2016 Weird Al Huntsville Concert Report

The opening of "Foil"

It was Friday, June 17, 2016. My older boys were on a church trip to Germany, leaving my wife and I with the younger two. We'd hoped to leave them and a pair of friends who were babysitting at home while we had time for a leisurely dinner before the concert. This was not to be, however, and we wound up grabbing food from a Taco Bell drive-through before heading to the Von Braun Center Concert Hall.

The line ahead of us

We walked down from the parking deck about 20 minutes to show time, only to find a line going all the way back from the door to the sidewalk. It quickly grew to go all the way down to the corner after we got in line and it was obvious the concert would not be starting on time. It turned out they were having everyone go through metal detectors and that was the slow down. Possibly the recent shooting at an Orlando gay night club was to blame. But eventually we got in with plenty more people still outside behind us.

The line behind us

The concert started with "Tacky." Al was actually out back in a courtyard on the north side of the civic center. They had a video camera and screen set up so they could do a single shot of him walking/dancing/singing all the way into the venue. At one point he passed Jim West with his guitar in the hall. Also along the way were a couple of cheerleaders for the later "Smells Like Nirvana" performance and a guy that Al violently shoved down who then had to lay still until he was out of the shot. I'm curious whose job that is or if they select a fan from the VIP package for it. Seems too important to leave to that, though. Finally Al entered through a door on house right and went up on stage to finish the song to much applause.

At first many people remained standing. Ironically, I'd read a comment in the "Close Personal Friends of Al" Facebook group not many days before about how polite Al fans are, sitting down through most of his concerts. Some people had to stand back up because of those in front of them. Finally someone got the message through and everyone sat down.

"Word Crimes"

The concert went much as the previous ones I've been to have, but obviously with new songs from Mandatory Fun. The new part was an "unplugged" session where Al and the band sat down and sang some of his songs -- definitely parodies but I think some originals too -- to new tunes. I'd previously heard the new renditions of "Eat It" and "Gonna Buy Me a Condo" online, but the rest were new to me, so that was cool.

After the show, we went around back to see if Al would do an autograph session. I was a little dubious because of the new VIP packages that include a meet and greet before the concert. This concern turned out to be well-founded, as there was not a trace of Al or Bermuda near the band's buses the entire time we waited.

What we did get, however, was a lot of time with Rubén, Al's keyboard player. He regaled us with several tales. One was on how he got the job of being in Al's band. I forget the details, but apparently his audition was on a platform. Near the end, he fell off backwards, which was not supposed to be part of the act. Everyone went racing to check on him, only to discover he'd placed a lot of pillows to land on and had staged the whole thing. He's pretty sure this is why he was selected.

There were also lots of tales of concerts he'd attended in his youth that one could scarcely afford to attend today. (Even if all those artists were still alive and performing, although many are.)

Rubén talking to fans

At one point Rubén asked the small crowd who'd been to the oldest Weird Al concert. I quickly spoke up with "1987," Al's tour opening for the Monkees, which was the winner (even pre-dating Rubén as part of the band). He then spotted the shirt I was wearing from Al's 2000 tour. It featured the entire band with Rubén standing in the background holding a large janitor's broom. He explained that he'd come up with the idea for that shirt and that Al hadn't planned to include him in the shoot otherwise.

I used the opportunity to ask, "Do you miss the cone bra?" There was a period of time when Al and the band performed "Like a Surgeon" to the newer, middle-eastern arrangement of Madonna's "Like a Virgin," complete with Rubén wearing a fake boob top and messing around on a bed, although thankfully not as sexually as Madonna's 1990 tour. Rubén was selected because he was "the new guy" of the band.

He replied, "No. I had it put in my contract that I never have to do that again."

During our time with Rubén, Steve Jay did come by very briefly and thank us for coming. Jim West just waved to us as he was getting on the bus.

Finally, at I'm not sure what time, security came out and told us Al was already on his way to his next concert and both Al's management and the VBC would like us to leave. (One of the security people was actually a retired HPD officer I knew, but he didn't notice me.) I was skeptical of the statement Al had already left, but there was nothing to be gained by hanging around if they didn't want us to be there, so we went home. And in Al's defense, he did have a concert in North Carolina the next night. I'm 3 for 5 in seeing Al after his concerts now.

