Music Blog

Weird Al Wednesday Update

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

We have some big news, Al!
Are you ready or what?

© tenor.com

Greetings, my weirdly wonderful wacky Weird Al weirdos! I hope this finds you well and weirder than ever. Our good friend Christian at Christian’s Music Musings contacted me last week with some incredible news. On Saturday, July 12, Weird Al SOLD OUT Madison Square Garden … the Mecca of Music Venues … performing for a jam-packed arena of fathers and sons standing shoulder-to-shoulder in their Hawaiian shirts singing along to all their favorite Weird Al songs. As you know, this is no small potatoes; in fact, this puts Al right up there with Billy Joel, Elton John and the Stones … pretty good company. I’m feeling a little verklempt, like a proud, slightly-older sister! History was made! Ya done good, Al!

When I told Christian I was unable to open the NY Times link without a subscription, he went above and beyond by sending me the body of the article which I’m sharing with you today. Thanks so much, Christian!

Hear ya go, my weirdos:

Weird Al Is Enjoying His Rock-Star Moment
Visuals by Peter Fisher
Text by Melena Ryzik
July 15, 2025

When Weird Al Yankovic, the country’s foremost song parodist for the last 40 years, took the stage for his first-ever Madison Square Garden show on Saturday, his accordion got its own ovation. “Are you ready to polka?!” he shouted, and the sold-out crowd cheered as he dove into an altered medley of hits. (“Old Town Road” really shines atop an oompah beat.)

With videos and elaborate costumes, the Bigger & Weirder tour showcased his enduringly singular, lampoonery-filled pop culture stardom.

Along with his signature instrument, he played the keyboard, melodica and harmonica, and with a tight backing band — many of its members have been with him for decades — performed some of his biggest numbers: his first single, “My Bologna,” from 1979 (to the tune of the Knack’s “My Sharona”); “Like a Surgeon” (à la Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” but in scrubs); “Smells Like Nirvana,” in full Kurt Cobain grunge regalia.

At 65, Weird Al still commands the stage like a natural-born rocker, with high kicks and the panache to pull off what few other artists can (including a fat suit).

During “Eat It,” a riff on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” audience members — many in Hawaiian shirts and sporting curly locks — were on their feet. Even a seen-it-all security guard danced. For “White & Nerdy,” Weird Al arrived via scooter, to the thump of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’.” The crowd knew every lyric.

Weird Al has sold over 12 million albums and won five Grammys. His career has, surprisingly, continued to surge: he had his first No. 1 record in 2014, with “Mandatory Fun.”

Amid the jokes on Saturday, he took time to savor his achievements.

“Oftentimes really big moments in your life come and go so quickly that you can’t really enjoy them while you’re in them,” he said, and paused as the arena’s house lights rose, his latest milestone sinking in.

The tour, with a “Star Wars”-themed finale involving storm troopers and R2-D2, is Weird Al’s biggest production ever. But it’s not all pastiche: he did some original (and funny) numbers, and a cover of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” that showed off his tenor and rhythm.

His 2014 song “Word Crimes” — a parody of “Blurred Lines” that criticizes bad grammar (“I don’t want your drama / If you really wanna / Leave out that Oxford comma”) — is like an ethos: Get the words right! That’s joy.

Here’s a clip from the show. This is “One More Minute” live from MSG.

LYRICS

Well I heard that you’re leavin’
Gonna leave me far behind
‘Cause you found a brand new lover
You decided that I’m not your kind

So I pulled your name out of my Rolodex
And I tore all your pictures in two
And I burned down the malt shop where we used to go
Just because it reminds me of you

That’s right, you ain’t gonna see me cryin’
I’m glad that you found somebody new
‘Cause I’d rather spend eternity eating shards of broken glass
Than spend one more minute with you

I guess I might seem kinda bitter
You got me feelin’ down in the dumps
‘Cause I’m stranded all alone in the gas station of love
And I have to use the self service pumps

Oh, so honey, let me help you with that suitcase
You ain’t gonna break my heart in two
‘Cause I’d rather get a hundred thousand paper cuts on my face
Than spend one more minute with you

I’d rather rip out my intestines with a fork
Than watch you going out with other men
I’d rather slam my fingers in a door

Again and again and again and again and again
Oh, can’t you see what I’m tryin’ to say, darlin’

I’d rather have my blood sucked out by leeches
Shove an icepick under a toenail or two
I’d rather clean all the bathrooms
In Grand Central Station with my tongue
Than spend one more minute with you

Yes, I’d rather jump naked on a huge pile of thumbtacks
Or stick my nostrils together with crazy glue
I’d rather dive into a swimming pool filled
With double edged razor blades
Than spend one more minute with you

I’d rather rip my heart right out of my ribcage
With my bare hands and then throw it on the floor
And stomp on it ’till I die

Than spend one more minute with you

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Al Yankovic
One More Minute lyrics © Sony/atv Melody, Ear Booker Music

Stay weird and wonderful, my wacky weirdos!

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

34 thoughts on “Weird Al Wednesday Update”

  3. Thanks for the shout-out, Nancy. And, yep, selling out Madison Square Garden is a remarkable accomplishment. Sure, what Weird Al does might look a bit silly at first sight (or should I say weird?), but I’ve always thought he is really talented. I’m glad many other music listeners appear to agree! 🙂

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    1. It was my great pleasure, Christian. Everyone who followed my Weird Al posts did so because they’re fans and not embarrassed to admit it. My posts even picked up a few new members to the Weird Al Fan Club! Yes, it’s silly but it’s such well-done silliness! I hope Al is basking in his celebrity status. Thanks, again!

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  13. Never had the honor to attend an Al show. Does he come to Texas? I have a vast collection of vintage Hawaiian shirts, the kind that Elvis and Do Ho wore, the good stuff, actually made on the island by a Polynesian seamstress named Bloody Mary who sings Happy Talk while she works. Is Al’s main instrument the accordion? There was a boy on my block when I was a kid, and he played it well. He did all the Lawrence Welk music and Polkas. Us’uns kids loved to watch him play that beast, which was as big as he was.

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    1. Well, hot damn! You’re in luck, Phil! Al will be in Austin on 7/31 and Grand Prairie on 8/2. He was in NY and CT this month and I’m kicking myself for missing those shows.
      Those Hawaiian shirts of yours sound like legit collector’s items. You could probably get yourself a decent size bag of shells, a bunch of coconuts and an autographed 8×10 glossy of Juanita Hall on Craigslist for those beauties.
      Accordions can be massive. My cousins Vinny and Louie both were nearly swallowed up like Jonah in the whale by their squeeze boxes. Hehehe … she said squeeze box!

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      1. Okay, Momo and me know about the Grand Prairie venue, a great show place. Got plenty of shells, son lives on the beach in Padre, and he has more shirts than me. Mama’s got a squeeze box, Daddy don’t sleep at night. Right?

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