Weird Al at the Puyallup Fair

Over the decades, there have been tons of musical parodists, but none as famous as one.  You’ll be hard-pressed to find a fellow American who hasn’t heard of Weird Al Yankovic.  From his early parodies of Queen and Michael Jackson, to his recent jabs at Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga, Weird Al has managed to stay relevant while entertaining people across multiple generations.

This year, Weird Al’s tour has been hitting the county fair circuit, stopping last week at the Puyallup Fair.  His live show, often commended for numerous costume changes and excitement began with Weird Al donning his signature look: a bright tropical shirt with an accordion strapped to his chest, and long locks of curly hair which were often flipped about in metal-head fashion.  The show began with a long mash up of his recent parodies before he began with his famously hilarious costume changes.  Beginning with his hit “Smells Like Nirvana,” the rest of Yankovic’s extensive catalog included “TMZ” (Taylor Swift), “Perform This Way” (Lady Gaga), “Fat” (Michael Jackson), “Craigslist” (The Doors).  Also performed were crowd favorites  “Amish Paradise” (Coolio), “White and Nerdy” (Chamillionaire), and the famous Star Wars encore “The Saga Begins” (Don McLean).

Enjoy photos from the show below, with more on Flickr.


Weird Al – Review & photos by Suzi Pratt
 

Photos: Dead Sara @ the Neptune

Dead Sara opened for Bush last Thursday night in Seattle with a performance at the Neptune Theater. The quartet from Los Angeles played a passionate set that got me totally into them immediately. My favorite song was “Lemon Scent,” with its awesome guitar riff. Actually all their songs had such great guitar work, and the vocals by Emily Armstrong knock you off your feet. I am waiting patiently for this band to return to Seattle. I also have to get pix of drummer Sean Friday, who was just out of view. This band is just so cool.


Dead Sara – all photos by Dagmar

Gallery of Dead Sara @ the Neptune

Photos and Review: Xtreme Muzik Tour – Big and Rich, Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy


Big and Rich

Party is the only word that came to mind as I watched Big and Rich, Gretchen Wilson, and Cowboy Troy entertain country fans at The Puyallup Fair main stage Monday night.  

It all started out pretty standard for a country concert.  Cowboy hats…check, Bud…Check, camo…check, girls in tight jeans and boots…check.  Well that all changed with the first strum of the lead guitar.  Big and Rich took to the stage like rock stars and before I knew what was happening, I was bathed in the sweet sound of distorted dual guitars and I knew something was not right.  At that moment, Gretchen walked out and wailed like very few singers can (save Ann Wilson). The energy just kept building from there and this rock and blues fan was sucked in.


Gretchen Wilson

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Show Review & Photos: Bush @ the Neptune

London’s Bush turned up at the Neptune on Thursday evening. I will read that sentence again and again. Why? Because I didn’t know if I would ever get to see Bush perform and the Neptune has long been a movie theater in Seattle, not a live venue. Somehow Bush the band and Neptune the live venue collided, just for me. Well, not just for me but you know, this is how sometimes I like to view the world.

The night started off with the audience behaving quite respectably, waiting fairly patiently. But then things got lairy once Bush took the stage. The biggest culprits? Crazed women in the front, where I was taking photos. I’m used to pushing, shoving, and so forth, but I did not do so well through “The Mirror of the Signs,” and less well during “Little Things,” when I needed to escape the main pit. See, Bush’s Gavin Rossdale plopped himself right at the front of the stage, and suddenly women were reaching over me, crawling over me, basically scratching me to get at him. And he stayed there, playing his guitar for what seemed like an eternity. Very nicely, but while one is in the middle of such a fracas it’s pretty scary. So by song three I moved along to enjoy the show from other viewpoints.

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