An Unexpected Al Concert

I knew I was going to Hershey Park for my father's company picnic, and I knew that Al was playing there at some point. I was sure they wouldn't be on the same day, though, so I didn't bother double-checking the date of the show. Fate plays mysterious games sometimes, though, and I was fortunate enough to see Al today without even paying full price for tickets. I attended the 5:30 show, and it was really great, except for the fact that I had to sit between two large Albanian women with excrutiatingly severe body odor. Well, not really, but I did sit between people who probably just came to the show because they were at the park anyway, which made it a bit hard to sway during the slow numbers. I was on the left side of the Amphitheatre (or the right side, from the band's point of view), about five or six rows back. Most of the big fans seemed to be in the front and center (as you might expect). I wasn't enthusiastic enough to get in line incredibly early, so my seat wasn't quite as good, but I was no less enthusiastic. I sang and clapped along to most of the songs (usually with no sense of tune or rhythm). Since there were three shows, each one was a bit short (only about an hour long), but, since I wasn't expecting to see a show at all, I really can't complain. The songs played were:

It's All About The Pentiums
Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies
Medley of (and these are probably in the wrong order): Thank U, Addicted To Spuds, I Lost On Jeopardy, The Toppings Will Go On, Laundry Day, Pretty Fly For A Rabbi, Another One Rides The Bus, I Love Rocky Road, Jurassic Park, Achy Breaky Song, Grapefruit Diet, Eat It
Bedrock Anthem
Amish Paradise
Fat
The Saga Begins
Yoda

A few of the songs in the medley have never been officially released. The first song included was an Alanis Morissette parody, with lyrics about fast food restaurants. The song that I called "The Toppings Will Go On" is a parody of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," and is about pizza delivery. I believe its official name might be "Free Delivery." The Offspring denied Al permission to release "Laundry Day," which parodies their "Come Out And Play."

As is usual for an Al show, the songs were accompanied by plenty of Al-related video clips. These included:

A bunch of stuff from old movies (including "Attack of the 50-Foot Woman" and "Godzilla"), used as introductory material
The Weird Al Show Theme
Clips of people talking about Al (including Lesley Nielsen in the first "Naked Gun")
Plots 'R' Us commercial (from "UHF")
Raul's Wild Kingdom, without the ant farm (from "UHF")
"Lasagna" video, played in place of the ant farm scene
Al on "The Flintstones" (from the Weird Al Show)
Safety video (from the Weird Al Show)
Gandhi II (from "UHF")
"We don't need no stinking badgers!" (from "UHF")
George Harrison interview (from AL-TV)
Edited "Ironic" video (with Al in it, of course)

The "interview" is a long-standing AL-TV tradition. Al asks some ridiculous questions, and uses appropriate clips from existing interviews to answer them. Celebrities "interviewed" by Al have included Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Madonna, and Keith Richards.

There was a lack of between-song banter, and the only real "extra" was Santa Claus during "Fat," but I suppose these things are only to be expected for a shortened show. The sound also seemed a little (or maybe even more than a little) off, particularly for the video clips. Probably the song I was most disappointed NOT to hear was "Polka Power," which I was sort of expecting, since Jim's banjo was on stage.

Some of the highlights included Al's cymbal-accompanied stomps during "Fat," Steve's recorder (Was that a recorder?) in "The Toppings Will Go On," Darth Ruben's solo, and the new additions to the Yoda Chant, including a Jerry Lewis imitation. The costumes worn by Al and the band, including a fat suit, a Fred Flintstone costume, Amish threads, and Jedi outfits, were also excellent. All in all, it was a great experience, and a very pleasant surprise.

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