Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour

The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour was a concert tour performed by American musician and satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic.[1] Intended to be a more intimate and less stylized production compared to his previous concert tours, the Vanity Tour focused on Yankovic's older material and original songs. The 76-date North American tour was announced in October 2017, and included 68 shows in the United States and eight shows in Canada. Following the conclusion of the tour, recordings of the entire tour were released on Stitcher Premium.

Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour
Tour by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Promotional poster for the tour
Start dateFebruary 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)
End dateJune 10, 2018 (2018-06-10)
Legs1
No. of shows77
"Weird Al" Yankovic concert chronology

Background

edit

In a departure from his previous concert tours, Yankovic set out on The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour with the intention to produce a more intimate, less stylized show than his preceding concert tours, describing the Vanity Tour as having an "extremely limited appeal" by design, and inspired by the staging of VH1 Storytellers and MTV Unplugged.[2][3][4] The absence of video screens and advanced lighting,[2] along with the Vanity Tour's lack of his popular hits, costumes changes, props, and choreography present in Yankovic's previous tours allowed for a more flexible and unpredictable experience, to the testimonial approval of Yankovic himself and his touring band.[3][4] In the tour's October 2017 announcement across social media, Yankovic stated:

By design, it has extremely limited appeal. Instead of doing festivals, fairs and arenas, we'll be doing small, intimate theatres. Instead of putting on a big flashy production, we'll be trying to go for something very informal and low-key… kind of an Unplugged/Storytellers vibe. Like we're just hanging out, playing in your living room. So if you've really got your heart set on seeing fat suits and Segways and hearing all your favorite parodies… this probably isn't the tour for you. Chances are we'll be doing that kind of show again sometime in the future, just not THIS time.

— "Weird Al" Yankovic[4]

The opening act was the comedian Emo Philips, who had previously worked with Yankovic in his 1989 movie UHF and 1997 TV series The Weird Al Show.[5]

In accordance with Yankovic's desired theme of more intimate and "loose" shows, the setlist for The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour was different every night,[6][7] with a focus on older material and original songs from his discography, as opposed to his staple parody songs.[8] Yankovic performed a straight cover version of a different classic rock song during the encore of each show.[9]

Promotion

edit

The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour was officially announced on "Weird Al" Yankovic's official social media pages on 13 October 2017,[3][4] with information on tour dates, venues and ticket sales appearing on Yankovic's official website the day after.[10][11] Tickets for the Vanity Tour, which went on sale on October 20, were advertised from $50 to $70.[6][12] The tour's announcement also coincided with the November 2017 release of Squeeze Box and Medium Rarities, two compilation albums collecting the works of Yankovic.[13]

Follow-up tour

edit

In 2021 "Weird Al" Yankovic announced a follow-up concert tour to the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour "The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour", performed from May to October 2022 with special guest Emo Phillips.[14]

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[14]

Setlist

edit

Each of the 77 shows had a different set list, with the following 51 songs in regular rotation:[15]

Encore Songs[9]

Tour dates

edit
Date City Country Venue Opening Act
February 27, 2018 Poughkeepsie United States Bardavon 1869 Opera House Emo Philips
March 1, 2018 Tarrytown Tarrytown Music Hall
March 2, 2018 Ledyard Fox Theater
March 3, 2018 Portsmouth The Music Hall
March 4, 2018
(Matinee)
Boston Wilbur Theatre
March 4, 2018
(Evening)
March 7, 2018 Montreal Canada Théâtre Maisonneuve
March 8, 2018 Toronto Danforth Music Hall
March 9, 2018
March 10, 2018 Grand Rapids United States 20 Monroe Live
March 11, 2018 Ann Arbor Michigan Theater
March 13, 2018 Amherst Mainstage Theatre
March 14, 2018 Ithaca State Theater
March 16, 2018 Atlantic City Circus Maximus Theater
March 17, 2018 Huntington Paramount Theater
March 18, 2018 Lancaster American Music Theatre
March 20, 2018 North Bethesda The Music Center at Strathmore
March 22, 2018 New York City Apollo Theater
March 23, 2018
March 24, 2018 Greensburg Palace Theatre
March 25, 2018 Cleveland Ohio Theatre
March 26, 2018 Lexington Lexington Opera House
March 28, 2018 Louisville Brown Theatre
March 29, 2018 Carmel The Palladium
March 30, 2018 Champaign Virginia Theatre
March 31, 2018 Des Moines Hoyt Sherman Place Theater
April 2, 2018 Rochester Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall
April 3, 2018 Minneapolis Pantages Theatre
April 4, 2018
April 6, 2018 Chicago The Vic Theatre
April 7, 2018
April 9, 2018 Milwaukee Pabst Theater
April 10, 2018
April 12, 2018 Wabash Ford Theater
April 13, 2018 Chattanooga Walker Theater
April 14, 2018 Augusta Miller Theater
April 15, 2018 Atlanta Tabernacle
April 17, 2018[A] Nashville War Memorial Auditorium
April 19, 2018 Springfield Gillioz Theatre
April 20, 2018 Longview Belcher Performance Center
April 21, 2018[B] Austin Paramount Theatre
April 22, 2018 Midland Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
April 24, 2018 Stafford Stafford Centre Performing Arts Theatre
April 26, 2018 San Antonio H-E-B Performance Hall
April 27, 2018 Dallas Majestic Theatre
April 28, 2018 Wichita Orpheum Theatre
April 29, 2018 Kansas City Folly Theater
May 1, 2018 Denver Paramount Theatre
May 3, 2018 Grand Junction Avalon Theatre
May 4, 2018 Ivins Tuacahn Amphitheater
May 5, 2018 Tucson Fox Tucson Theatre
May 6, 2018 Santa Fe Lensic Theater
May 8, 2018 Mesa Ikeda Theater
May 9, 2018 Palm Desert McCallum Theatre
May 10, 2018 Los Angeles The Theatre at Ace Hotel
May 11, 2018
May 12, 2018 San Diego Humphreys Concerts By the Bay
May 15, 2018 Sacramento Crest Theatre
May 17, 2018 Monterey Golden State Theatre
May 18, 2018 Turlock Turlock Community Theatre
May 19, 2018 Oakland Fox Oakland Theatre
May 20, 2018 Napa Uptown Theater
May 22, 2018 Redding Cascade Theatre
May 24, 2018 Eugene McDonald Theatre
May 25, 2018 Portland Revolution Hall
May 26, 2018
May 27, 2018 Spokane Woldson Theater
May 29, 2018 Seattle Moore Theatre
May 31, 2018 Calgary Canada Grey Eagle Event Centre
June 1, 2018 Regina Casino Regina Show Lounge
June 2, 2018 Edmonton River Cree Entertainment Centre
June 3, 2018 Medicine Hat Esplanade Theatre
June 5, 2018 Winnipeg Burton Cummings Theatre
June 6, 2018 Fargo United States Fargo Theatre
June 8, 2018 Columbia Jesse Auditorium
June 9, 2018 Clear Lake Surf Ballroom
June 10, 2018 Green Bay Meyer Theatre
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
A This concert was a part of the "Nashville Comedy Festival"[16]
B This concert was a part of the "Moontower Comedy Festival"[17]

Box office score data

edit
Venue City Tickets sold / Available Gross revenue
Théâtre Maisonneuve Montreal 2,102 / 2,102 (100%) $98,975[18]
Circus Maximus Theater Atlantic City 1,330 / 1,606 (83%) $81,258[19]
Ohio Theatre Cleveland 932 / 1,000 (93%) $63,019[20]
Pantages Theatre Minneapolis 1,968 / 1,980 (99%) $124,124[21]
The Vic Theatre Chicago 1,879 / 1,879 (100%) $94,231[22]
Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center Midland 984 / 1,733 (57%) $42,690[22]
The Theatre at Ace Hotel Los Angeles 2,981 / 2,981 (100%) $206,726[23]
Crest Theatre Sacramento 934 / 975 (96%) $54,538[23]
Fox Oakland Theatre Oakland 1,923 / 1,923 (100%) $117,345[23]
TOTAL 15,033 / 16,179 (93%) $882,906

References

edit
  1. ^ Rettig, James (October 13, 2017). ""No Frills" Weird Al Tour To Feature Obscure Songs, No Costumes". Stereogum. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Geslani, Michelle (October 14, 2017). ""Weird Al" Yankovic announces The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity Tour". Consequence of Sound. Consequence Holdings, LLC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Haack, Brian (October 12, 2017). "'Weird Al' Yankovic Announces 'Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour'". Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Marotta, Michael (October 12, 2017). "A different kind of 'Weird Al' Yankovic tour is coming to North America in 2018". Vanyaland. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Hopper, Ben (April 12, 2018). "'Weird Al' abandons spectacle for 'intimate' new tour". United Press International (Press release). Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Meinert, Kendra (October 13, 2017). "'Weird Al' to play stripped-down show at Meyer Theatre". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  7. ^ "The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity Tour". setlist.fm.
  8. ^ Menta, Anna (October 13, 2017). "Weird Al Tour Dates Are Here, But the Shows Are 'Not for Everybody'". Newsweek. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Weird Al" Yankovic - 77 Cover Songs, retrieved November 21, 2021
  10. ^ Hughes, William (October 13, 2017). "Weird Al is ditching the parody songs for a "scaled-down," "intimate" tour". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  11. ^ Lewis, Randy (October 13, 2017). "'Weird Al' Yankovic will embark on an 'Ill-Advised Vanity Tour' next year". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  12. ^ Janci, Jenelle (October 13, 2017). "'Weird Al' Yankovic, Stars of Nashville to perform in Lancaster in March 2018". Lancaster Online (LNP). LNP Media Group. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  13. ^ Roskopp, Jack (October 13, 2017). "F*ck yes: 'Weird Al' Yankovic is coming to Ann Arbor". Metro Times. Euclid Media Group. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  14. ^ a b "'Weird Al' Yankovic Details 'The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour'". SPIN. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  15. ^ "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ridiculously Self Indulgent, Ill Advised Vanity Tour (All Originals!), retrieved November 21, 2021
  16. ^ Paulson, David (October 16, 2017). "Weird Al coming to Nashville with an unusual concert". The Tennessean. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  17. ^ Gross, Joe (October 13, 2017). "'Weird Al' Yankovic and more big names in comedy coming to Austin for Moontower 2018". Austin American-Statesman. Cox Media Group. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  18. ^ "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 130. Nashville, Tennessee: Eldridge Industries. April 7, 2018. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  19. ^ "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 130. Nashville, Tennessee: Eldridge Industries. June 9, 2018. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  20. ^ "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 130, no. 14. Nashville, Tennessee: Eldridge Industries. June 2, 2018. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  21. ^ "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 130. Nashville, Tennessee: Eldridge Industries. April 28, 2018. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  22. ^ a b "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 130, no. 13. Nashville, Tennessee: Eldridge Industries. May 19, 2018. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on May 13, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  23. ^ a b c "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 130. Nashville, Tennessee: Eldridge Industries. June 23, 2018. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
edit