It was a balmy night on July 17 when “Weird Al” Yankovic melted the faces off a full house of fans at SPAC. His die-hard fans were in full effect: mustaches, curly hair, and Hawaiian shirts were everywhere you looked. They were not disappointed as “Weird Al” smoothly rocked through a couple dozen songs, music videos, and mash-up medleys for the Saratoga Springs crowd.
After getting underway, “Weird Al” paused to let the crowd know that they were “contractually obligated” to give a PowerPoint presentation. They launched into “Mission Statement,” poking fun at corporate culture and apropos to the times.
For this casual listener, highlights included classic Weird Al: “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Amish Paradise” and “Yoda.” It was also great fun to see Weird Al come into the crowd and croon to the women in the crowd for “One More Minute.”
For the seasoned listener over the 5 decades of Yankovic’s career, deep cuts were included, including early songs “Another One Rides the Bus” (with footage from Weird: The Al Yankovic Story included) and “Dare to Be Stupid.”
And for the kids in the crowd this evening, the “Captain Underpants Theme Song” was tailormade for them, as grandparents and parents watched kids dancing and singing along to Yankovic, just as they once did to “Like a Surgeon” and “My Bologna.”
Opening for the main attraction was Puddles Pity Party. Puddles is a classically trained musician and has a beautiful voice to show his receipts.
Catch “Weird Al” Yankovic if you can on his Bigger and Weirder 2025 Tour. It continues throughout the summer and up through the end of September. Bigger indeed.
“Weird Al” Yankovic – SPAC – Thursday, July 17, 2025
Setlist: Fun Zone, Tacky, Mission Statement, Polkamania!, Drum Solo, Everything You Know Is Wrong, One More Minute (Al went into audience singing to women), Another One Rides the Bus, Smells Like Nirvana, Dare to Be Stupid, Party in the CIA / It’s All About the Pentiums / Bedrock Anthem / My Bologna / Ricky / Ode to a Superhero / I Love Rocky Road / Eat It / Like a Surgeon / Word Crimes / Canadian Idiot, Fat, Captain Underpants Theme Song, Now You Know, I Am Woman (Helen Reddy cover), It’s My World (and We’re All Living in It), Skipper Dan, Drum Solo (Reprise), eBay, Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me, White & Nerdy, Amish Paradise
Encore: We All Have Cell Phones, The Saga Begins, Yoda (with Yoda Chant interlude) (Source: Setlist.fm)
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