Tag: Weird Al

Top 25 live shows of 2022: #’s 5 – 1

It was a great year for live music for me, and the top shows were all stunners.

#5: Weird Al Yankovic – Lerner Theatre / Elkhart – July 26th

It’s kind of amazing that it took me so long to see Weird Al and his band in concert. The level of musicianship on display was jaw-dropping. I lost count of how many styles and genres they played, and Yankovic’s ability to remember so many complex lyrics was stunning.

#4: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Levitation France – June 05th

“They play like their hair is on fire.” is how my friend described this set from Frankie and the Witch Fingers, which blew the minds of everyone at the Levitation France festival that night. People were absolutely bonkers by the end of it.

#3: Elton John – Soldier Field – August 05th

Easily the best sound quality I heard all year, especially in such a large open-air venue, this stop on Elton John’s farewell was humid, but still an amazing performance that cover classic hits and newer tracks. The set was impressive, as was John’s energy as he revved up the crowd the entire time.

#2: Midnight Oil – Riviera / Chicago – June 10th

Speaking of farewell tours, this one from Midnight Oil was a barn-burner. The place was packed, which only gave the band more energy to unleash in what would be their final Chicago performance. They raged harder against every machine than most bands half their age.

#1: Failure – Bottom Lounge / Chicago – July 01st

A powerful performance on all levels, plus those of us who bought VIP tickets got to attend their sound check and meet Failure before the main show. It was like two concerts in one from one of my favorite bands whose music can be life-changing. I don’t use that term lightly. Getting to tell them face-to-face how “Another Space Song” has become even more meaningful to me since my wife’s death was an honor I’ll never forget.

I’ve already started seeing bands this year (Dry Cleaning), so 2023 is off to a good start. Who are you excited to see this year?

Keep your mind open.

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Live: “Weird Al” Yankovic and Emo Philips – Lerner Theatre – Elkhart, IN – July 26, 2022

“One of the reasons we wanted to do this tour was to highlight this incredible band,” “Weird Al” Yankovic said at one point during the packed show at Elkhart, Indiana’s Lerner Theatre. The show consisted of all original material and style parodies from Yankovic’s huge catalogue. None of his parody hits were played until the encore, and even then in a medley.

Instead, he and his band (of over forty years) played a lot of lesser-known songs that had everyone rocking and / or laughing. Speaking of laughing, veteran stand-up comic Emo Philips opened the show with his odd and often dark humor in which he skewered everything from religion to dating. He had a joke about a banana that he set up within the first ten minutes of his set and then didn’t pay off until near the end – much to the delight of everyone.

Yankovic and his band soon showed everyone how well they can rock by playing hard tracks like “Young, Dumb & Ugly,” “My Own Eyes,” and the dark, twisted “Larry.” The theme to his film, UHF, was a bit hit with the crowd, and the lounge version of “Dare to Be Stupid” (their famous Devo style parody) was stunning. “He’s even parodying himself,” said a guy next to me about it after the show.

It was a great example of how he and his band can play multiple genres with high skill (and switch back and forth between them) with apparent ease. The Doors style parody, “Craigslist,” showed how well they can play psychedelic rock. The closer of the main set was “Albuquerque,” a wild track that has to be seen and heard to be believed. How Yankovic remembers all those multi-layered lyrics is beyond me.

After a fake encore, in which they went barely offstage and pretended to check their phones and tune a guitar while in full sight of everyone, they came “back on” to do a sharp cover of The Isley Brothers‘ “Nobody but Me” and then the parody medley that went from “Amish Paradise” to “Yoda” and included everything from calypso to acapella Afrobeat chanting. I missed a lot of the humorous lyrics because I was too stunned try their musicianship to notice them.

It was a fun show, and one you should catch if it’s anywhere close to you. Don’t go for the hits, go for the experience.

Keep your mind open.

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