REVIEW: Mashed Potatoes Can Be Your Friend - An Unforgettable Night With Weird Al
07/17 @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Photos also by Erin Harkes from her shaky-handed cell phone while she screamed every lyric at the top of her lungs.
“Weird Al is an explosive performer. Costume changes, lights, multimedia, and an abundance of energy. Non-stop excitement. My inner child was in her glory.”
The year was 1987. I heard on the radio that the Monkees were touring and “Weird Al” Yankovic was opening. Even at the ripe old age of nine I thought this was an odd pairing but nonetheless it was a dream.come.true for me. I had not only watched every episode of The Monkees on Nickelodeon, but also listened tirelessly to Then and Now…The Best of The Monkees.
My family briefly lived in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson while my father worked in NYC, and though we went from a rather large, but poorly heated house from the 1800’s to a two story apartment with our family of six, we traded space for perks that were hard to come by back in our old town—like cable television.
Gone were the days of wrestling with the television dial, cranking with all my might to tune from channel 6 to 23, dodging the blizzard of visual static in between. Nickelodeon was my daycare and The Monkees watched me as much as I watched them. But there was one other who had my heart more than these four men. That man?
“Weird Al” Yankovic. I couldn’t tell you how I came upon this music in the first place. Perhaps it was this new town and its proximity to the big city. Perhaps just dumb luck. Either way, when my father took my older sister and I to the city one day he treated us each to one record. My sister chose Billy Joel’s 52nd Street.
I picked Dare To Be Stupid. And I wore that record out.
Months later, we’re back in our old house in Durham, listening to a radio that likely had tin foil on its antennae. My two favorite groups were touring, they were coming nearby and there was a chance to win tickets. I begged my mother to call. I told her when to dial. “Not yet!” I said, as if I had some intel or a tip.
“Now!” I said. She could have been dialing the entire time, ignoring me completely. Regardless, she won the tickets for me and away we went to the Starlite Theater in Latham.
“Weird Al” was an explosive performer. Costume changes, lights, multimedia, and an abundance of energy. Non-stop excitement. After the performance, I noticed he was in the crowd signing autographs. I grabbed whatever I could and ran closer to him, my little heart racing. The house lights waxed and waned, indicating it was time for the headliners to perform. Respectfully, “Weird Al” knew this was his cue to retire backstage. He turned and scurried past me, his Hawaiian shirt sleeve brushing against my arm.
I returned to my seat, not at all disappointed by the missed autograph; after all, he had touched my arm. And now it was time for The Monkees.
Out they came; all …three of them? Where in the fuck was Mike Nesmith? And why did they look so old? What in god’s name was going on? The song “That Was Then, This Is Now” started to make more sense to me. But I also knew I wasn’t gonna hear “What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round”. Where the fuck was Mike Nesmith?
I suppose I enjoyed myself, confusion aside. Looking back, I know that the experience didn’t quite align with my expectations, which made it tough to shake. And if there’s any evidence of my feelings for it at the time, I know that 95% of the time I have been asked what my first concert was, I invariably say “Weird Al”.
My first album was “Weird Al”, my first concert was “Weird Al”, and I don’t care if this causes me to lose credibility as the Editor-in-Chief of an Arts and Entertainment publication to some, but to ME he’s a genius. I became a musician. I became a comedian. Who knows what inspires those kinds of things. I can’t tell you for certain it was “Weird Al”, but you can’t tell me it wasn’t.
Fast forward 38 years, and my career eventually led me to the chance to meet Weird Al himself. A connection through a colleague and a reputable publication secured me an interview with his longtime guitarist, Jim West. Jim offered me tickets and backstage passes, and soon I found myself in the presence of greatness. I got to meet him. I got to hug him. I got to thank him. He was so kind and gracious and looked genuinely touched when I said with wet eyes and a breaking voice that he was my first concert and my first album. And then I screamed something about how I can’t believe he did “One More Minute” and he made my whole world on my way out before I became a security threat.
On the way out I saw one of the female bandmates. She looked at me and said, “I saw you up and dancing the whole time.” I definitely stood out. Others around me weren’t as eager to make fools of themselves. Pshaw.
“I appreciate you!” she said. I started getting worked up again. It was definitely time to go because the devil on my shoulder was telling me to find a way on that tour bus and stow away to Foxwoods.
Why would I stay seated during the show? “Weird Al” still IS an explosive performer. Costume changes, lights, multimedia, and an abundance of energy. Non-stop excitement. My inner child was in her glory.
He had my undivided attention the whole time. The only distraction was a young girl at the end of my row, standing and dancing just as enthusiastically as I was. She looked to be around nine years old, though I’m really just speculating because it fits my narrative perfectly. So I wasn’t the only one dancing the whole time, but her small stature likely kept the performers from seeing her from the stage.
I saw her. Dare To Be Stupid, little girl.
SET LIST, SPAC 7/17/2025
1. Tacky
2. Mission Statement
3. Polkamania!
4. Drum Solo
5. Everything You Know Is Wrong
6. One More Minute (Erin's Favorite)
7. Another One Rides the Bus
8. Smells Like Nirvana
9. Dare to Be Stupid
10. MEDLEY: Party in the CIA / It's All About the Pentiums / Bedrock Anthem / My Bologna / Ricky / Ode to a Superhero / I Love Rocky Road / Eat It / Like a Surgeon / Word Crimes / Canadian Idiot
11. Fat
12. Captain Underpants Theme Song
13. Now You Know
14. I Am Woman (Helen Reddy cover)
15. It’s My World (and We’re All Living In It)
16. Skipper Dan
17. Drum Solo (Reprise)
18. eBay
19. Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me
20. White & Nerdy
21. Amish Paradise
Encore:
We All Have Cell Phones
The Saga Begins
Yoda (with Yoda Chant interlude)