Weird Al Yankovic, the living legend of funny music and pop culture icon, has been on the road this year with his Bigger & Weirder Tour to the delight of fans young and old across the country. Unlike Yankovic's previous outing, a tour that focused specifically on deep cuts and non-hits, a treat to both hardcore fans and to his band alike, the new tour's set list focuses again on his biggest hits, most familiar tracks, and spotlights some newer material he has released in the decade since his last LP, 2014's Mandatory Fun. In addition to the hits (complete with several costume changes and necessary video breaks to allow for them), Yankovic has also expanded his usual, always excellent, four-piece backing band (most of whom have toured and recorded with him since the early '80s) to include four additional musicians, allowing for more interplay with horns, percussion, additional guitars and keyboards, and even sound effects that make the performance sometimes evocative of those of some of Yankovic's musical heroes, such as Spike Jones and Frank Zappa.
After performing a sold-out show at Traverse City's annual cherry festival, Yankovic and the band visited the historic Pine Knob amphitheater in Clarkston, MI (north of Detroit) for a strong run through the finely paced and choreographed show, entertaining fans who have been seeing him for decades as well as many seeing him for the first time, some attending with their parents or even as a whole family. The evening began with a comical opening set by Puddles the Clown (as Puddles Pity Party) who offered his trademark comedy and cover songs before appearing briefly in Yankovic's first number, which began about 20 minutes later, taking a cream pie to the face. The Bigger & Weirder show itself is not dissimilar to Yankovic's other tours going back to at least the early '90s, and each successive tour maintains a similar framework, only rotating songs in and out of the set or adjusting the order of some every few years, in addition to highlighting some of his most recent work. For example, "Tacky," his show opener, was also the first song performed on each date of the Mandatory Fun tour in 2015 and is still produced similarly with Yankovic singing it as he is filmed walking from his dressing room to the stage, after the band has already begun playing, and projected to the audience on closed circuit screens. All-time favorites like "One More Minute," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Dare to Be Stupid," "Fat," "White & Nerdy," and "Amish Paradise" are guaranteed, and a well-rehearsed medley of bits and pieces of other hits and fan favorites arrives around the mid-point of the show (though the songs featured in the medley also get rotated from tour to tour).
Yankovic is also known for his signature polka medleys, where he retains the original lyrics of several popular songs but arranges them as a polka, and a standard Weird Al show usually contains a performance of his most recently released polka, in this case, last year's "Polkarama!" which includes hits by Billie Eilish, Adele, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, and others. Much of the remainder of the set is divided between a handful of deep cuts that were not necessarily hit singles but are loved by fans and by the band, such as "Everything You Know Is Wrong," "Skipper Dan," and "eBay," and newer songs, which now consist of special projects and tracks created for TV and movies, such as "Captain Underpants Theme Song," "It's My World," and "Now You Know," from the hilarious biopic sendup Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, from which a few scenes were also shown on the monitors during costume changes. The other notable holdover from Yankovic's recent deep cuts tours that has now been integrated into his standard show is the featuring of one straight cover song, all original lyrics and music (which changes each night). At Pine Knob, the crowd was treated to an energetic run through Paul Simon's classic "You Can Call Me Al," which Yankovic deadpan introduced as how he responded to someone who asked him how he prefers to be addressed.
As the opening of the show remains consistent with previous recent tours, so does the closing, which centers primarily on two of Yankovic's three Star Wars themed songs, "The Saga Begins" and "Yoda," also including an onstage appearance by the local regiment of the 501st Legion of costumed stormtroopers, a dedicated group of Star Wars fans who have organized around the world, often appearing for charity and at children's events. To say that this portion of the show (or any other) pushes the boundaries of acceptable nerdity or geekdom would be an understatement, and both Yankovic and the audience clearly love it.
Beyond the regular cycle of touring and continuing to deliver a strong, engaging, and hilarious show every night, it's clear this particular tour feels a bit more significant to Yankovic and may even be a sort of late career victory lap where he's taking the opportunity to feel the appreciation from his fans and to celebrate a job well done. Yankovic will be 66 years old in a few months, and like many other Boomer and Gen X musicians, may be looking at wrapping things up, at least with regard to a tour of this size and scale. His singular style will never be duplicated or repeated, and those who have been lucky enough to see him live or even to enjoy his career in real time have been given a special comedic, musical gift and countless laughs and joy for nearly half a century. Weird Al Yankovic's Bigger & Weirder Tour continues through late September including a performance at Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, MI on September 17th.
Weird Al Yankovic, 7/2/25 (Clarkston, MI) set list:
Fun Zone (intro tape)
Tacky
Mission Statement
Polkamania!
(drum solo)
Everything You Know Is Wrong
One More Minute
Smells Like Nirvana
Dare to Be Stupid
Medley: 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
You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon)
It's My World
Skipper Dan
(drum solo reprise)
eBay
Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me
White & Nerdy
Amish Paradise
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Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (Bach)
Cell Phones
The Saga Begins
Yoda
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Puddles Pity Party, 7/2/25 (Clarkston, MI) set list:
I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (Harry Carroll)
Come Cry with Me (Glyn Styler)
Who Wants to Help the Clown? (interlude)
Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne)
*(unknown song)*
Who Wants to Help the Clown? (interlude)
Estoy serntado aqui (Los Lobos)
Come on Up to the House (Tom Waits)
In the End
Stairway to Gilligan's Island (Little Roger & The Goosebumps)
My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion)/Enter Sandman (Metallica)/One (Metallica)
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