Photo courtesy Weird Al Yankovic/Facebook
Hear Weird Al go beyond parody songs at the Dr. Phil
You can pretty much measure a band’s pop-culture currency by whether or not Weird Al Yankovic has parodied one of their tunes. In fact, most acts consider the request an honor and a rite of passage — rightfully so.
Weird Al has helped define and document the shape-shifting zeitgeist since the early ’80s. On a personal note, the first “real” concert I experienced as a teen was when he was the touring opener for the Monkees in 1987. And then a decade later, I interviewed Yankovic before a show in Tampa (ask me about his bittersweet Kurt Cobain story).
His current 'The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour' stops at the Dr. Phillips Center this week. Interestingly, the show spotlights his non-parody songs with a different setlist each show.
So while you won’t hear “Yoda” or “Smells like Nirvana,” you’ll get a deeper, more intimate framing of this American music and comedic icon.
