After a year, Weird Al Yankovic returned to DFW, performing at Dickies Arena on Sept. 25 for his “Bigger and Weirder” tour. With a nearly sold-out show, Weird Al proves that parody music still has a place in the current music landscape.
The massive stadium reveals thousands of fans wearing bizarre, colorful Hawaiian shirts. The shirts are part of the mandatory-not-mandatory concert dress code and have decades of history. Walking through the halls to snag funnel cake before the show leads one to deduce the true theme as one views all the concertgoers: Be weird.
Making the way down to the seats leads you to hearing a deep, baritone voice filling the arena. Puddles Pity Party, the 6-foot-8 clown who is known for his America’s Got Talent performances takes the stage, giving a wonderfully thought-provoking and crowd-interactive opening. Puddles covers popular songs, such as “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne while the background video depicts everyday struggles. A spoon falling into soup and a cake being cut unevenly — all while an audience member stands on the stage pretending to play a guitar.
After Puddles Pity Party closes his set with “Underpressure” by Queen, Weird Al does not immediately take the stage. Instead, the audience sees Weird Al navigating to the main stage from the back while performing “Tacky,” a parody of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. The mere sight of his tacky blazer was enough to get the crowd to burst into loud cheers.
Once the performance of “Tacky” concludes,, we are presented with a slideshow on business terms, AKA “Mission Statement,” which leads into his Polka Medley, covering popular pop songs like “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion as well as “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish. The crowd reacted strongly to each recognized song, with cheers continuing until the section was over.
Weird Al’s band was one of the major highlights of the night. They all matched his energy perfectly, and even had themed outfits for each song; it was as if it were a theatre production, with quick changes included. During “Smells Like Nirvana,” the parody of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the band cosplayed as grunge rockstars while giving amazing live instrumentals like it was the Hollywood Rock Festival.
Weird Al’s eccentric energy on stage was infectious, with the audience bobbing their heads and dancing throughout the second medley of the night. The medley included “Like a Surgeon,” a parody of “Like a Virgin” by Madonna.
Phone flashlights and arms came up to wave around to the beat of the heart monitor, as Weird Al played the keyboard surgically. “Canadian Idiot,” a parody of “American Idiot” by Green Day, ended the medley on a high, pumped-up note. Leaving the arena, the audience knew that their love for Weird Al was here to stay. He has cemented his place in pop culture history, and hopefully his weirdness will only grow.