Ten shows within three weeks – I was just so flattered to welcome Weird Al Yankovic and his lovely band mates in Europe. I originally had very different travel plans. Even though these weeks have been hard and exhausting, I really had a blast. Due to the concept of the The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advides Vanity Tour, this posting does not only include some thoughts about the ten shows I visited, but also the set list of each show. Hope you enjoy.

 

This posting comes with 883 major size pictures as part of the concert gallery.

 

All the pictures lead to this posting have been taken from ordinary spectator positions with a non-professional point-and-shoot camera, the Canon G7x Mk II. Depending on the concerts, I also could not take too many pictures without bothering people.

 

10th February 2023, Dublin (Ireland) – The Helix

The first European show since seven year. I have been so damn nervous to get to the a bit of remote, but really beautiful Helix. The place in fact hosts two major venues, the other one had an Adele show, where you had quite a bunch of ladies in dresses and high heel shoes. Poor Marnie had to sell the merch more or less in the middle of the two venues. The show had some cool classics like Midnight Star. The crowd was good, but other shows on the tour have been better, indeed.

Setlist:

• Fun Zone
• Close but no Cigar
• Airline Amy
• Dare To Be Stupid (lounge version)
• Generic Blues
• Christmas at Ground Zero
• Midnight Star
• Drum Solo
• Dog Eat Dog
• Bass Solo
• First World Problems
• I’ll sue ya
• Why does that always happen to me?
• My Own Eyes
• Drum Solo Reprise
• When I was your age
• I Remember Larry
• U.H.F.
• You Don’t Love Me Anymore
• Alburquerque

 

• (You make me feel like) A natural woman – orig by Aretha Franklin
• Unplugged Medley

 

12th February 2023, Glasgow (U.K.) – O2 Academy

The first show in Great Britain – and the Glasgow show was already a blast. I have to say that I don’t like how many promotions are already running in U.K. concerts (e.g. a priority entrance for people using a certain mobile network), but the show was awesome. Glasgow loved Emo Philips already, and with Don’t download this song, the narrow-seated O2 Academy was literally burning. A bit of a more rocking show, compared to Dublin… But I really liked it – and they had my two all-time favorites, Frank’s 2000” TV and Skipper Dan

 

Setlist:

• Fun Zone
• Lame Claim to Fame
• All Star by Smash Mouth – Teaser
• Young, Dumb and Ugly
• My Baby’s In Love with Eddie Vedder
• Frank’s 2000” TV
• Drum Solo
• When I was your age
• Don’t download this song
• Your Horoscope for today
• Bob
• CNR
• Craigslist
• One More Minute
• Nature Trail To Hell
• Christmas at Zero
• Skipper Dan
• Drum solo Reprise
• Good Old Days
• Albuquerque

 

• All Star (by Smash Mouth)
• Unplugged Medley

 

13th February 2023, Manchester (U.K.) – O2 Academy

The O2 Acedemy as a venue left mixed emotions to me: by far too few toilets in there and in addition it was damned cold in the lower stalls. The show was a bummer and Manchester felt to party even harder than Glasgow – at least when you measure it by the volume at Albuquerque at the Yoda chants. The guys definitely felt to be in their concert zone – two more British gigs for the tour, one more for me (after two days working in Germany).

 

Setlist:

• Fun Zone
• Lame Claim to Fame
• Airline Amy
• Drum Solo
• Why Does that Always Happen to Me?
• Your Horoscope for Today
• Don’t Download This Song
• My Baby’s in Love with Eddie Vedder
• Frank’s 2000” TV
• Drum solo reprise
• Midnight Star
• The Night Santa Went Crazy
• Bass solo
• First World Problems
• Dare to be stupid (lounge version)
• Hapsicord solo
• Melanie
• You Don’t Love Me Anymore
• Velvet Elvis
• Albuquerque

 

• Suffragette City (by David Bowie)
• Unplugged Medley

 

16th February 2023, London (U.K.) – Palladium

I expected London to be the first highlight of my travels. First of all, the first first row ticket of this tour (even though the seat was damn narrow), but majorly as I expected quite some people from the international community to come to London. Finally, I met friends from Great Britain and Israel. The crowd in the historic theater was awesome – I feel they were the best on the tour so far. As always, the setliist is surprising on the one hand – but shows a great range of different stages of Al’s work. The band had to clear the venue by midnight to avoid penalties. Indeed, the Austrian double decker left the Palladium at 23:57 – excellent work by the people behind the scenes, like “Hawkeye”, Melissa, and the remaining technical staff.

