“Weird Al” Yankovic is officially closing in on the current record of 150 shows performed at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “Just 149 more and I’ll be all tied up with Billy Joel,” he told the MSG crowd on Saturday early in what was his first-ever concert at the iconic arena.
The joke came after a sincere moment, when the 65-year-old parodist and comedy musician took time to appreciate where his legendary career had taken him. “Often times 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 before stepping away from the mic and letting the applause of a sold-out crowd wash over him and his band.
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It’s possible that line was a setup to the next song, “One More Minute,” but the landmark of finally playing MSG seemed to actually make “Weird Al” emotional. I’ve seen him play major festivals, large theaters, orchestral sets, and even stripped-down Carnegie Hall concerts, and yet his “Bigger & Weirder Tour” stop at this world-class arena, over a decade removed from his last parody song, still felt like a well-deserved victory lap.
More so than previous treks, “Bigger & Weirder” functions as a retrospective of the peerless “Weird Al.” The first third featured only one parody — opener “Tacky” — along with “style parodies” from different eras (the CSNY-esque “Mission Statement” and my personal favorite, the They Might Be Giants-riffing “Everything You Know Is Wrong”) and his recent “Polkamania.” Consider that section proof that anyone thinking Yankovic is “just” a parody songwriter is simply misinformed.
Then the video interludes and costume changes took over, a collage of classic “Weird Al” visuals that fans have loved for decades. Yankovic donned his Kurt Cobain wig for “Smells Like Nirvana,” and the band put on yellow hazmat suits and red dome hats for “Dare to Be Stupid.” Even during the medley, which included “Party in the CIA,” “Ode to a Superhero,” “Eat It,” “Like a Surgeon,” “Word Crimes,” and more, Yankovic made constant outfit swaps, an impressively breakneck reminder of just how much this guy has done.
Those video clips emphasized the point. Amidst decades of AL-TV-style celebrity interviews and an edited version of his CollegeHumor Whiplash bit, dozens of clips from “Weird Al’s” pop culture crossovers were shown. Cameos from 30 Rock and Naked Gun, references in King of the Hill and The Simpsons, and voice roles like Adventure Time had the crowd laughing as much as anything actually sung.
After “Fat” (something you could never write in 2025 but had the entire audience screaming, “Ding dong, man! Ding dong!” as the music video intro played) the setlist dipped into modern film and television projects. He sang the “Captain Underpants Theme Song” and the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story closing credits original “Now You Know” (complete with multiple fake out endings). The barely 30-seconds-long “It’s My Wold (and We’re All Living in It)” theme from Disney’s short-lived Milo Murphy’s Law, which Yankovic starred in alongside one Sabrina Carpenter, brought loud cheers from the audience’s younger members, evidence that the kids aren’t just into “Weird Al” because their parents are nerds.
While the lack of anything from UHF felt odd, there was the extra cover of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” continuing Yankovic’s more recent tradition of sticking a completely unironic cover in the middle of his sets.
Things closed out as you might expect: hits “eBay,” “White & Nerdy,” and “Amish Paradise.” The encore of “We All Have Cell Phones” (a callback to an AL-TV Michael Stipe interview shown earlier in the night) gave way to the one-two of “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda,” complete with Darth Vader, Storm Troopers, and a working R2D2 sharing the stage.
With all these touchstones from throughout “Weird Al” Yankovic’s career, it’d be enough to for “Bigger & Weirder” to be a memorable fan event. Still, it was elevated even more by the expansion of his band’s classic lineup, with Probyn Gregory (known for his work with Brian Wilson), Payton Velligan, and Monique Donnelly helping grow the tunes for this arena-sized tour.
It’s fair to say there are dozens of other songs longtimers might have wished to see on the setlist, and a seated floor section brought a slightly stifled energy to the show. Despite that, the audience rose to their feet in uproarious applause numerous times, giving “Weird Al” standing ovations that represented gratitude not just for an amazing show, but a career that has brought joy to generations of fans for decades. There has never been and will never be anything or anyone like “Weird Al” Yankovic, and the “Bigger & Weirder Tour” is a celebration of that greatness. Your move, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Get tickets to all of “Weird Al’s” “Bigger & Weirder 2025 Tour” here. We also recommend getting their early to catch opener Puddles Pity Party; seeing how the clown’s set turns into a love letter to Kevin Costner with a “Stairway to Heaven” reworking of the Gilligan’s Island theme set to Waterworld and a stunning tribute of “My Heart Will Go On” is not to be missed. See photos of both Puddles and “Weird Al” below.
