Weird Al Brings Deep Cuts to Benton Harbor

After his first successful outing with the "Ill-Advised Vanity Tour" in 2018, rock and roll comedy legend, Weird Al Yankovic (and his amazing backing band of 40 years), declared it was the most fun they'd had touring in a long time, so following the pandemic, they launched a second round of these special shows this year, focusing almost exclusively on Al's original songs and style-parodies from throughout his recording history rather than the successful hit singles, direct song parodies, and hilarious costume changes that are normally present at a Weird Al concert. While this iteration of the tour has run into a few bumps along the way (shows in Saginaw and Detroit had to be postponed in the spring when Yankovic tested positive for COVID, and long-time drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz is currently sidelined with the virus), these shows have been extremely well-received among Weird Al's most-dedicated, long-time fans, for whom they seem to be geared more than anyone. His visit to west Michigan last week to perform a sold-out show in Grand Rapids and a near sell-out Friday night at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor were no exception.

As with the first "Ill-Advised" tour, veteran comedy great, Emo Phillips, opens each show with about 30-minutes of his odd-ball observations and deadpan commentaries. With only a short 15-minute set change, Yankovic and the band take the stage in the shadows and break into the opening number together as the stage lights first come on. Friday, the selection was "Lame Claim to Fame" from his most recent LP, 2014's Mandatory Fun, to the delight of the crowd. A lounge-y re-arrangement of "Dare to Be Stupid" followed, and Yankovic joked he and the band would be playing only lounge music the rest of the night ("We made no secret about this," he deadpanned). In spite of the name of the tour and the heavily-advertised theme of deep cuts instead of big hits, it was clear that at least a quarter of the audience was either unaware of that fact, expecting a traditional Weird Al show, or even if they were aware, they did not know many of the songs that were featured throughout the night. Hard core fans, on the other hand, sang along with each as one fan-favorite after another kept on coming. Tracks like the Dylanesque palindrome work-out, "Bob," the ska punk run through, "Your Horoscope for Today," and the satirical age-gap ranting of, "When I Was Your Age," all elicited laughter and applause, even if some were hearing the jokes for the first time.

The members of Yankovic's ace backing band continue to be unsung in the pages of rock history but cannot be undervalued, both on record and on stage, as they must constantly change style and sound from track to track and have been doing so longer than most active bands and artists have even existed. Guitarist, Jim West: bassist, Steve Jay; keyboardist, Ruben Valtierra; and absent drummer, Schwarz, continue to provide the musical bed for Yankovic's comical lyrics and cultural commentaries, and on this tour, that allows the set list to vary greatly every night, making the shows even more engaging to Al, the band, and to the audience alike. Schwarz' friend and drum tech filled in for him Friday night, and even his performance was nearly-perfect which must have been a relief to the band who otherwise would have had to cancel or postpone the show.

Some songs were presented with little introduction or commentary ("Close but No Cigar," "First World Problems," "Generic Blues") while others got comical stories prior to being performed ("One More Minute," "Let Me Be Your Hog," and "Skipper Dan"). The order of  the songs also played well to their strengths, and no one tone was held for too long before changing to something different. The R.E.M pastiche, "Frank's 2000'' TV," gave way to Yankovic's ode to The White Stripes (and Match Game) on "CNR," then to the out-of-season holiday classic, "Christmas at Ground Zero," ahead of the zydeco romp, "My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder." His band's ability to change things up with ease also allows Yankovic to rotate through songs of similar lengths or topics from show to show. For example, he can choose from any of his beloved "long" songs (6 minutes or more), but changes which one will be featured each night (Benton Harbor was treated to an excellent rendition of "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota"). A tour of this kind also affords Yankovic the opportunity to perform a "straight" cover (using the original lyrics rather than re-writing them to be funny) of a song from any of his many favorite artists and influences from throughout rock history. One night may feature a song originally by Ramones, Violent Femmes, or Devo, while another includes a song by classic rock acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or The Who? Friday night's audience got to hear a great take on Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer," both very engaging to all who knew the song while equally confusing to those who did not. 