Setlist:

• Fun Zone
• Lame Claim to Fame
• Close But No Cigar
• Bob
• I’ll sue ya
• One More Minute
• Dare to be Stupid (lounge version)
• You don’t love me anymore
• Drum solo
• C.N.R.
• Craigslist
• Good Old Days
• Drum solo reprise
• Dog Eat Dog
• Nature Trail to Hell
• Skipper Dan
• The Night Santa went crazy
• Albuquerque

 

• Werewolves of London (by Warren Zevon)
• Unplugged medley

 

18th February 2023, Brussels (Belgium) – Royal Circus

I don’t mention him too often in these short excerpts (and he does not like to have pictures taken during his show…), but I was especially curious how Emo Philips will deal with the audience in Brussels, which could face a certain language barrier to his songs. Emo did great – and showed how fantastic his technical skills as a comedian are.

The Weird Al part of the evening worked very well. The people enjoyed themselves and quite a bunch of people sang along to the songs. The circular venue, by the way, is a rather old, but definitely amazing place. Having several of my favorites, especially Frank’s 2000” TV and Skipper Dan, is always a treat to me. Great evening.

 

Setlist:

• Fun Zone
• Close but no Cigar
• I’ss sue ya
• Why does that always happen to me
• With My Own Eyes
• I Remember Larry
• Drum Solo
• When I was your age
• Frank’s 2000” TV
• Drum Solo Reprise
• Dog Eat Dog
• Bob
• C.N.R.
• Craigslist
• Nature Trail to Hell
• Christmas at Ground Zero
• Skippier Dan
• You don’t love me anymore
• Albuquerque

 

• Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighiting) (by Elton John)
• Unplugged Medley

 

19th February 2023, Tilburg (Netherlands) – 013

I don’t have a coverage of that concert in here… As… I had press status in Tilburg… And you already got it 🙂

Weird Al Yankovic (19th February 2023, Tilburg)

Setlist:

• Lame Claim to Fame
• Airline Amy
• Bob
• Generic Blues
• The Night Santa Went Crazy
• Midnight Star
• Dare to be Stupid (lounge version)
• Young, Dumb and Ugly
• Harpsichord Solo
• Melanie
• Drum Solo
• Dog Eat Dog
• Bass Solo
• First World Problems
• One More Minute
• Your Horoscope for Today
• My Own Eyes
• Drum Solo Reprise
• When I Was Your Age
• U.H.F.
• The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

 

• Born to be Wild (orig. by Steppenwolf)
• Unplugged Medley

 

 

20th February 2023, Utrecht (Netherlands) – TivoliVredenburg

After having the photo show in Tilburg, my next personal highlight came closer and closer – the first Al show in Germany. However, before that, there was the show at the beautiful and very centrally located TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. The venue has a nice charme, somewhere between a philharmonic hall and a university lecture hall. The guys rocked the stage and gave a great sound to the sold-out house. However, songs like Don’t Download This Song or You Don’t Love Me Anymore even made some mobile phones raise above the heads of the Weird Al fans. The rather unique setup of the venue (almost some sort of central stage touch) allowed me to take some snaps from unusual position during a pee break walk.

 

Setlist:

• Fun Zone
• Young, Dumb and Ugly
• Melanie
• Drum Solo
• Frank’s 2000” TV
• Nature Trail To Hell
• Skipper Dan
• C.N.R.
• Craigslist
• Velvet Elvis
• Drum Solo Reprise
• I Remember Larry
• Don’t Download This Song
• My Baby’s in Love with Eddie Vedder
• Christmas at Ground Zero
• Good, Old Days
• I’ll Sue Ya
• You Don’t Love Me Anymore
• Albuquerque

 

• Viva Las Vegas (orig. by Elvis Presley)
• Unplugged Medley

 

23rd February 2023, Hamburg (Germany) – Laeiszhalle

Oh wow, that was such a special evening for me. I was nervous the whole day about the first ever show in Germany – and honestly, I also needed some medical stabilization beforehand. Emo also needed a slight adjustment, but after a few minutes, the German crowd started to love him. I had a great seat, just sitting opposite of Stephen Jay. Not the ideal photo spot (there was always a microphone stand somewhere…) but an amazing night. And as long as I did not started thinking about that this is indeed a German venue and the thought-to-be-impossible is just happening at the beautiful Laeiszhalle, I could really enjoy the show.

