovic show at Fiserv Forum was, according to the man himself, the 165th and final stop of the “Bigger & Weirder Tour.” How would Al and his band mark the momentous occasion? Would there be supersized grand-finale pyrotechnics? Obscure tunes chosen specifically for Milwaukee? Tearful farewells set to the dulcet tones of “Addicted To Spuds”?

“We’re going to do the exact same show as all our other shows on this tour!” Al exclaimed early on.

And indeed they did. It only made sense; after nearly a decade of playing stripped-down non-parody shows and highfalutin symphony orchestra shows, the two-year “Bigger & Weirder Tour” found Al returning to his natural habitat. Like the 164 shows before it, Saturday’s show was a tightly scripted and precision-timed multimedia production full of costume changes, video montages, and dancing extras. There wasn’t much time to slip in off-the-cuff numbers between, say, “Smells Like Nirvana” and “Dare To Be Stupid.”

But oh, it was wonderful to see Al back in madcap maximalist mode. He opened Saturday’s roughly two-hour set with “Tacky,” from 2014’s Mandatory Fun. The 12-year-old record may end up being Al’s final proper LP, but watching a live video feed of the loose-limbed parodist singing the song while dancing through the bowels of Fiserv Forum—and finally into the arena itself—was a timeless treat. Two more recent songs followed: the Crosby, Stills & Nash pastiche “Mission Statement” (also from Mandatory Fun) and the 2024 polka medley “Polkamania!” Perhaps the only song that could qualify as a deep cut, the sublimely manic original “Everything You Know Is Wrong” (from 1996’s Bad Hair Day), followed.

And from there, Al and company were off to the races. You got “One More Minute,” complete with lounge-lizard smoking jackets and audience serenades. You got “Smells Like Nirvana,” complete with ’90s grunge accoutrements and anarchist cheerleaders. You got “Fat,” complete with the full fat suit from the video. You got a stuffed-to-the-gills career-spanning medley of “Party In The CIA,” “It’s All About The Pentiums,” “My Bologna,” “Eat It,” “Like A Surgeon,” “Word Crimes,” and many others. And yes, you got beloved parodies “White & Nerdy” and “Amish Paradise” closing out the set, and beloved Star Wars parodies “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda” closing out the encore. It was everything any Weird Al fan could possibly ask for, and more.

The highlights weren’t just relegated to the hits. It was a hoot to hear Al perform a straight cover of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.” (He claimed to have written the song himself earlier in the afternoon.) The hilariously bittersweet “Skipper Dan” (from 2011’s Alpocalypse) is one of Al’s finest originals, and “Now You Know” (the end-credit song from the 2022 biopic spoof Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) is notable for having approximately 8,000 false endings.

All throughout the show were quick-hit video montages that demonstrated just how deeply Al has permeated pop-culture. Al-related references in everything from Scooby-Doo and Teen Titans Go! to 30 Rock and the original Naked Gun (“Frank, they’re not here for you…”) brought down the house. Al’s own “celebrity interviews” with everyone from Sting and Madonna to Justin Timberlake and Eminem drew even bigger laughs. At least a few audience members poured one out for the late, great Al Yankovich. R.I.P.

Al’s band, as always, was spot-on. The “Bigger & Weirder” troupe featured lifelong compatriots Steve Jay (bass), Jim “Kimo” West (guitar), and Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz (drums), as well as new-kid-on-the-block keyboardist Rubén Valtierra (he joined in 1992). That core group was rounded out by a terrific cast of energetic backup singers and multi-instrumentalists: Payton Velligan, Monique Donnelly, Scheila Gonzalez, and Probyn Gregory.

Al himself was in tip-top shape, too. He never broke a sweat amidst an onslaught of production cues and costume changes. He often spiked his general hijinks with high kicks and goofy full-body spasms. As he fast approaches his 67th birthday, his voice can occasionally dip into hoarse and shout-y territory—you try singing “Bedrock Anthem” at 67—but it always seems to magically recover moments later. The man is a national treasure. He continues to delight. He continues to deliver.

Will Al continue to deliver full-fledged Alapaloozas in future arena tours? Perhaps go back to stripped-down and sit-down theater shows? He didn’t say. He simply did what he’s always done so well: put on a wacky, wonderful, and wildly entertaining show. Enjoying the music and humor of “Weird Al” Yankovic is an easy and uncomplicated thing. It’s funny. It’s that simple. Mashed potatoes can be your friends.

Oh, and for this author, Al delivered a special present: a performance of “eBay,” a parody of Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” The song has long been a random family favorite, and, yes, my family was with me Saturday night. It was their first Weird Al show. It meant a lot to me that they were there. There were moments when I got choked up thinking about the passage of time. There were moments when I got teary-eyed thinking about how I had first fallen for Weird Al back when I was a kid, and how, four decades later, here I was seeing him with my own kid. Did I cry at a Weird Al show? Yeah, I did.

But then I was suddenly back, singing along to “eBay” with my family, all of us laughing at lines about Smurf TV trays and “Shatner’s old toupee.” We were having fun. It was that simple.