Finally, the Al and the band wrapped things up with a mostly acoustic/lounge-style medley of bits of some of his popular parody songs, so as not not leave them out entirely, such as "Amish Paradise," "Smells Like Nirvana," and "White & Nerdy," but unlike the first "Ill-advised" tour, the current medley is a bit shorter and no longer features the MTV Unplugged-style motif. The final portion of the medley, in which the band plays a verse and extended chorus from "Yoda" (his Kinks parody of "Lola," originally from the early '80s) and side-steps into an extremely complicated and well-rehearsed vocal freak-out, briefly tipping the hat to the insane genius of Spike Jones, got the loudest reception and the most singing along of the whole night. Overall, the show seemed to be a well-oiled machine, now rolling into its fifth month, and everything from the mix to the staging to the performance was extremely professional. While some may have left disappointed they didn't hear their favorite parodies or that the show was less-zany than usual, it's worth taking the time to appreciate Yankovic's many other hilarious songs as well, and for those who have followed his work for 30-40 years or more, this show was (and tour is) an absolute delight.

Weird Al Yankovic set list - 8/26/22 Benton Harbor:
Lame Claim to Fame
Dare to Be Stupid (lounge)
Bob
Your Horoscope for Today
Don't Download This Song
(drum solo) (mini-jam)
When I Was Your Age
U-H-F
Frank's 2000'' TV
Let Me Be Your Hog
Close but No Cigar
One More Minute
CNR
(bass solo) (mini-jam)
First World Problems
Christmas at Ground Zero
Generic Blues
My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder
Skipper Dan
The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
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Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
Lounge/Acoustic Medley: Amish Paradise/Smells Like Nirvana/White & Nerdy/Word Crimes/Yoda
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Red Hots Rock Detroit!

 

Scores of rock fans were treated to an amazing night of rock and roll in the Motor City last week as the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers brought their first-ever stadium headlining tour to Comerica Park along with post-grunge new wavers, The Strokes, and the rising bass phenom, Thundercat, who delivered a blistering opening set with his rock fusion trio. The tour for RHCP’s latest LP, Unlimited Love, also marked the triumphant return of the great John Frusciante on guitar and his first new music with the band since 2006. The not-quite sell-out crowd was treated essentially to a well-curated, mini festival with a fun tone that ran through all three acts and culminated in Chili Peppers drummer (and Michigan native), Chad Smith, bringing his 95-year-old mother on stage to a warm reception from the audience and the reminder that, along with Anthony Kiedis’ roots in Grand Rapids and Flea’s reminiscence of recording the band’s second LP in Detroit with George Clinton, this classically California band has a lot of roots and connections to Michigan.

 

The unseasonably cool but dry summer evening began with a tight set from Thundercat, including his incredible single, “Dragonball Durag,” and the bassist genuinely seemed to be having a lot of fun jamming for those who arrived early, some of whom were just hearing his music for the first time. Both Chad Smith and Flea have recently praised Thundercat in interview questions about the best new acts out there today. Second on the bill were the familiar sounds of The Strokes, who performed a sampling of their many excellent songs from the last 21 years, including hits like “Reptilia,” "Hard to Explain," “Last Nite,” and “Juicebox” to set the mood leading up to the headliners. While the seats weren’t as packed and the crowd not quite as engaged as The Rolling Stones’ performance at Comerica in 2015, most who were not necessarily fans of the first two acts were at least respectful and showed appreciation with applause (though Strokes singer, Julian Casablancas took one brief opportunity to feign bored distraction after a particularly disengaged response to a song about half-way through their set). Overall, the openers sounded good and were well-mixed though the echo within Comerica Park buried some of the nuance within certain songs, especially regarding vocals and guitar leads.

 

As the house lights went down (around the same time as the sun itself), the familiar sounds of the ‘70s instrumental classic, “Scorpio,” by Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band announced Red Hot Chili Peppers were finally about to take the stage. Beginning with their traditional intro jam, Frusicante took his first of several extended solos and was a powerful presence on both guitar and vocals throughout the entire show, much as he was during his first two tenures in the band (’88-’92 and ’98-’09). RHCP, soon celebrating their 40^th anniversary as a band, are longtime veterans of playing for big crowds in big venues, but it’s notable that only now did they feel ready to take on the task of a tour exclusively of stadiums to both promote their excellent latest LP from March as well as building up to the release of Return of the Dream Canteen, another 75-minute LP of songs from the same sessions due out in October. This time around, with Frusciante back in the fold, the band is concentrating almost entirely on songs he helped write and record in his previous stints in the group, including tracks from the current album, of course.

