Thursday, July 18, 2013

Weird Al at the California State Fair, July 14, 2013

Dawn and I saw Weird Al perform at the California State Fair on Sunday, July 14, 2013.

We arrived around 6:45 p.m.. After paying $24 to enter the Fair, we immediately ordered a $18 margherita pizza from Cardinali Wood Fire Pizza on the Main Promenade.

We walked through the “Jewels of the Jungle” exhibit in the Floriculture area, viewing snakes and parrots.

As a birthday gift for a friend, we purchased a $60 "Best of Show" 2010 cabernet franc (red) from Imagery Estate Winery, from the "Wine Country" area.

Next, we walked briefly through the Shopper's Expo, winding our way past the Full-Auto Airsoft shooting range and the people rolling around on top of water in inflatable, clear plastic bubbles.

We had two Negro Modelo beers (an amber and a lager for $18) at the Tecate booth next to the main stage, in the hopes paying customers could watch from the Tecate picnic table seating. After asking Fair staff where to sit, they pointed me to an officer handing out wristbands for free seating. Dawn and I grabbed two, finished the beers, and found a decent seat in the main seating area. We had checked the night before and the only $40 reserved seats remaining were off in the corner, not too far away from where we ended up. Dawn took a short walk to the concessions booth where she purchased a navy blue "The Saga Begins" Shadow tee shirt (like this one, but in navy).

