The King of Pop Parody’s first concert special in nearly 12 years arrives on Blu-ray, in support of his latest CD, Alpocalypse, and this release is an expanded version of the same concert that aired on Comedy Central on October 1, 2011. According to the press release, it contains up to an hour of concert footage that did not appear in the cable broadcast.
"Weird Al" Yankovic Live! The Alpocalypse Tour
Studio: Comedy Central/Paramount Home Entertainment
US DVD Release Date: October 4, 2011
Original Release Year: 2011
Rated: Not Rated
Running Time: 86 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles: English
Movie: 3.5 out of 5
“Weird Al” Yankovic first appeared on the pop music scene in 1979 with his self-produced single My Bologna (a parody of The Knack’s My Sharona) receiving favorable airplay on the syndicated Dr. Demento Show. His follow-up one year later, Another One Rides The Bus (a parody of Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust), quickly led to a record deal with Scotti Bros Records. His second album, In 3-D, released in 1984 as MTV’s popularity was rising, was his big breakthrough, featuring a parody of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, entitled Eat It. The song received extensive airplay and the video was in major rotation on the music video channel. In 2011, Yankovic released his 13th album, Alpocalypse, debuting at #9 on the Billboard Top 200, his highest debut of his 32 year career.
Yankovic’s concerts have embraced technology over the years, making his live performances a multimedia extravaganza. His concerts feature several costume changes, and Yankovic fills in those gaps with various video clips projected on large screens above the stage, ranging from clips from his feature-film UHF, various cameos in films such as The Naked Gun series, as well as clips from his AL-TV specials on MTV and VH-1 (including mock interviews with artists such as Celine Dion, Eminem, and Avril Lavinge) and his Saturday morning CBS series The Weird Al Show. Having attended several of “Weird Al’s” shows at the Orange County Fair in recent years, bringing his concert experience to video can be a challenge.
Recorded in Toronto at Massey Hall, “Weird Al” Yankovic Live! The Alpocalypse Tour is the second attempt to capture his show for the home video market. Most of the material performed is from the latest album, naturally, and it is fun to see and hear Yankovic’s live renditions of Polka Face (his obligatory polka medley of popular songs, including Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl, Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now, Justin Bieber’s Baby, Brittney Spears’ Womanizer, and Blame It by Jamie Foxx), TMZ (a parody of You Belong To Me by Taylor Swift), Skipper Dan (an original about an actor who’s only claim to fame is working on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland), Party In The CIA (a parody of Miley Cyrus “hit” Party In The USA), CNR (another original rock anthem tribute to Charles Nelson Reilly in the style of The White Stripes), Craigslist (yet another style parody of the Doors), and Perform This Way (a famous parody that almost wasn’t of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way).
The complete track listing of the concert is listed below:
As I said, this is the second attempt to film a “Weird Al” concert, and, unfortunately, the 2000 DVD release “Weird Al” Yankovic - Live!, taped during the Running With Scissors tour at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, does a better job at capturing his live show. For one, many of the video intermissions were included in that prior release (either as part of the concert or as a special feature), and they are sadly missing here. Secondly, the Toronto audience never really gets involved in the performance as the San Rafael audience does (and Orange County Fair audiences have, as well). This lack of involvement really sucks much of the fun out of the room. Yankovic even chastises the crowd for their half-hearted attempt to sing along during Yoda, calling them “Pathetic.” I hope we do not have to wait another 11 years for another concert video.
Video: 3.5 out of 5
The concert is presented in a slightly above average 1080p transfer in the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1, using the AVC codec. Colors are consistent, but detail and contrast vary. Close-ups look the best, with detail and black levels giving real depth to microphones, instruments, and costumes. However, the image is much softer with minor black crushing visible during some of the mid and long shots.
Audio: 3 out of 5
Now comes the biggest disappointment in this release. The only provided audio track is in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, encoded at 224 kbps. The track has some decent stereo separation, but the music at times sounds flat, with some occasional distortion especially during louder passages with lower frequencies. It is a mystery as to why this Blu-ray was not released with, at the very least, a lossless Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo or uncompressed PCM 2.0 Stereo track.
Special Features: 3.5 out of 5
There are a nice collection of extras on the disc.
Extra Live Concert Performances (HD, 13:57): Three additional songs are included - Frank’s 2000” TV, You Don’t Love Me Anymore, and You Make Me.
Music Videos (HD): Videos for Perform This Way (2:56) and Polka Face (4:47).
Al’s YouTube Videos: While the world waited five years between Straight Outta Lynwood and Alpocalypse, Yankovic created these very short snippets (some of them obviously home movies) that he uploaded to YouTube for his fans to enjoy. These appear to have been upconverted to 1080p from various sources.
Other Junk (HD): Four shorts featuring “Weird Al”
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
“Weird Al” Yankovic makes his high definition debut in this concert Blu-ray that, unfortunately, is a disappointment, especially in the audio department. The tough Toronto crowd doesn’t help, either, taking a lot of the fun out of the performance. If “Weird Al” is coming to your town, though, don’t miss seeing him live.
"Weird Al" Yankovic Live! The Alpocalypse Tour
Studio: Comedy Central/Paramount Home Entertainment
US DVD Release Date: October 4, 2011
Original Release Year: 2011
Rated: Not Rated
Running Time: 86 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles: English
Movie: 3.5 out of 5
“Weird Al” Yankovic first appeared on the pop music scene in 1979 with his self-produced single My Bologna (a parody of The Knack’s My Sharona) receiving favorable airplay on the syndicated Dr. Demento Show. His follow-up one year later, Another One Rides The Bus (a parody of Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust), quickly led to a record deal with Scotti Bros Records. His second album, In 3-D, released in 1984 as MTV’s popularity was rising, was his big breakthrough, featuring a parody of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, entitled Eat It. The song received extensive airplay and the video was in major rotation on the music video channel. In 2011, Yankovic released his 13th album, Alpocalypse, debuting at #9 on the Billboard Top 200, his highest debut of his 32 year career.
Yankovic’s concerts have embraced technology over the years, making his live performances a multimedia extravaganza. His concerts feature several costume changes, and Yankovic fills in those gaps with various video clips projected on large screens above the stage, ranging from clips from his feature-film UHF, various cameos in films such as The Naked Gun series, as well as clips from his AL-TV specials on MTV and VH-1 (including mock interviews with artists such as Celine Dion, Eminem, and Avril Lavinge) and his Saturday morning CBS series The Weird Al Show. Having attended several of “Weird Al’s” shows at the Orange County Fair in recent years, bringing his concert experience to video can be a challenge.
Recorded in Toronto at Massey Hall, “Weird Al” Yankovic Live! The Alpocalypse Tour is the second attempt to capture his show for the home video market. Most of the material performed is from the latest album, naturally, and it is fun to see and hear Yankovic’s live renditions of Polka Face (his obligatory polka medley of popular songs, including Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl, Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now, Justin Bieber’s Baby, Brittney Spears’ Womanizer, and Blame It by Jamie Foxx), TMZ (a parody of You Belong To Me by Taylor Swift), Skipper Dan (an original about an actor who’s only claim to fame is working on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland), Party In The CIA (a parody of Miley Cyrus “hit” Party In The USA), CNR (another original rock anthem tribute to Charles Nelson Reilly in the style of The White Stripes), Craigslist (yet another style parody of the Doors), and Perform This Way (a famous parody that almost wasn’t of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way).
The complete track listing of the concert is listed below:
Polka Face
TMZ
Smells Like Nirvana
Skipper Dan
Party In The CIA
CNR
Let Me Be Your Hog
Canadian Idiot
Wanna B Ur Lovr
Medley (Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies * Whaterver You Like * Another Tattoo * eBay * I Want A New Duck * Theme From Rocky XIII * Spam * My Bologna * Ode To A Superhero * Lasagna * Eat It
Amish Paradise
Craigslist
White & Nerdy
Fat
The Saga Begins
Yoda
As I said, this is the second attempt to film a “Weird Al” concert, and, unfortunately, the 2000 DVD release “Weird Al” Yankovic - Live!, taped during the Running With Scissors tour at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, does a better job at capturing his live show. For one, many of the video intermissions were included in that prior release (either as part of the concert or as a special feature), and they are sadly missing here. Secondly, the Toronto audience never really gets involved in the performance as the San Rafael audience does (and Orange County Fair audiences have, as well). This lack of involvement really sucks much of the fun out of the room. Yankovic even chastises the crowd for their half-hearted attempt to sing along during Yoda, calling them “Pathetic.” I hope we do not have to wait another 11 years for another concert video.
Video: 3.5 out of 5
The concert is presented in a slightly above average 1080p transfer in the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1, using the AVC codec. Colors are consistent, but detail and contrast vary. Close-ups look the best, with detail and black levels giving real depth to microphones, instruments, and costumes. However, the image is much softer with minor black crushing visible during some of the mid and long shots.
Audio: 3 out of 5
Now comes the biggest disappointment in this release. The only provided audio track is in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, encoded at 224 kbps. The track has some decent stereo separation, but the music at times sounds flat, with some occasional distortion especially during louder passages with lower frequencies. It is a mystery as to why this Blu-ray was not released with, at the very least, a lossless Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo or uncompressed PCM 2.0 Stereo track.
Special Features: 3.5 out of 5
There are a nice collection of extras on the disc.
Extra Live Concert Performances (HD, 13:57): Three additional songs are included - Frank’s 2000” TV, You Don’t Love Me Anymore, and You Make Me.
Music Videos (HD): Videos for Perform This Way (2:56) and Polka Face (4:47).
Al’s YouTube Videos: While the world waited five years between Straight Outta Lynwood and Alpocalypse, Yankovic created these very short snippets (some of them obviously home movies) that he uploaded to YouTube for his fans to enjoy. These appear to have been upconverted to 1080p from various sources.
Grammer Lesson (0:22): Al corrects a checkout sign at the local supermarket
Tech Support (0:59): Al calls Panasonic Tech Support for assistance with his DVD player
The Eternal Question (0:08): It took me a few viewings to get the joke here
Message From The Police Dept. (0:20): Al cannot believe a warning sign on the side of the road in Hawaii
The Grandeur of Nature (0:27): Al discovers a waterfall
Shopping Trip (0:36): Al’s wife sends him to the store to pick up 5 very different items
At The Zoo (0:21): Al tries to feed a giraffe
Weird Al Shreds!!! (0:28): Exactly what the title implies
Other Junk (HD): Four shorts featuring “Weird Al”
And The Band Played On (3:19): This College Originals short has Al and a group of musicians performing on the deck of the sinking Titanic. This may be one of the darkest sketches I’ve ever seen “Weird Al” perform in.
You’ve Got … Lustrous Hair (1:48): Al discusses how he keeps his hair so lustrous and curly in this AOL.com short.
One On One (3:36): Al meets a creepy fan (played by Al) on a public bus in this AOL.com short.
The Five-Haiku Interview (2:06): Al answers a series of questions in haiku's in this sketch from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
“Weird Al” Yankovic makes his high definition debut in this concert Blu-ray that, unfortunately, is a disappointment, especially in the audio department. The tough Toronto crowd doesn’t help, either, taking a lot of the fun out of the performance. If “Weird Al” is coming to your town, though, don’t miss seeing him live.