 

After the opening jam, Flea jumped into “Around the World” (rather than the more common opener, “Can’t Stop,”) and momentum built and carried through with little interruption until the very last notes of the night. Radio hits like “Dani California,” “Snow,” and “Tell Me Baby” mixed with deep cuts like “Universally Speaking” and “Don’t Forget Me,” from 2002’s By the Way, and fan-favorites like “Hard to Concentrate” and “I Like Dirt” with the two main singles and a few other tracks from Unlimited Love, such as “Aquatic Mouth Dance” and most-notably, “The Heavy Wing,” which featured Frusciante on the chorus lead vocals. The band performed against a giant LED screen which flashed colorful abstractions throughout, ranging from digital to traditional psychedelia, and wrapped around the top and bottom of the stage. All four players exhibited consistent stamina in spite of their continually improving ages, and both Kiedis and Flea continued to engage the audience during and between songs in their long-honed creative and entertaining styles, including Flea's hand stand walk across part of the stage at the start of the encore and his well-received shout out to Detroit Tigers legend, Sparky Anderson.

 

The only real slow-down occurred when the guitar audio dropped out just as the Frusciante and Flea were about to transition from a jam into the beginning of “Californication” near the end of the main set, so the band laughed it off and re-started the song after a slightly stuttered misfire. Notably, only two songs were included from the band’s most successful and best LP, 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and with the exception of the mega-deep cut, “Nobody Weird Like Me,” from 1989’s Mother’s Milk, all of the other songs were from the last 23 years, leaving out the majority of the music that made the band famous (and infamous) 30 or more years ago. Smith, Flea, Kiedis, and Frusciante all performed spectacularly and reminded the crowd why they deserve to be considered among the very best to be doing it, or to have ever done it, worthy inductees to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and nearly unparalleled in their successful and ongoing history in spite of their humble beginnings. At this stage, it’s more appropriate to compare them to Metallica, U2, or even The Rolling Stones in some respects than most of their peers or others who came after them. While age shows on both the faces in the band as well as the faces in the crowd, Red Hot Chili Peppers still have the power to command a stage and engage an audience with groove and soul, their own unique brand of which they perfected in the early days of gunge. After a rousing sing along of “Under the Bridge,” still the band’s most successful hit single, and an energetic rendition of “By the Way,” the individual members expressed their thanks and gratitude to the crowd and departed the stage one-at-a-time as the stadium emptied into the storied city streets of Detroit.

 

Thundercat Set List:

Lost in Space/Great Scott/22-26

Innerstellar Love

How Sway

Overseas

Dragonball Durag

Funny Thing

Them Changes

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The Strokes Set List:

Reptilia

Ize of the World

Bad Decisions

Evening Sun

Hard to Explain

Automatic Stop

The Adults Are Talking

Juicebox

Last Nite

Take It or Leave It

Someday

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Red Hot Chili Peppers Set List:

Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band-“Scorpio” (intro tape)

--------------------------------

(Jam)

Around the World

(drum solo)

Dani California

Universally Speaking

(jam)

Aquatic Mouth Dance

Snow

(“I Feel Love” jam) (Donna Summer)

I Like Dirt

These Are the Ways

Hard to Concentrate

Nobody Weird Like Me

Don’t Forget Me

Tell Me Baby

The Heavy Wing

Black Summer

(jam)

Californication

(jam)

Give It Away

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Under the Bridge

By the Way

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Green Jelly Bring Merry Madness to Michigan Metal Fest

After months of anticipation, Michigan Metal Fest finally arrived last Saturday to the delight of mid-Michigan metal heads and brought with it a full day of local, regional, and national acts on three stages at Battle Creek’s Leila Arboretum in spite of unseasonably cool and rainy weather. 21^st century favorites like Atilla and Oceano headlined the event, but grumpy Gen Xers were especially shocked to see the legendary Green Jelly also near the top of the bill, and their unique brand of comedy metal thrilled and engaged the wet, muddy crowd as the festival neared its conclusion.

Formed in 1981 by vocalist and demented mastermind, Bill Manspeaker, Green Jelly built a following for over a decade before finding unlikely success with their hard rock parody of the children’s story, “ThreeLittle Pigs” and its hilarious and era-specific Claymation music video before running into legal issues which resulted in adjusting the band’s name (originally written and still pronounced, “Green Jello”) and encountering problems with record company support and distribution for their follow up albums. Some of the band's members went on to greatness elsewhere (Danny Carey and Maynard Keenan of Tool were once members) while others dropped off and into other bands. After a 13-year hiatus, Manspeaker revived the project, releasing previously recorded material and performing live again but now employing regional musicians who vary by location rather than a traditional backing band. Having released their fifth and most recent album last summer, Green Jelly are currently performing at clubs and small festivals which recently included the Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos and Battle Creek’s Michigan Metal Fest.

