‘Weird Al’ Yankovic takes his ‘Ill-Advised Vanity Tour’ to F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on May 14
From a press release:
Almost four years after his first foray into unfamiliar concert territory with his highly-acclaimed Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, “Weird Al” Yankovic will be pressing his luck again, this time with The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, which includes a stop at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, May 14.
The tour will launch on April 23, 2022 and run through North America for six months and a staggering 133 shows, culminating in New York City on Oct. 29 with Yankovic’s first-ever concert appearance at Carnegie Hall. Opening the show each night will be returning fan favorite and Weird Al’s longtime friend (and “UHF” cast member), the legendary comedian Emo Philips.
Doors at the Kirby Center (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre) open at 6:30 p.m., and the music starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $39.50, $59.50, $79.50, $99.50, and $332 (VIP, available online only), plus applicable fees, go on sale next Friday, Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Sundance Vacations Box Office at the F.M. Kirby Center, online at kirbycenter.org and ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 570-826-1100. A Kirby Member pre-sale begins Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m.
This tour marks Weird Al’s long-anticipated return to the concert stage after his hugely successful Strings Attached Tour in 2019, where he performed each night alongside a full symphony orchestra at world-renowned venues such as New York’s Forest Hills Stadium, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and Washington, D.C.’s Wolf Trap.
Once again drawing from his back catalog of 14 studio albums, Yankovic promises to deliver a different setlist every night, with no two shows the same. As before, rather than focusing on the hits from his career, the show will feature Yankovic’s non-parody material – the somewhat more obscure pastiches and original songs that have largely escaped the pop culture radar but are adored by his longtime fans. And like the last Vanity Tour, he will be playing smaller, more intimate venues, leaving behind the high-octane theatrics that he’s known for and going bare-bones – no costumes, no props, no video screens… just Al and his band of almost four decades hanging out on stage, playing music.
Reflecting on his decision to bring back the stripped-down concerts, Yankovic said, “I’ve loved doing every single incarnation of my live show, but honestly the Vanity Tour is the most fun I’ve ever had on stage … so I’ve been dying to get back out there and torture everybody with it once again!”
“Weird Al” Yankovic is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time. A five-time Grammy Award winner, his 2014 release “Mandatory Fun” was the first comedy album in history to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200. He is one of only five artists to have had Top 40 singles in each of the last four decades, the other four being Michael Jackson, Madonna, U2, and Kenny G. On Aug. 27, 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded Weird Al with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Comedian Emo Philips has performed over 7,000 stand-up comedy shows across the globe, including a two-week theater run in London’s West End. Career highlights include his acclaimed comedy album “E=mo²” and the hour-long HBO special “Emo Philips Live at the Hasty Pudding Theatre.” Philips is especially proud, however, of when he got to demonstrate the proper use of a table saw to Weird Al in the 1989 cult film “UHF.”
