If you’re struggling to find a show that everyone in your family will be on board with, look no further than “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Bigger & Weirder Tour. The massive tour rolled into Columbia’s Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday to a sold-out audience that loved every minute.

Not for lack of trying, I had never seen Weird Al live before. I remember, though, being awestruck at the zany music videos for “Eat It” and “Ricky” on the nascent MTV as soon as my parents left the room. And then there came UHF and me and my friends couldn’t get enough. Now it was daughter’s turn to revel in the weirdness, and this time I was there for that ride too.

Heading into the sprawling Merriweather Post Pavilion complex, fans dressed in wigs and Hawaiian shirts braved the steady rain and filled the seats. Fortunately the rains tapered off just in time for Puddles Pity Party.

Reminiscent of a modern Pagliacci, Puddles Pity Party is a virtual one-man show with an amazing voice. Seated on a stool, the set started off slowly but quickly gathered steam with songs like Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” as Puddles brought fans up onto the stage to play along. He even dress up one wigged fan in a banana costume to perform Los Lobos’ “Estoy sentado aquí.” But certainly the highlight was the hilarious “Stairway to Heaven” parody of the Gilligan’s Island theme.

Of course, that was just the beginning. After a short break, the instantly recognizable beginning of the Pharrell Williams’ parody of “Happy” called “Tacky” kicked off the show with a video image of “Weird Al” Yankovic making his way through the labyrinthian maze of backrooms, corridors, and break rooms – stopping long enough to give Puddles a pie to the face – before a triumphant stroll through the front of the crowd to the stage.

Right from the get-go, Weird Al and company seemed to have dialed it up to “11”, and it didn’t let up. “Polkamania,” “Everything You Know Is Wrong,” “One More Minute” all before a brief break as the huge screens surrounding the stage played a clip from Weird: The Al Yankovic Story highlighting “Another One Rides the Bus.”

If things were amped up before the break, the lid was blown off as Al and his band were dressed as Nirvana surrounded by pom-pom’ed dancers and Weird Al in wig and doing his best grunge thrash before sprawling on the stage.

That immediately went into the DEVO inspired “Dare To Be Stupid” with the band donning yellow hazmat suits, red energy dome hats, all under some super fancy lighting that had fans up in the aisles dancing along.

There were several highlights during the show, but the medley of hits from “Party in the CIA,” “My Bologna,” a fabulous “Ricky” with the band’s own Lucy to Al’s Ricky, “I Love Rocky Road,” “Eat It,” and “Like a Surgeon” among others was just non-stop joy in the absolute silliest way.

Weird Al ended the string of hits with “Canadian Idiot” before the confetti cannons went off sending ribbons flying over the crowd. And that was all before Al returned after a brief video intro for “Fat” as he donned the fat suit to dance and gyrate to the hit single.

Watch the hit single, “Fat” by “Weird Al” Yankovic below:

There was so much stuffed into the production of this massive event that even for the most casual fan you were bound to hear the songs you had come to hear and in their fully costumed glory!

And, of course, there were the “cut scenes” of mock interviews with celebrities; a bigger than life “Captain Underpants Theme Song” with the animated protagonist’s antics projected on the gigantic screen; and two of my favorite performances of “White & Nerdy” with Al hitting the stage in his Segway scooter and a full-on stage presentation of “Amish Paradise.”

If that wasn’t enough, “Weird Al” Yankovic returned to the stage dressed in the finest Jedi robes to perform Star Wars parodies of “American Pie” called “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda.”

A little bit of nostalgia and a whole lot of the wacky fun that only “Weird Al” Yankovic can produce. Don’t miss as his Bigger & Weirder Tour rolls on through the US through the Fall.

The setlist included:

Tacky
Mission Statement
Polkamania!
Drum Solo
Everything You Know Is Wrong
One More Minute
Another One Rides the Bus
Smells Like Nirvana
Dare to Be Stupid
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
Fat
It’s My World (and We’re All Living in It)
Captain Underpants Theme Song
Now You Know
You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon cover)
Skipper Dan
Drum Solo (Reprise)
eBay
Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me
White & Nerdy
Amish Paradise

Encore:
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (Johann Sebastian Bach cover)
We All Have Cell Phones
The Saga Begins
Yoda

Check out more photos of “Weird Al” Yankovic performing at Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 2, 2026. All photos are copyright David LaMason:

And check out photos of Puddles Pity Party opening the evening at Merriweather: