‘Weird Al’ highlights first weekend of Alaska State Fair concert series

Many called Sunday arguably the busiest day at the Alaska State Fair in recent years. Blue skies and temperatures hovering in the high 60s may have had something to do with it. But there was another draw.

A pop culture icon.

“Weird Al” Yankovic played a pair of sold-out shows, bringing his signature brand of pop and parody to Alaska audiences for the first time in 30 years. It’s part of his “Bigger and Weirder” tour, which started June 13 and spans 67 cities through the final date Sept. 25 in Clearwater, Florida.

Thousands of fans flooded the state fair’s Borealis Theatre for afternoon and evening shows, with little room in the venue to spare. Hundreds of fans were already in line outside of the gate as the first show, a 2 p.m. scheduled set, was still ongoing. Yankovic, whose career dates back to the release of his first parodies in the late 1970s, according to his online biography, played just about two hours for each show.

He performed many of his bigger songs — including “Smells Like Nirvana” and “White and Nerdy” — and ended his set with the 1996 hit “Amish Paradise.”

A medley midway through featured some of his most well-known work including, “Bedrock Anthem,” “My Bologna,” “I Love Rocky Road,” “Like a Surgeon,” and more recent stuff such as “Party in the CIA” and “Canadian Idiot.”

The encore included fan favorites “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda.”

The show also featured pre-produced video with stretches, bits and cameos that wove through the performances.

Puddles Pity Party was the opener. The 6-foot-8 performer dressed as a clown brought his own form of music parody to the show, with offerings such as a mash-up of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” and The Who’s “Pinball Wizard.”

“Weird Al” was the third artist to kick off the state fair’s Conoco Phillips Alaska Series, with Medium Build and Rainbow Kitten Surprise playing on Friday and Saturday nights. Contemporary Christian artist Chris Tomlin was on Monday.

The series continues with Warren Zeiders on Aug. 21; Mastodon on Aug. 22; Billy Currington on Aug. 23; Wiz Khalifa on Aug. 24; The Beach Boys on Aug. 25; Sean Paul on Aug. 28; Zedd on Aug. 29; Foreigner on Aug. 30; Dwight Yoakam on Aug. 31; and David Spade on Sept 1.

For more, see alaskastatefair.org.

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