The set times at the festival were only 20-30 minutes long for all artists, so when Green Jelly was still tuning up and getting ready 16 minutes into their allotted time slot, it was understandable that Manspeaker playfully warned the crowd the “shitshow” was about to begin. As the stage filled up with more and more musicians, there were eventually at least 12 people on stage, 6 of whom were playing bass, and once the show was officially underway, a parade of about 20 additional audience volunteers (wearing band-provided, “punk rock puppet heads”) quickly turned the performance into a melee that then spilled into the crowd for the remainder of the set. Imagine P-Funk colliding with GWAR, and you have an inkling of the scene. All told, the band squeezed five songs into 30 minutes (but needed to go over their time by at least 15 minutes to do so) and split two of the songs into multiple sections that came and went throughout the show. The performance itself was an amplified spectacle of silliness and rock and roll passion that was arguably overwhelming if not overstimulating and was probably best received by those with short attention spans aside from the fans who were already familiar with the band and their music.

Opening (and closing) with the self-deprecating “Green Jelly Theme Song,” one of the group’s earliest songs, the focus and highlight was their spirited delivery of “Three Little Pigs,” arriving almost as soon as the show began. Manspeaker then joked they were contractually obligated to perform at least two songs, so they quickly jumped into “Anarchy in the U.K. (Bedrock),” an updated arrangement and parody of the Sex Pistols classic with lyrics instead focusing on The Flintstones, followed by “Carnage Rules,” written for the Super Nintendo Spider-Man game, Maximum Carnage, nearly 30 years ago but revived due to the recent release of the second Venom movie which features Woody Harrelson as the infamous Marvel villain.

Festival staff communicated the band were down to “20 seconds” after which they performed another full-length song and call-backs to two others they had already performed before bringing the show to a close. Between the musicians, singers, dancing audience members, the fire breather, and the stone grinder that were all part of the performance, it was hard to focus on any one person or element for very long, and the sloppy but enthusiastic set flew by very quickly once it got started, leaving some yelling for more, some running to the band’s merch tent, and others breathing a sigh of relief as they shuffled toward the stage with anticipation for the last two bands, both of whom were far more traditional and less intentionally ridiculous. For audience members who have known about or even followed Green Jelly 30 or more years ago, the seemingly random opportunity to actually see them live was a thrill in itself, but even with franchised musicians and a 30-minute performance slot, Green Jelly delivered a spirited and engaging show that left as many laughing as they got headbanging.

Green Jelly set list:

Green Jelly Theme Song (pt. 1)

Three Little Pigs (pt. 1)

Green Jelly Theme Song (pt. 2)

Anarchy in the U.K.-Bedrock (Sex Pistols/Green Jelly)

Carnage Rules

Electric Harley House/Enter Sandman (Metallica) (tease)

Three Little Pigs (pt. 2)

Green Jelly Theme Song (pt. 3)

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Jack White-Entering Heaven Alive album review

 

Jack White’s second new album of the year, Entering Heaven Alive, is drastically different from his previous, Fear of the Dawn, released this past April, but it isn’t out of place in his widely varying catalog which explores elements of almost every type of American music. Rather than continuing with Fear of the Dawn’s tone of fast-paced, garage rock experiments, Entering Heaven Alive slows the speed and lowers the volume as keyboards and synthesizers give way to pianos and organs, and White’s signature electric guitar work (mostly) takes a back seat to rhythmic acoustic country, folk, and Americana. These songs were all written and recorded during the pandemic lockdown, but they were grouped onto separate LPs and released just over three months apart, also allowing White’s ongoing tour to change or vary in tone as the year continues to unfold. While some tracks feature members of White’s current backing band, and a few include members of The Raconteurs and other Third Man Records favorites sitting in as well, White himself handles most of the instruments and all of the vocals here.

"A Tip from You to Me" immediately changes the tone from the previous album and sets a new one for the songs to come. It serves well as a palate cleanser, especially if both albums are being played back-to-back. "All Along the Way" is a well-arranged and performed song but isn't very engaging. This particular track is very slow and doesn’t keep listener’s attention as well as most of White’s songs. "Help Me Along" is an ode to White’s daughter, Scarlett, which although very sweet is even slower and less-engaging than “All Along the Way” and seems to be more sentimental and personal than something for the audience. Musically and lyrically, "Help Me Along" recalls parts of Paul McCartney’s “Here, There, and Everywhere” but focuses on the parent-child relationship rather than a one between romantic partners. It is also the album’s longest song which could have been improved with one or two fewer verses. 

"Love Is Selfish" is the album’s lead single, released even before Fear of the Dawn, and arguably the strongest track here. One of many songs to feature only Jack White himself with no other musicians present, "Love Is Selfish" stands out for also being the simplest arranged track, giving the listener only White's vocals and sharp acoustic guitar work. Musically, it comes across as a mature variant of the progression in The White Stripes’ “We’re Going to Be Friends” but deals with the very adult themes of internal frustrations and difficulties communicating within and maintaining a romantic relationship rather than the optimistic view of school children excited to run out to recess or walk home from school together. On "I’ve Got You Surrounded," White’s signature electric guitar noodling finally makes an appearance although in a subdued performance compared to most of his louder songs. This one is engaging and built more so around rhythms and repeated lines of music and lyrics that are both less concrete than the album’s previous tracks and maintain the overall tone of the record and flow of the track listing.

Side two is a bit stronger and more adventurous than the first side, so be sure to give these tracks a try even if the first five songs aren’t necessarily as interesting. "Queen of the Bees" was originally released as a B-side of the “Hi-De-Ho” single (from Fear of the Dawn) and is an ode to White’s wife, musician Olivia Jean, whom White married on stage in Detroit on the first night of his 2022 tour (and the day of Fear of the Dawn’s release). This piece stands out partly due to the more comical approach to the lyrics and the uncharacteristic use of xylophone as a primary percussion throughout, giving it a lighter vibe than most of the songs on the album though it is also the shortest track included. "A Tree on Fire from Within" returns to the personal metaphors and introspective commentary that is featured in most of Entering Heaven Alive’s songs. The piano performance and production here connects this track a bit more than most of the others to mid-tempo songs from White’s first two solo LPs, which were not dissimilar in their inclusion of both “louder” and “quieter” songs, but on Blunderbuss and Lazaretto, there were fewer of each and they were mixed together onto one LP instead of separated by tone and presented as two different sets of music. "If I Die Tomorrow" is the album’s 8th track and second single and is even slower and less radio-ready than “Love Is Selfish” but connects directly to lyrics and sentiments from Fear of the Dawn’s rocking “What’s the Trick?” which was that album’s 8^th track as well. Where both songs are reflective and introspective, the louder track seems to diagnose how behavioral choices affect others where the quieter song focuses more seriously on the thoughts and requests of someone on their deathbed or maybe who has recently passed, where love and care for family far outweigh lesser-significant mortal worries.

"Please God, Don’t Tell Anyone" is another acoustic/piano song which starts similarly to some of the others but includes clever and relatable lyrics that can be as significant to White as they may be personally interpreted by the listener, recalling tracks like Blunderbuss’ “I Guess I Should Go to Sleep” and Lazaretto’s “Alone in My Home.” The song also builds on the questions and themes of the previous track, moving from communicating with loved ones just before or just after death to engaging in a meeting with God him/her/itself in the afterlife. This kind of narrative lyric has been a part of American folk, Gospel, and country for over 100 years, but White’s own modern twist on it reboots it for the current century (or at least for the current decade). "A Madman from Manhattan" is a gem hidden close to the end of the album which is also its most experimental song with a poetic, hip-hop lyric that could be delivered a cappella in a coffee shop as well as it is presented here with musical accompaniment. Thematically and lyrically dense, “A Madman from Manhattan” seems to avoid obvious ties with the themes of the album’s other songs but may be commenting on some of them from perspectives of other characters, especially with the song’s two-part arrangement where it becomes something different in the final third. "Taking Me Back (Gently)" is the album’s closer is one of its best and most clever moments as White presents a completely different (acoustic/Americana) style arrangement of the song that opens Fear of the Dawn (with a fair amount of electric guitar fury and fuzzy synthesizer by comparison). 70 minutes is a long way to go to get to this particular pay-off, but if both albums are played back to back as one piece, it both allows the music to end where it began with an alternate version of the same song, or better yet, if the albums are presented on a back-to-back loop, “Taking Me Back” plays twice in a row as the song cycle changes back from quiet to loud and starts over again. The detail that went into replicating the many layers of the first version of the song in this second, quiet version is extremely impressive.

Overall, Entering Heaven Alive is as equally well-produced and performed as any of Jack White’s many other records, but it is a bit underwhelming coming so soon after a much more engaging and dazzling album and loses even more interest for being mainly presented in one tone rather than mixing together the songs from both albums into a great double LP or even two separate but more balanced albums that featured some of the louder and quieter songs together. Arguably, White’s decision to separate them is the theme that makes these two records stand out as unique compared to his previous work, but where that adds to the strength of the first, it also contributes to the slight weakness of the second. Ironically, without Fear of the Dawn to compare it to, Entering Heaven Alive might have received a stronger delivery and reception.

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