(Older) Boys Night out - Weird Al & Little Gym

Michael here - Holly said that I **had** to post about last night!

Last night was (older) boys night out. Two weeks ago, I was talking with my cousin Emily, and she said that she and Rick and Sam were going on the 12th to see Wierd Al at the Warner Theater (downtown DC). Now, back in the day {mostly high school and early college years} I was a HUGE Wierd Al fan. I had his first 4 albums (covering 1983-1986) and I still sing those songs incessantly. (It really bugs Holly when certain songs come on the radio and I immediately launch into the Weird Al version.)

So, I decided to gather up some of the compadres and see if I could still get tix at the last minute. Brian and Bennett were both interested, as was high school friend Robby (who, unfortunately, could not make it). So Bennett and Brian and I went downtown last night, and met up w/ Emily, Rick, and Sam for dinner. We ate at Chef Geoff's Downtown - which is across the street from the Warner Theater - and which I heartily recommend. The food was very good, and the 6 of us had a great time. Emily bought their tix back in April - and they had orchestra. I was able to get 3 together in nosebleed one week before the concert - sadly, orchestra seats were only $10 more than nosebleed. (I say sadly because orchestra would have been great).

Although Holly would have rather "dived into a swimming pool filled with double-edged razor blades" than spend "one minute" at a Weird Al concert, we all had a fabulous time. The thing about Werird Al is that he has stayed relevant musically, which means that most of the stuff he is parodying as songs from his last 7 albums I am totally unfamiliar with, and even the style parodies I don't get because I don't know the nuances of the subject (as opposed to the stylistic parodies of Devo, The Talking Heads, 50's Teen Idol songs, and 50's Space Invader Movies that he did in the '85-'86 timeframe) Al played zero songs from his 1st album, only a medley portion of "Eat It" from the second, only 1 from the third (more on that later), none from the 4th, and only "Fat" from the 5th. In spite of this, we all had a great time. Al played for 2 1/2 hours w/ no intermission, and, at age 48, was jumping about the stage like a teenager. He is really an incredible showman - usually being in costume for specific song parodies. He ran "Al TV shorts" and a couple of video song cuts during costume changes. And, contrary to what Wikipedia says, he DID do "Albuquerque" - an 11 1/2 minute song - in fact, he closed with it.
"Your Pitiful" - the parody of James Blunt's "Your Beautiful" (kudos for Holly - I knew the dude's name was James Bl-something; she knew his name and has his album) that Blunt's record company prevented Al from releasing on his latest album - was a big hit and was very well done.

The highlight of the evening was the back-to-back renditions of "The Saga Begins" and "Yoda". For those of you not hip enough to know, "The Saga Begins" is Weird Al's homage to the beginning of the Star Wars double-trilogy - it tells the plot of Star Wars I - The Phantom Menace using a parody of the melody and lyrical-structure of Don McLean's "American Pie." Al came out dressed in Jedi robes, the band was in Jedi robes/cowls, and there was a guy in a full-up Darth Vader suit on the stage flanked by 10 guys in full Stormtrooper armor serving as a chorus line. Then he transitioned into "Yoda" (a parody, again of melody and lyrical structure, of The Kink's "Lola") - and that brought down the house.

Unlike all but a very special few artists with 25+ year careers (Al's 1st single was recorded in 1979), Al can actually have a concert and play, almost exclusively, the new stuff, and still sell out venues like the Warner and Baltimore's Pier 6 (which he played 2 nights ago). However, the only full song he performed from his 1st 4 albums got the biggest response, along with "The Saga Begins" - which spoofs Star Wars and a song from 1970 that is one of the 5 greatest songs in Rock and Roll History. (Let's face it - anyone's Top 5 has to include American Pie, Stairway to Heaven, and Freebird). Although the concert was great, and Al is such a great performer that we all truly enjoyed a concert at which we knew almost none of the songs and don't listen to the genre of most of the songs (Al spoofs a lot of Hip-Hop and rap now, as those are the most popular formats out there), I would LOVE if Al would have a "Classic" concert, playing stuff from his first 10 years of albums (1983-92).

All in all, a great night, and it was fantastic spending it with Bennett and Brian.

Now, a note about Little Gym (to which we forgot to take our camera) yesterday. Holly said that last time there was only 1 Dad there - yesterday, I decided to go, and so did several of the other Dads. It is really cool. Daniel is truly fearless and has better coordination than his father. He loves the gym mats, he likes doing the tuck-rolls, and is really good at the balance beam. His arm-strength and upper-body strength are fantastic - and he is great at "the wheelbarrow" (walking on his arms when his legs are held up in the air). Some of the other kids cry when asked to try new things - not our Daniel. He is really great!