Review: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic stays weird for Treasure Island Casino show

Most zany comedians eventually run out of steam. Steve Martin stopped jamming an arrow through his head. Groucho Marx reinvented himself as a game show host. Bob Hope eventually couldn’t say “Good evening” without cue cards.

“Weird Al” Yankovic, who turns 66 in October, hasn’t followed that path. In his sold-out, outdoor show at Treasure Island Casino Saturday, he was just as goofy and energetic as he was back in 1979, when Minnesotan Dr. Demento started playing “My Bologna” on his radio show.

Even if you find parody songs only slightly less annoying than limericks, you had to admire Yankovic’s stamina.

Over the course of two hours, he made more than 10 costume changes, hit the high notes on “Smells Like Nirvana,” delivered an impressive high kick during a tribute to the Flintstones and rapped with the efficiency of someone one-third his age.

Yankovic’s endurance fell short of the Mick Jagger or Bruce Springsteen level, but he certainly earned the right to reference James Brown at the end of the main set, shrugging off the cape a roadie had draped over his shoulders.

This show wasn’t as ambitious as Yankovic’s last local appearance, the 2019 Minnesota State Fair, where he shared the stage with a 41-piece orchestra. He tried making up for that lack of spectacle Saturday by leaning heavily on elaborate video clips in the background.

The clips, while amusing, were also distracting.

Those who got wrapped up in watching a prerecorded Donny Osmond dance to “White & Nerdy,” might have missed the top-notch, eight-piece backing band camping it up in person and the sight of Yankovic sweating as much as Albert Brooks in “Broadcast News.”

Those hypnotized by the screens might also have overlooked just how smart Yankovic’s lyrics can be without ever getting R-rated. That might explain why so many parents felt comfortable bringing their kids.

The youngsters may not have appreciated the genius of rhyming Sarah Michelle Gellar, Old Yeller and Helen Keller in “It’s All About the Pentiums,” but at least they didn’t pick up any new dirty words to share at summer camp.

Videos were more fitting as fillers between costume changes.

Yankovic cameos or references in “The Naked Gun,” “Jeopardy!“ and ”The Simpsons” were a reminder of just how long the polka-loving comic has been a part of pop culture and how he’s still going strong.

During one break, the crowd, a sea of Hawaiian shirts decorated with bananas, flamingos and Three Stooges, were treated to an entire scene from the 2022 Emmy-winning film, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” in which Daniel Radcliffe as a young Yankovic wows the likes of Jack Black, Conan O’Brien and Rainn Wilson with “Another One Rides the Bus.”

It might have been more thrilling to hear Yankovic perform that Queen parody live, but he gave the audience enough hits, either in snippets (“My Bologna,” “Like a Surgeon”) or full production numbers.

For “Fat,” the highlight of the evening, he wore an outfit that made him look like Jabba the Hutt, then twirled across the stage like he was in a leotard. Near the end of the number, he mock punched Santa Claus.

Yankovic wasn’t done with the “Star Wars” references. For the encore, he slipped into a Jedi costume and delivered “The Saga Begins” (to the tune of “American Pie”) as local Stormtroopers danced around a stoic Darth Vader.

Yankovic didn’t play as much accordion as he has in the past, but that doesn’t mean he’s gotten any more serious. The only song that came close to sounding sincere was “Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me,” an anti-spam anthem that he delivered with the same gusto Lee Greenwood brings to “God Bless the USA.”

The only other part of the evening that bordered on maudlin was when opening act Puddles Pity Party (Mike Geier) crooned tearjerker songs to a backing track. Puddles, a Pagliacci-like clown who’s well over 6 feet tall, tossed tissues to the crowd as he declared his unrequited love to images of Kevin Costner on the giant screens.

It’s easy to see why Yankovic invited him to join in the silliness.