Weird Al expands "Ill-Advised Vanity Tour," adds second Apollo show

“Weird Al” Yankovic is gearing up for his “Ill-Advised Vanity Tour” where he’ll be leaving the fat suits and other costumes at home — along with hit parodies — and will this only time play his many original songs he’s recorded over the years. He talked to Rolling Stone about how the idea came to be:

It was sort of an epiphany near the very end of the last tour. I think I was in the middle of putting on my “Fat” suit for the thousandth time and getting ready to go back onstage. I was thinking, “Gosh, next time I go on tour I don’t know if I want to be doing this. I think I need to take a break from all the theatrics. Wouldn’t it be nice to just do a really scaled down, low-key, casual show for the hardcore fans and just go out and be musicians?”

I just thought, “Well, that’s pretty unrealistic. I don’t know if that would ever be able to happen in reality.” But the more I thought about it, the more I thought, “Why not?” I’m at a point in my life and career where I can do whatever I feel like doing, regardless of whether it’s commercial, or whether it’s something people actually want to go see. I know this tour is going to be held in high regard by the hardcore fans, but more than anything, this is for me and the guys in the band because this is a tour that we’re going to really enjoy doing.

The tour includes NYC area shows at Long Island’s The Paramount on March 17 (tickets) and Harlem’s The Apollo on March 23 (tickets). Al has just added a second Apollo show happening the day before (3/22) and tickets are on sale now. That show, like all dates on the tour, is opened by comedian Emo Phillips.

Updated dates, plus a Breaking Bad-ized video of Weird Al’s eleven-minute epic original, “Albequerque,” below.

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC – 2018 “Ill-Advised Vanity Tour” Dates
FEB 27 BARDAVON 1869 OPERA HOUSE Poughkeepsie, NY
MAR 1 TARRYTOWN MUSIC HALL Tarrytown, NY
MAR 2 FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO – FOX THEATER Mashantucket, CT
MAR 3 THE MUSIC HALL Portsmouth, NH
MAR 4 2ND DATE ADDED! WILBUR THEATRE Boston, MA
MAR 4 WILBUR THEATRE Boston, MA
MAR 7 PLACE DES ARTS – THEATRE MAISONNEUVE Montreal, QC
MAR 8 2ND DATE ADDED!
DANFORTH Toronto, ON
MAR 9 DANFORTH Toronto, ON
MAR 10 20 MONROE LIVE Grand Rapids , MI
MAR 11 MICHIGAN THEATER Ann Arbor, MI
MAR 13 UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO CENTER FOR THE ARTS Buffalo, NY
MAR 14 STATE THEATRE Ithaca , NY
MAR 16 CAESARS ATLANTIC CITY – CIRCUS MAXIMUS Atlantic City, NJ
MAR 17 THE PARAMOUNT Huntington, NY
MAR 18 AMERICAN MUSIC THEATRE Lancaster, PA
MAR 20 MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE North Bethesda, MD
MAR 22 APOLLO THEATER New York, NY
MAR 23 APOLLO THEATER New York, NY
MAR 24 PALACE THEATRE Greensburg, PA
MAR 25 PLAYHOUSE SQUARE – OHIO THEATRE Cleveland, OH
MAR 26 LEXINGTON OPERA HOUSE Lexington, KY
MAR 28 THE BROWN THEATRE Louisville , KY
MAR 29 THE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS – THE PALLADIUM Carmel, IN
MAR 30 VIRGINIA THEATRE Champaign, IL
MAR 31 HOYT SHERMAN PLACE Des Moines, IA
APR 2 MAYO CIVIC CENTER PRESENTATION HALL Rochester, MN
APR 3 PANTAGES THEATRE Minneapolis, MN
APR 4 PANTAGES THEATRE Minneapolis, MN
APR 6 VIC THEATRE Chicago, IL
APR 7 VIC THEATRE Chicago, IL
APR 10 PABST THEATER Milwaukee, WI
APR 12 HONEYWELL CENTER Wabash, IN
APR 13 WALKER THEATER Chattanooga, TN
APR 14 MILLER THEATER Augusta, GA
APR 15 TABERNACLE Atlanta, GA
APR 17 NASHVILLE COMEDY FEST – WAR MEMORIAL Nashville, TN
APR 19 GILLIOZ THEATRE Springfield, MO
APR 20 LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY BELCHER CENTER Longview, TX
APR 21 MOONTOWER COMEDY FESTIVAL – PARAMOUNT THEATRE Austin, TX
APR 22 WAGNER NOEL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Midland, TX
APR 24 STAFFORD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Stafford, TX
APR 26 TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS San Antonio, TX
APR 27 THE MAJESTIC THEATRE Dallas , TX
APR 28 ORPHEUM THEATER Wichita, KS
APR 29 FOLLY THEATER Kansas City, MO
MAY 1 PARAMOUNT THEATRE Denver, CO
MAY 3 AVALON THEATRE Grand Junction, CO
MAY 4 TUACAHN AMPHITHEATRE AT TUACAHN CENTER FOR THE ARTS Ivins, UT
MAY 5 FOX TUCSON THEATRE Tucson, AZ
MAY 6 LENSIC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Santa Fe, NM
MAY 8 MESA ARTS CENTER – IKEDA THEATRE Mesa, AZ
MAY 9 MCCALLUM THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Palm Desert, CA
MAY 10 2ND DATE ADDED!
THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL Los Angeles, CA
MAY 11 THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL Los Angeles, CA
MAY 12 HUMPHREY’S CONCERTS BY THE BAY San Diego, CA
MAY 15 CREST THEATRE Sacramento, CA
MAY 17 GOLDEN STATE THEATRE Monterey, CA
MAY 18 TURLOCK COMMUNITY THEATRE Turlock, CA
MAY 19 FOX THEATRE Oakland, CA
MAY 20 UPTOWN THEATRE Napa, CA
MAY 22 CASCADE THEATRE Redding, CA
MAY 24 MCDONALD THEATRE Eugene, OR
MAY 25 REVOLUTION HALL Portland, OR
MAY 26 REVOLUTION HALL Portland, OR
MAY 27 MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX Spokane, WA
MAY 29 MOORE THEATRE Seattle, WA
MAY 31 GREY EAGLE RESORT & CASINO – GREY EAGLE EVENT CENTRE Calgary, AB
JUN 1 CASINO REGINA – SHOW LOUNGE Regina, SK
JUN 2 RIVER CREE RESORT AND CASINO – ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE Enoch, AB
JUN 3 ESPLANADE THEATRE Medicine Hat, AB
JUN 5 BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Winnipeg, MB
JUN 6 FARGO THEATRE Fargo, ND
JUN 8 JESSE AUDITORIUM Columbia, MO
JUN 9 SURF BALLROOM Clear Lake, IA
JUN 10 MEYER THEATRE Green Bay, WI