University at Buffalo (UB)
Release Date: June 23, 2011 This content is archived.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present "Weird Al" Yankovic on Wednesday, July 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts, North Campus. He is touring in support of his new album Alpocalypse, released on June 21.
Few would have guessed that Yankovic, who as an awkward, accordion-playing teenager got his start sending in homemade tapes to the Dr. Demento Radio Show, would go on to enjoy a varied and successful career that is now entering its fourth decade. Over that time he has won three Grammys (with 12 nominations), racked up 31 Gold and Platinum Albums and won countless awards and accolades for Weird Al classics like "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Fat," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Amish Paradise" and more. Yankovic is also well-known for his cult-hit feature film UHF (1989), his late '90s CBS Saturday morning series The Weird Al Show and the numerous AL-TV specials that he has made for MTV and VH1 over the years.
His previous album Straight Outta Lynwood (2006), the highest-charting of his career, spawned the Billboard Top 10 single "White & Nerdy," the video of which spent two months at No. 1 on iTunes and garnered more than 100 million hits online.
Since then, Yankovic has performed 240 concerts throughout North America, Australia and Europe. He released his greatest hits package The Essential "Weird Al" Yankovic (Legacy), directed the themed attraction "Al's Brain: A 3-D Journey through the Human Brain" (featuring cameos by everybody from Fabio to Paul McCartney) and accumulated more than 2 million followers on Twitter. And with the recent release of his children's book When I Grow Up (HarperCollins), Al now adds "New York Times Bestselling Author" to his resume.
The first single from Alpocalypse is the Lady Gaga parody "Perform This Way." The album also features parodies of Miley Cyrus ("Party In The CIA"), Taylor Swift ("TMZ"), B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars ("Another Tattoo") and T.I. ("Whatever You Like"). The album's requisite polka medley -- "Polka Face" -- features accordion-driven versions of songs by the biggest artists of the day, including Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Britney Spears, P!nk, Lady Antebellum, Katy Perry and, of course, Lady Gaga.
The evening will also include an appearance by the North Ridge, the local Star Wars Fan Club of Buffalo. Established in 2002, the group appears in costume and makes appearances at community events to celebrate the Star Wars films and raise money and awareness for various local charities. The group will appear in the lobby starting at 6:30 p.m. A longtime Star Wars fan, "Weird Al" has parodied the film franchise in songs such as "Yoda" and "The Saga Begins."
Tickets for "Weird Al" Yankovic are $39 and $29. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and all Ticketmaster locations including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 716-645-6771. For more information, call 716-645-2787.