The show started at 8:00 p.m. and the set list consisted of:
  1. Intro--Fun Zone, from "UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff" (song)...I did not have the mind to record the sequence : o |
  2. "Polka Face", from "Alpocalypse" (song)
    • This song ended with a bubble machine blowing bubbles out over the audience
    • Segue with Face To Face interview of Eminem (Marshall Mathers) and a cut to a clip from an epidode of The Simpsons, "That '90s Show", where Weird Al performs a parody of Homer's band, "Brain Freeze"
  3. "Smells Like Nirvana", from "Off The Deep End" (song)
    • Al wore a Kurt Kobain wig and a "Nirvana" grunge shirt
    • Song video playing on screen
    • Two cheerleaders in black outfits with red poms upstage
    • Gargles water and spits water on audience, then throws remaining water and the cup onto front row fans
    • Al sings, "And I forgot the next verse..." and trails off into silence, skipping some of the lyrics from the song, resuming with, "Oh, well, nevermind"
    • Stage hand comes out and helps Al to his feet after he collapses at end of the song
    • Segue to UHF "Wheel Of Fish" clip, then, a series of 5-second films called "Weird Owl 2"
  4. "CNR", from "Internet Leaks" (song)
    • Al wore a flat, black gambler style hat (like Jack White and SRV) and black jacket
    • Al took a break and said something like, "Say something!", followed by, "Hello Sacramento!"
    • Power drum solo
  5. "Canadian Idiot", from "Straight Outta Lynwood" (song)
    • Al wore a white Canada shirt with red maple leafs
    • Maple leaf screensaver video 
    • Nuclear explosion on screen at end of song, followed by exploding red and white streamers into crowd
    • Segue featured a parody trailer for the movie, "Weird," starring Aaron Paul (Al), Olivia Wilde (lover) Gary Cole (father), Academy Award Winner Mary Steenburgen (mother), and Patton Oswald (Dr. Demento).
  6. Medley of songs:
    1. "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", from "UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff" (song)
      • Al wore an 80's shirt and used a shoulder synthesizer keyboard
      • Note: yes, the asterisk is part of the official song title; thanks, lawyers!
    2. "Whatever You Like", from "Internet Leaks" (song)
      • Al hands off shoulder synthesizer keyboard to stage hand
      • Al loses 80's shirt, now has black shirt
    3. "Another Tattoo", from "Alpocalypse" (song)
      • Al loses the black shirt
    4. "eBay", from "Poodle Hat" (song)
    5. "I Want a New Duck", from "Dare To Be Stupid" (song)
      • Al gets the shoulder synthesizer keyboard back from the stage hand
    6. "Theme from Rocky XIII (The Rye or the Kaiser)", from ""Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D" (song)
      • Al replaces the shoulder synthesizer keyboard with an accordion
      • Does a high leg kick : o )
    7. "Spam", from "UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff" (song)
    8. "My Bologna", from ""Weird Al" Yankovic" (song)
    9. "Ode to a Superhero", from "Poodle Hat" (song)
    10. "Lasagna", from "Even Worse" (song)
    11. "Eat It", from ""Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D" (song)
      • Michael Jackson-style red jacket
      • Replaces accordion with keyboard on stand
      • Al does a fun high knee-wobble move : o )
      • Segue featuring a Face To Face interview of Robert Pattinson; a "Friends" clip mentioning Weird Al ("I'm leaving with Weird Al"); a clip from the movie "Halloween 2", in which Weird Al is on a talk show with fellow guest, an author of, "The Devil Walks Among Us"; a David Letterman mention of Weird Al on-air; another 5-second film, "Cooking With Crazy"; a short video called "Clean-Up on Aisle 5" where he cleans up a spill with his hair; and a reference on "The Cleveland Show" episode, "Gone with the wind", in which Cleveland says to his wife, in reference to his karaoke style, "Who would you rather be: Dido or Weird Al Yankovic?"
  7. "Amish Paradise", from "Bad Hair Day" (song)
    • Al and the others dressed-up with Amish costumes
    • I remember something silly happening when he sang "churning lots of butter"
    • Arms waving : o )
    • Segue into exercise video saying something like, "This next exercise is great for your thighs and uvula," after which he puts his foot behind his neck and begins hopping on the other foot; I have something about "earth bubble" ?, an Face To Face interview of Megan Fox--the I love thermoses sketch was cute
  8. "Craigslist", from "Internet Leaks" (song)
    • Al and the others wore outfits inspired by The Doors
    • The band has a keyboard solo in the middle
    • Al references a "snotty barista in a coffee shop on Franklin Boulevard" (a local reference he works into the show)
    • Segue with the 30 Rock episode, "Kidnapped By Danger", with the team discussing just letting Weird Al parodying their song 30 Rock ending credits video, the Titanic-themed video "And the Band Played On" (Dawn wonders if the girl thrown overboard was his daughter?)
  9. "Perform This Way", from Alpocalypse (song)
    • Al wore a peacock costume
    • The band members wore, respectively: Jim West - Cheese (guitar); Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz - Nun (drums); Rubén Valtierra - Foil (keyboards); Steve Jay - Tophat (bass)
    • Segue with an Face To Face interview with Jeff Bridges; a public service video from "The Weird Al Show", called "Teeth"; the "biggest fan" clip from How I Met Your Mother season 7, episode 7, "Noretta," where Ted inspires Weird Al's "Like A Surgeon"; a Face To Face interview with Patrick Stewart at Comic Con; and the intro to the Jeopardy "Weird Al" round, which sets up the next song....
  10. "White & Nerdy", from Straight Outta Lynwood (song)
    • Al wore a red bandana, a black hoodie with red letters "White & Nerdy", and khaki pants
    • He came onstage in a Segway
    • Band members wore nerdy outfits
    • Rubén Valtierra on keyboards wore a gaudy red, white, and blue striped sweater
    • Segue to video, "Our Friend Dirt"
  11. "Fat", from "Even Worse" (song)
    • Al wore the fat suit
    • Al says Hooe! Hooe! Hooe! and the stage manager comes out wearing a Santa Claus outfit; Weird Al punches him in the face and the stage manager exits
    • The rest of the band had black outfits
    • Al thanked everyone, thanked the band, and left the stage 
    • Lots of people started leaving...??? Don't they know about the encore?
  12. Encore - "The Saga Begins", from "Running With Scissors" (song)
    • Everyone wore Jedi robes
    • The local 501st storm troopers and Darth Vader costumed fans took to the stage...Darth Vader lit his light saber in the final moments of the song
    • R2-D2 was there as well, on the left side of the stage
    • "Heeeeeeeee...eeeeeeeeeee's a ghost."
    • He also did some silly hands waving at the end : o )
    • Segue with Rubén Valtierra playing the Star Wars song "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)", then the Addams Family intro
  13. Encore - "Yoda", from "Dare To Be Stupid" (song)
    • Everyone took off the outer brown robes, leaving behind the Luke Skywalker white robes
    • Green spotlights like Yoda
    • The lights on the stage spelled out the word "Y O D A" : o )
    • Al took a moment to say, "Now you sing" and the crowd sang along, "Yoda, yo-yo-yo-yo-YODA!"
    • "Now just the bedwetters!" and the crowd sang along
    • The band took a break to do the Yoda Chant
A bit of a shortened set, I believe.

SONGS, BY ALBUM/EP

"Weird Al" Yankovic (1983): 1
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (1984): 2
Dare To Be Stupid (1985): 2
Even Worse (1988): 2
UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff (1989): 3
Off The Deep End (1992): 1
Bad Hair Day (1996): 1
Running With Scissors (1999): 1
Poodle Hat (2003): 2
Straight Outta Lynwood (2006): 2
Internet Leaks (2009): 3
Alpocalypse (2011): 3

TOTAL SONGS: 23

Apparently, a Weird Al Alpocalypse Live Tour DVD exists.

After the show, Dawn and I watched a bunch of people going in to see Weird Al and the band via backstage passes.

We walked over to see the animals, but the barns were empty, so we ended the night with a walk back past the Main Promenade.


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