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Weird Al Is The Man At The Mann In Concert For Generations

For the Daily Times

"Weird Al" Yankovic, the master of parody pop, brought his Bigger & Weirder 2025 tour to the sold-out Mann Music Center on July 21.

Thousands of fans braved the heat and humidity in their button-down Hawaiian shirts — the traditional Weird Al "uniform" — many also wearing dark curly wigs, an affectionate nod to the singer-songwriter's hairstyle.

Yankovic, a five-time Grammy winner, has made a career of transforming iconic pop songs into humorous explorations of American culture, all while encouraging people to embrace their more idiosyncratic sides.

Over the past 45 years, he has adapted songs from artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Joan Jett, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Backstreet Boys, Coolio, Miley Cyrus, and Pharrell Williams, among others.

And at the Mann, he treated fans to a multimedia concert experience showcasing these hits and many others, along with a trunkful of era-defining costumes, a goofy collection of videos featuring him interviewing random celebrities, and a raucous eight-pieceband.

Yankovic opened by telling the audience that event management required him to deliver a PowerPoint presentation before the fun began.

He launched into "Mission Statement," a track from his 2014 album "Mandatory Fun."

The Mann Music Center was packed for "Weird Al" Yankovic. (COURTESY OF MARIA POWNALL)

On the video screen behind him, animated graphics spelled out the lyrics, which were one long stream of bright corporate buzzwords that have defined workplace culture for the past decade.

Picking up his trademark accordion, Al blended snippets of songs like Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire," Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk," Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," and Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" into a Polka-infused confection that the crowd ate up.

Quirky original compositions "Everything You Know Is Wrong" and "One More Minute" helped build momentum, especially when Al ran through the audience during the latter song, interacting with cheering fans.

But musical parodies and visual spectacle were what the crowd came for, and Al delivered big time. As he and his band went offstage, a clip from the 2022 movie "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" played on the screen behind the stage.

The segment humorously depicted the pseudo-origin story of how Al transformed Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" into "Another One Rides the Bus," with a post-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe portraying Weird Al.

As the stage lights came up, Al shuffled in wearing a brown and green striped shirt, his face obscured by a messy, dirty blond wig. The crowd erupted for "Smells Like Nirvana."

Evoking the grunge classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the song offered indecipherable lyrics, cheerleaders with black dresses and red pom-poms, and even a tuba.

Costumes played a key role in setting the tone throughout the show. Wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit and goggles, Al tackled the Devo-inspired "Dare to Be Stupid."

Then, for "Party in the CIA," he went all business in dark glasses and a black suit.

With so many hits, it's impossible to play them all in a two-hour show, so Al concocted a super-sized medley featuring songs including "My Bologna"; "Ricky, which included a Lucille Ball-styled duet partner"; "I Love Rocky Road"; "Eat It"; "Like a Surgeon"; and "Word Crimes."

All the while, Al was changing costumes onstage, at some point swapping out the Michael Jackson's classic red "Beat It" zipper jacket for an all-black ensemble that was eventually replaced by a white jacket decorated with red Canadian maple leaves for the punkish "Canadian Idiot."

After another offstage costume change, he returned to perform "Fat" (a parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad"), bringing all the '80s vibes of the popular video.

His theme songs for kids' favorites "Captain Underpants" and "Milo Murphy's Law" got the young ones excited.

And a faithful cover of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al," with its wicked bassline, joyous saxophone, and coordinated dance moves from the original music video, drew cheers from the older members of the crowd.

Back for another round of parodies, Al came back strong with "ebay," a rewrite of Backstreet Boys' "I Want it That Way" detailing Americans' fascination with buying used things online.

The set ended with "Amish Paradise," where Al and the band wore costumes that looked straight out of Lancaster.

"Weird Al" Yankovic and the band perform "Amish Paradise." (COURTESY OF MEGHAN WISMER)

Channeling James Brown, Al was reluctantly escorted off the stage in a flowing cape that was gingerly placed around his shoulders, but, alas, no "Living with a Hernia," his parody of James Brown's "Living in America" from the "Rocky IV" soundtrack, which wouldhave been a natural song choice for the Philly crowd.

The evening ended with the 1-2 "Star Wars" punch of "The Saga Begins," a parody of Don McLean's "American Pie," and "Yoda," sung to The Kinks' "Lola."

Throughout the two-hour show, the crowd was thoroughly entertained: the lyrics, the familiar Weird Al goofiness, the costumes, and the exceptional musicianship of the band and backing singers.

Families sang together, many parents proudly passing down Weird Al fandom to their children.

Garrett and Charlotte Wismer were there with their parents, who are both Weird Al fans from the '80s. When asked what he thought of the show, Garrett said, "Weird Al has a lot of energy. He's crazy."

His older sister Charlotte, who had seen Al before, summed it up best: "I love how he's celebrated for his eccentricity and how that reflects within the audience. People are unafraid to be themselves, and tonight, they let their freak flags fly."

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Wins Outstanding Television Movie Emmy

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards are taking place on January 15th after the WGA and SAG strikes pushed back the ceremony. This week, the Creative Arts Emmys took place, and some of the major awards were given out early, including Outstanding Television Movie. This year, the award went to Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which was up against Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas, Fire Island, Hocus Pocus 2, and Prey.

"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (@TheRokuChannel) just won the #Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie! #Emmys #75thEmmys," the Television Academy shared on Twitter. You can view the post below:

Over on Instagram, Weird Al Yankovic celebrated the win in the best way. "Morning already? Man, I had the craziest dream," the star captioned his post. You can check out his Emmy photo below:

Director Eric Appel also shared a fun post-Emmy win photo today. "Incredible night at the Creative Arts Emmys," he wrote. You can view that post below:

Harry Potter alum Daniel Radcliffe took on the role of Weird Al in the biopic parody. Back in 2022, ComicBook.Com had the chance to talk with many of the folks involved with the film, and it was revealed that Radcliffe actually performed Weird Al's songs on the set.

"It was great," director Eric Appel said about watching Radcliffe perform. "He's a great singer. He's been on Broadway and I mean he nailed it. It helped him to sing along on set, just to sync up with the prerecorded tracks. But like, his voice is great and I did karaoke with him after we wrapped and heard him sing some Weird Al songs there. And you gotta hear the Daniel Radcliffe rendition of 'White and Nerdy.'"

"He's so committed to this character," Rainn Wilson (Dr. Demento) shared. "He learned accordion, he learned all the songs, he sang along, he gave it everything. And I just love that about him. And, you couldn't have done it any other way. It's really fantastic."

"I just remember every time [Daniel Radcliffe] had to perform a song in the movie, that would be stuck in everybody's head for the next, I wanna say week, but we didn't have them much time to shoot, but like it would just be… So, when [Radcliffe] did 'Like a Surgeon,' that suddenly was the one I just could not stop singing and getting out of my head," Evan Rachel Wood (Madonna) revealed. 

Congrats to the team behind Weird: The Al Yankovic Story! Stay tuned for more awards season updates.

'Harry Potter' Star Daniel Radcliffe Turns 36: A Look Back

Actor Daniel Radcliffe, best known best for his work in the "Harry Potter" film franchise, multiple stints on Broadway, "Miracle Workers," "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" and "The Lost City," turns 36 on Wednesday. Here's a look back at his career through the years.

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