Review: “Weird Al” Yankovic: Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour

Story by @GIJoeRepairShop

At the moment, “Weird Al” Yankovic is on a ninety-city North American tour! The Gi Joe Repair Shop was able to catch up with him at the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey for his July 12, 2026 concert. This author didn’t really know what to expect, having never seen “Weird Al” live before. Recently, I’d heard an interview with “Weird Al” on The Howard Stern Show in which he described his stage show as very elaborate and “costume-positive,” meaning that he did a lot of costume changes during the show.

The show began with the song “Tacky” (a parody of “Happy”). True to the videos for both songs, screens showed Al in the backstage loading area singing and walking in towards the main stage. Backstage, he also passed several people in Star Wars costumes as he continued the song, eventually ending up on the main stage.
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The show progressed with a mix of songs from all eras of Al’s career, including a version of “Another One Rides the Bus” from the recent Weird Al movie. I was delighted to hear him sing “Smells Like Nirvana” (a parody of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), but what I was not prepared for mentally was for Al to be dressed as 1993 Kurt Cobain and to be flanked by Anarchy cheerleaders! The Anarchy cheerleaders appear in both the Nirvana video and the Weird Al parody video.
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As one might expect, there were several parodies from the 1980’s of various Michael Jackson and Madonna hits. These included “Fat,” “Like a Surgeon” and “Eat It.” True to form, Al changed costumes yet again to include a Michael Jackson red jacket. The set also featured modern classics, such as “Canadian Idiot” (a parody of Green Day’s “American Idiot”). This author was stuck by the total versatility of Al and his band, seamlessly moving between musical genres on every song. Each song seemed to have a completely different style than the one before it.
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Another favorite was “Amish Paradise” (a parody of “Gangsta’s Paradise”). While I expected that this song would make an appearance, I did not expect that Al and his whole band would change into Amish costumes just for this song. This level of care and dedication is becoming rare in modern stage shows.
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Finally, the encore featured two of Al’s most famous Star Wars parodies, “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda.” True to form, the band changed costumes again, with Al wearing Jedi robes. He and the band were joined on stage by several storm troopers, R2-D2, and even Darth Vader himself! Having Vader there on stage made it a little awkward when singing about the child Aniken’s various foibles.

Overall, it was an incredible, joyous show which radiated fun and positivity, much like “Weird Al” himself!

(All photos credits to GIJoeRepairShop.)