During the concert I'd come up with the question to ask Al if I saw him. Steve Goodie released a "Weird Al Country Medley" on the FuMP the previous month, saying he planned to present Al with a copy of it during his Nashville concert, which had been the night before. (A repeat of something Steve had managed to do the year before.) I was going to ask Al if he'd had a chance to listen and what he thought.

I messaged Steve this on Facebook the next day. It turned out he'd been unable to meet Al because the backstage guest list was restricted. I said that I was kind of glad I'd missed Al then, because I would have just looked stupid. Steve replied, "I know what you mean!"

Weird Al concert report: Birmingham and Bermuda (LONG)

[Originally posted to alt.music.weird-al.]

I probably don't have to tell you guys that Al was in concert at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham on Wednesday night, so I won't. 8) I will tell you that this is my report on that concert. First, I need to give you a little background.

I last saw Al live in concert when he performed at the Oak Mountain Ampitheatre in Birmingham as the opening act for the Monkees in 1987. (I was 16. Do the math yourself.) It was just a few weeks ago, however, that I watched a friend's copy of the "Weird Al" Yankovic Live DVD. I'd also seen it when it debuted on VH-1, so I pretty much knew what to expect.

You should also know that I used to be a regular volunteer at the Alabama Theatre from the mid-80s to mid-90s. Although I no longer live in B'ham, I am still in touch with the people who are in charge of the Alabama and my mother still volunteers there. Having Al perform there was a dream come true. (To find out more about the Alabama, a historic movie palace, visit www.alabamatheatre.com.)

I showed up at the Alabama just before 5:00 p.m., when there was supposed to be a sound check. However, the people at the Alabama had been told that the band and crew had been doing the tour for 14 months, so they didn't need to do one. As it turned out, Bermuda did show up and do some checks with the sound guy. It was fun to hear him warm up.

After he was finished, he talked to the sound guy some. I went and sat down front and waited patiently. (The sound board was on stage.) Eventually I got a chance to speak to him and get his autograph. I showed him around backstage (or should I say understage?) some. He invited me to come back after the show, but didn't have any passes, so he asked if I'd still have my backstage pass. I said yes, but I'd be with my wife and a friend, so he said we'd have to play it by ear.

Now we fast forward to the concert. The Alabama seats approximately 2200. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near a sell-out. There were 635 presale tickets sold, 55 walk-ups, and 90 complimentary tickets. Four hundred of those presales were in the first three days! After that, the rest only trickled in. The mezzanine was pretty much full, but no one sat in the balcony. The main floor was well covered, but not packed. Our tickets were dead center in the seventh row. Great for seeing the show, but not for getting to be close to Al.

The opening act was a (local, I think) comedian named Max Davis (or something like that). His mouth wasn't too foul, but he did mention drugs (specifically pot) several times. Needless to say, several mothers there with children complained. Al's management (or the promoter) had requested a clean comedian, of course. This had been the first question the Alabama staff asked when they called the Comedy Club. They had been told he was clean, but this is what they got. By and large, the comedian did seem to go over well with the audience.

After a short intermission, Al and the band came on. There's no need to tell you all the details, because you've read them before and can see the set list at http://www.weirdal.com/rwstour.htm. Oh, in case it hasn't been mentioned before, I will mention one thing. They now include clips from the "Celebrity Death Match" episode featuring Al during part of the show.

From a technical standpoint, the show went well for the most part. It seemed to me they didn't have Al's mike turned up loud enough at some points and it was sometimes difficult to hear and/or understand him while he was singing. For fans, this wasn't a problem during most of the songs because we already know the words. I did have a problem making out some of the unrecorded stuff, though. Also, my wife, who's not a big Al fan but had a good time anyway, had some comprehension problems. They also seemed to miss a mike cue on Steve singing "microscopic bacteria" during "Germs."

The lights and special effects were great. The smoke could be a little irritating when they overdid it a couple times. (I can't imagine how it is for the band.) The bubbles were fun and the snow was plentiful during "The Night Santa Went Crazy." (Another quick background point: my primary job at the Alabama was working the spotlight.) I don't know if the spotlight operators were local or part of the traveling crew. They did a decent job, but it could have been better. I noticed during one song one of them didn't have his spot high enough on Al. (It stopped around his chest.) Because the second spot was on him, I doubt anyone else noticed.

The crowd was enthusiastic, although I think they got moreso as the concert went on. Some people hung a bedsheet banner from the mezzanine saying "Al 4 Pres" during intermission. The group in front on house right was particularly rowdy. Things got a little out of control during Al's journey into the audience in "One More Minute." Some people were coming up front to touch him. When Al went to give the underwear to a lady on the front row, some guy snatched it and ran back to his seat. Al was back on stage at this point and tried to grab it back, but was unsuccessful. I feel sorry for the lady who didn't get the underwear. (I guess only an Al fan would understand that. 8)

Between two songs, Al said how nice it was "to be back in my home town, Birmingham, Alabama." He continued about how he'd wanted to make sure it was on the tour and asked his manager to "make sure it's the same night as the final episode of 'Survivor.'" This got some laughs, but before the show some of the Alabama Theatre people I talked to felt this might be part of the reason for the less than stellar attendance.

After "Fat," Al and the band, of course, got a standing ovation. The audience never sat down again, choosing to sway, clap, and sing along with "The Saga Begins" and "Yoda" encores. After that, most disperesed. A few stayed behind. After most people had left, Ruben came out, practically unobserved, and sat to talk with two ladies he apparently knew sitting two rows behind us. As he went out the lobby with them, my friend and got him to do some quick autographs. Jim had come out, been slightly mobbed, and disappeared again, during this time. I never saw him again, so he's the only band member whose autograph I didn't get.

At this point, my friend decided to leave since it was a long drive home for him and it increased my chances of meeting Al. I took my wife with me backstage. Unfortunately, it appears in trying to be courteous, I'd waited too long to go back. Down in the green room, I found it soley occupied by Steve, eating a bit of food and reading the paper. I hesitantly asked him if he knew where Bermuda was and got an autograph. I get the feeling he didn't like being bothered, but he didn't say anything or refuse the autograph.

He told me Bermuda was just down the hall. This time, thanks to borrowing my mother's keys, I was able to show him the organ console. He declined my invitation to also see an organ chamber, which is really one of the most interesting things to see. He said Al didn't have any guests tonight, so that wasn't a problem but he had disappeared. If Al was back on the bus, he told me, he couldn't make him come out. I understood, of course.

We all went out the stage door and found Al sitting on a stool on the sidewalk signing autographs for a long line of fans. We said goodbye to Bermuda and got in line. Slowly we moved up and I got to say a few words to Al, get his autograph, and a picture of me with him. I realized later I had stupidly missed my opportunities for a picture with Bermuda. (D'oh!)

I suppose I should say, I may have done some stupid looking things while showing Bermuda around. I was somewhat nervous and unfortunately I haven't been backstage in a few years. There have been some changes made that I either wasn't aware of or had forgotten. I also probably didn't make much sense to Al as I blathered on. Oh well, hopefully the short note I'd given to Bermuda earlier to give to him will make more sense.

I was conservative with my pictures because I didn't have an extra roll of film. If they come out, I'll eventually post them on my web site. Thanks to Al, the band, and the crew for a great show! And thanks to Bermuda for putting up with me. I hope you guys travel safely for the rest of the tour and get to come back sometime.

Thought (Bad Hair Day)

Current thought:

Just then the floating, disembodied head of
   Colonel Sanders started yelling:

Everything you know is wrong
Black is white, up is down, and short is long
And everything you thought was just so
   important doesn't matter
Everything you know is wrong
Just forget the words and sing along
All you need to understand is
Everything you know is wrong

This is a snippet of the song "Everything You Know Is Wrong" by "Weird Al" Yankovic, from his new album, Bad Hair Day. What are you waiting for? Go buy it now!

[From my "Past Tips of the Moment and Past Thoughts" page. This was the fourth thought and sixth post overall. I didn't keep track of the dates beyond the year, so the date is my best guess based on the album's release date. — 28 May 2009]