If you could go anywhere in this great big world now, where'd you like to go ta?
To the Weird Al concert at the MN state fair to hear Al sing about the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota!
Prologue: One of the first cassette tapes I bought, or even the first album I ever bought, was Weird Al's "Dare to Be Stupid." I can't even remember why I bought it; I don't know if I'd heard any of his songs on the radio or read about him in the newspaper. I kinda think that I probably heard one of his songs on the morning show on WLOL back in the early 80s because it was the heyday of the wacky morning radio programs and Weird Al certainly fit the wacky music label. Regardless, I bought the cassette, and listened to it and I was hooked. I think Yoda was what really tickled me and I can still sing it, even while listening to the actual song, Lola. I can pretty much sing the whole "Dare to Be Stupid" album.
So yes, when Weird Al comes to town, I attend the concert. Last year for the Vanity concert, I went twice, once in Minneapolis, and once in Clear Lake Iowa, which turned out to be one of my favorite concerts ever. Small venue, seats close to the stage, deep cuts (familiar with all of them, mind you).
THIS year, however, Jim allowed me to treat myself to a VIP ticket. SUPER close to the stage, free merch, a signed item, and a picture with Al!
Jim and I spent the day at the fair, eating our way around the grounds and maneuvering through crowds. I bought soap. It rained, it even hailed. It was slightly cold.
Prologue: One of the first cassette tapes I bought, or even the first album I ever bought, was Weird Al's "Dare to Be Stupid." I can't even remember why I bought it; I don't know if I'd heard any of his songs on the radio or read about him in the newspaper. I kinda think that I probably heard one of his songs on the morning show on WLOL back in the early 80s because it was the heyday of the wacky morning radio programs and Weird Al certainly fit the wacky music label. Regardless, I bought the cassette, and listened to it and I was hooked. I think Yoda was what really tickled me and I can still sing it, even while listening to the actual song, Lola. I can pretty much sing the whole "Dare to Be Stupid" album.
So yes, when Weird Al comes to town, I attend the concert. Last year for the Vanity concert, I went twice, once in Minneapolis, and once in Clear Lake Iowa, which turned out to be one of my favorite concerts ever. Small venue, seats close to the stage, deep cuts (familiar with all of them, mind you).
THIS year, however, Jim allowed me to treat myself to a VIP ticket. SUPER close to the stage, free merch, a signed item, and a picture with Al!
Jim and I spent the day at the fair, eating our way around the grounds and maneuvering through crowds. I bought soap. It rained, it even hailed. It was slightly cold.
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| I had my picture taken by Jim at the Vikings tent. He bought a hat. |
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| MN quilt that is quite stunning. |
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| first prize pumpkin--winner lives in Foley! Been there! Spent MUCH time there. |
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| my Henna |
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| Hayley's drawing from high school that I brought for Al to sign. It's an illustration of a song called "Albuquerque" |
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| First one in their seat! |
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| SO CLOSE |
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| and about to get closer |
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| Al sat on the lap of the lady sitting 2 seats from me. I could have touched him. |
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| He wore sparkly shoes. |
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| The Saga Begins |
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| The VIP tent. See the blue area? That's where we went to get our photo with Al and get our item signed. |
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| photographer's equipment cases have geeky names |
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| I told Al that Hayley had illustrated Albuquerque for a school project and he took a minute to look over the drawing and pronounced it amazing and said tht Hayley had talent. I also told him that my grandson showed up to dinner once and said, "How ya doing Bernie." and Al laughed.
There were other highlights, like seeing Bill Corbett at the concert and showing him my MST3K bag, and hearing that Kevin Murphy was in the audience as well (Jim got pictures of both Bill and Kevin).
It was really fun to be a VIP at a concert, and I really didn't mind sitting by myself (Jim got a regular ticket and sat with Katie, Christian, and Jackson at his very first concert) or doing the VIP stuff by myself. I just wanted to do it for once and Al was the perfect choice for me. He seems very nice and not at all weird.
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