The venue was not sold out, but you could feel the spirit of the German fans. A lot of people were so thankful for having these five guys on stage in their country for the very first time. You could feel that from the first notes of Lame Claim to Fame until the last Yoda sing-a-long. Al, Stephen, Jim, Ruben and Jon gave Germany a magical night. Hard for me to stay aware that I had one week off after that show, waiting for the second-ever appearance in Germany in Düsseldorf.

 

Setlist:

• Lame Claim To Fame
• Airline Amy
• Bob
• Dare To Be Stupid (lounge version)
• Close But No Cigar
• One More Minute
• Drum Solo
• When I Was Your Age
• Don’t Download This Song
• Ruben Dance
• Why Does This Always Happen To Me?
• Drum Solo Reprise
• Dog Eat Dog
• You Don’t Love Me Anymore
• Craigslist
• Good Old Days
• Generic Blues
• The Night Santa Went Crazy
• The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

 

• Beat on the Brat (orig. by Ramones)
• Unplugged Medley

 

4th March 2023, Düsseldorf (Germany) – Capitol Theater

If you just look at the distance from my residence, Düsseldorf has been my home concert. There is a bit of a rivalry between my home town Cologne and that village North of the million people city, but I felt home at the Düsseldorf Capitol (indeed my very first time being in there). I was first of all very shocked about the strange audience – but they have two stages they run in parallel… And the other show attracted quite a different audience. The staff was not really helpful when then asked me if I want to go “Wired” (even after telling the staff how to pronounce it and that the guy is not only called “Weird”, they insisted to do it wrong…).

Our seats were first row, but quite far in the wing. The view was nice nonetheless.. And another thing which made this day special was that my wife joined me as well. Great to introduce her to a few team members. It took a bit for Emo to warm up the crowds – but the more they loved him at the end. The list of songs, especially at the end,  felt like a dream to me.. has somebody given the band my preferences I never wrote down? C.N.R., You Don’t Love Me Anymore, Frank’s 2000” TV, Christmas At Ground Zero, Skipper Dan, Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota… I already knew that the last show of my set of ten in Berlin just not become better. Thanks for this amazing evening, guys!

 

Setlist:

• Lame Claim To Fame
• Airline Amy
• Close But No Cigar
• Bob
• Generic Blues
• Drum Solo
• When I Was Your Age
• Drum Solo Reprise
• I Remember Larry
• One More Minute
• Dog Eat Dog
• You Don’t Love Me Anymore
• C.N.R.
• Good Old Days
• I’ll Sue Ya
• Frank’s 2000” TV
• Christmas At Ground Zero
• Skipper Dan
• Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

 

• Mama Told Me (Not To Come) (orig. by Three Dog Night)
• Unplugged Medley

 

5th March 2023, Berlin (Germany) – Admiralspalast

My very lasts stage of the tour, in the heart of the German capital. The show was really special to me, of course, even though I did not have too many very emotional moments during the show. Emo had some issues with an unruly spectator, but he cooled the guy down in a routined way. Overall, the comedian got a lot of standing ovations. The crowd loved Al as well. The set list was rather rocking this time with a rock’n’roll finale. Not my dream list like in Dusseldorf before, but I loved the songs a bunch – finally, the long list of potential tracks is just too good. Finally, the Berlin show also meant the very first time Albuquerque in my home country.

There were just 18 people for the VIP (including me), so that I had the chance to chat a bit with Al at that occasion. So cool he recognized me and remembered that he signed a poster in Albany with the words Next time we are touring Germany. The self-indulgent tour is over for me now – I felt very gifted that I could say farewell to almost everybody of the band and crew at and around the Admiralspalast stage door. Amazing memories stay forever.

 

Setlist:

• Fun Zone
• Young, Dumb & Ugly
• First World Problems
• Close But No Cigar
• Bob
• One More Minute
• Velvet Elvis
• The Night Santa Went Crazy
• Nature Trail To Hell
• Skipper Dan
• Drum Solo
• When I Was Your Age
• Drum Solo Reprise
• I Remember Larry
• You Don’t Love Me Anymore
• Craigslist
• I’ll Sue Ya
• Good Old Days
• Albuquerque

 

• Tutti Frutti (orig. by Little Richard)
• Unplugged Medley

 

 

Final Words…

Wow… Is it really over yet? I have to say that Weird Al, the band and the crew gave me the tourchasing time of my life. I know that it will never be the same. I am sure that this tour laid the foundation for very improved chances that the European fans have another tour rather soon, but these Self Indulgent ones are just special.

Including the New England legs in April 2022, Florida in October 2022 and Carnegie Hall, I’ve seen this tour 19 times, ten times in Europe and nine times in the US. Not knowing, what is ahead, but on the other hand knowing it will be a great time with a wide range of songs, this is simply the best kind of tour I ever visited to me. Regardless of the artist. And, likely, when the guys are coming back, we are getting the classics, the costumes, a strict(er) setlist… I recently wrote to my friend Jeremy, that every song the introduce, either the words by Al or the first notes, feel like a young boy at Christmas to me. You look forward to the presents. You don’t know what’s in stock, but you know your parents (or Santa…) will have done well. That’s the only tour which motivates me to take all the traveling and expenses on me. Many of you might know that I had a booking for Hawaii in February 2023. I did the right choice to cancel it.

A Little Downside

I also have to say: I am damn exhausted. There were also some other things to be done in parallel… And finally, I had to work for my work as well. Especially the days before the shows in Dusseldorf and Berlin, I more and more realized that my physical capacity is breaking down. Tour-chasing is a stressful job and I more and more appreciated that the guys have a tour bus. They sleep and travel in parallel – while I have to do it in two pieces. Apart from hotel reviews and maybe a few sights nearby, I reduced sightseeing on my trip significantly… It just blows my capacity.

I got so much during these days, sightseeing is not that important. I had ten amazing evenings, made some more friends, I felt that I could help a bit to strengthen the European community. The only disappointment I felt was German media. Al had interviews in Dutch and Austrian TV, there were several newspaper and magazine features in both countries. The German coverage was really sparse – even though they had several media partners for the German part of the tour. Bad luck I don’t know how to get your brand printed on these tickets. Would have been an honor. I hope that Flyctory.com served you well during these days. I somehow feel sorry that I did not do one or two Danish shows as well (the others were impossible to coordinate with work).

Last, but not least…

It is one of the longest posts I have ever written, but I still need to add some thankful words. First of all, of course to Al and the band that they came over here after more than seven years. It felt so good to see that they enjoyed Europe. It was amazing how relatively close I could have been to the band members during these shows. Thanks to Stephen Jay, Jim Kimo West, Jon Bermuda Schwartz and Ruben Valtierra. Hope you come back soon. Thanks to Emo… He is just lovely. I also have to thank the team around the band. Thanks to  Suzanne Yankovic – I am so glad I could thank her in Berlin after my last show for her incredible social media coverage. But thanks to Marnie, Melissa, Kamal, Hawkeye Rick, Peaches and Robert (did I miss someone?) for turning these days into something very special. Thanks to Jay Levey to have the trust in me having me as a photographer at an Al show for the very first time in Tilburg.

Of course, thanks to everyone of you who followed me, I got a lot of comments, especially on social media. Finally, I am very thankful that my boss Marc and my wife Sarah gave me the flexibility to do all this weird traveling. Hard to believe that it is over now. Will miss it a bunch.

 

Original Overview Post

I featured the 2023 tour already in this tour overview posting. I feel it is still worth reading, also due to travel hints. etc.

Weird Al Yankovic is touring Europe 2023 – Tour Dates and Travel Hints

 

Shows I did not attend

Sorry, I also needed to work in between (and also had some other photo shows and some Rock of Ages stops in parallel). Thus, I cannot praise the guys for

• Tu 14.02.2023 Birmingham
• Tu 21.02.2023 Paris
• Fr 24.02.2023 Aalborg
• Sa 25.02.2023 Aarhus
• Mo 27.02.2023 Copenhagen
• Tu 28.02.2023 Oslo
• We 01.03.2023 Stockholm

 

Weird Al 2023 – The Gallery

Here are 883 major size pictures of the shows. They are located in the concert gallery:

• 2023-02 & 2023-03 Weird Al Yankovic Shows

 

Title picture by Kamal Asar

 

Flyctory.com about Weird Al Yankovic

Here are all postings related to Weird Al Yankovic:

 

Aviation Museums

Here are all postings about museums concentrating on aviation: