“Weird Al” Yankovic puts on one of the most famously kinetic live shows in music, a parade of dancing, costume changes, pre-recorded videos, and endless manic energy. (Note: This description may be slightly informed by the time your humble Newswire writer, at age 12, saw Al perform, ending the two-hour concert with an encore of “Yoda” before stage-diving into a cake.) The upshot of all that energy is that Yankovic’s on-stage antics sometimes threaten to upstage his music, hence, presumably why the comedy legend has announced that his latest tour will be a little different: Dubbed “The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour,” the concert series will not only go light on the costumes, props, elaborately choreographed dance numbers, and all around showman’s bombast that have marked Yankovic’s touring life for the last 35 years, but also be largely parody free.
According to the tour web site, the set list for Yankovic’s new tour “will be comprised almost entirely of his original (non-parody) songs.” So, no “Fat,” “Tacky,” or “The Saga Begins,” although we’ll keep our fingers crossed that style parodies like the Devo pastiche “Dare To Be Stupid,” R.E.M. riff “Frank’s 2000-Inch TV,” or the Foo Fighters-based “My Own Eyes,” off 2014's Mandatory Fun, might all be fair game. (To say nothing of marathon pieces of surrealist weirdness like “Albuquerque” and “The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota.”)
Yankovic made a Facebook post about the tour yesterday, a sort-of combination press release/public warning to inform fans of what to expect. “Obviously this tour is not for everybody,” he writes, making it clear that the set lists will be filled with “The deep cuts and obscure tracks. The songs that were never hits. The ones you barely remember.”
Tickets for the tour go on sale on October 20; you can see the list of dates below.
“Weird Al” Yankovic: The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour 2018
2/27—Poughkeepsie, NY—Bardavon 1869 Opera House
3/1—Tarrytown, NY—Tarrytown Music Hall
3/2—Mashantucket, CT—Foxwoods Resort Casino – Fox Theater
3/3—Portsmouth, NH—The Music Hall
3/4—Boston, MA—Wilbur Theatre
3/7—Montreal, QC—Place Des Arts – Theatre Maisonneuve
3/9—Toronto, ON—Danforth
3/10—Grand Rapids, MI—20 Monroe Live
3/11—Ann Arbor, MI—Michigan Theater
3/13—Buffalo, NY—University At Buffalo Center For The Arts
3/14—Ithaca, NY—State Theatre
3/16—Atlantic City, NJ—Caesars Atlantic City – Circus Maximus
3/17—Long Island, NY—The Paramount
3/18—Lancaster, PA—American Music Theatre
3/20—Washington, DC—Music Center At Strathmore
3/23—New York, NY—Apollo Theater
3/24—Pittsburgh, PA—Palace Theatre
3/25—Cleveland, OH—Playhouse Square – Ohio Theatre
3/26—Lexington, KY—Lexington Opera House
3/28—Louisville, KY—The Brown Theatre
3/29—Indianapolis, IN—The Center For The Performing Arts – The Palladium
3/30—Champaign, IL—Virginia Theatre
3/31—Des Moines, IA—Hoyt Sherman Place
4/2—Rochester, MN—Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall
4/3—Minneapolis, MN—Pantages Theatre
4/4—Minneapolis, MN—Pantages Theatre
4/6—Chicago, IL—Vic Theatre
4/7—Chicago, IL—Vic Theatre
4/10—Milwaukee, WI—Pabst Theater
4/12—Wabash, IN—Honeywell Center
4/13—Chattanooga, TN—Walker Theater
4/14—Augusta, GA—Miller Theater
4/15—Atlanta, GA—Tabernacle
4/17—Nashville, TN—Nashville Comedy Fest – War Memorial
4/19—Springfield, MO—Gillioz Theatre
4/20—Longview, TX—LeTourneau University Belcher Center
4/21—Austin, TX—Moontower Comedy Festival – Paramount Theatre
4/22—Midland, TX—Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center
4/24—Houston, TX—Stafford Performing Arts Center
4/26—San Antonio, TX—Tobing Center For The Performing Arts
4/27—Dallas, TX—The Majestic Theatre
4/28—Wichita, KS—Orpheum Theater
4/29—Kansas City, MO—Folly Theater
5/1—Denver, CO—Paramount Theatre
5/3—Grand Junction, CO—Avalon Theatre
5/4—Saint George, UT—Tuacahn Amphitheatre At Tuacahn Center For The Arts
5/5—Tucson, AZ—Fox Tucson Theatre
5/6—Sante Fe, NM—Lensic Performing Arts Center
5/8—Phoenix, AZ—Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda Theatre
5/9—Palm Springs, CA—McCallum Theatre For The Performing Arts
5/11—Los Angeles, CA—The Theatre At Ace Hotel
5/12—San Diego, CA—Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay
5/15—Sacramento, CA—Crest Theatre
5/17—Santa Cruz, CA—Golden State Theatre
5/18—Modesto, CA—Turlock Community Theatre
5/19—Oakland, CA—Fox Theatre
5/20—Napa, CA—Uptown Theatre
5/22—Redding, CA—Cascade Theatre
5/24—Eugene, OR—McDonald Theatre
5/25—Portland, OR—Revolution Hall
5/26—Portland, OR—Revolution Hall
5/27—Spokane, WA—Martin Woldson Theater At The Fox
5/29—Seattle, WA—Moore Theatre
5/31—Calgary, AB—Grey Eagle Resort & Casino – Grey Eagle Event Centre
6/1—Regina, Sask—Casino Regina – Show Lounge
6/2—Edmonton, AB—Rive Cree Resort And Casino – Entertainment Centre
6/3—Medicine Hat, AB—Esplanade Theatre
6/5—Winnipeg, MB—Burton Cummings Theatre For The Performing Arts
6/6—Fargo, ND—Fargo Theatre
6/8—Columbia, MO—Jesse Auditorium
6/9—Clear Lake, IA—Surf Ballroom
6/10—Green Bay, WI—Meyer Theatre