Union Colony Civic Center, September 9, 2022, Greeley, Colorado.

Tim Van Schmidt

The Weird Al Yankovic fans I saw at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley on September 9 were young and old, tall and short; basically all kinds of different people who share one thing — a sense of humor.

That’s what you have to have when experiencing one of Yankovic’s shows because the musical jokes fly free and fast. Yankovic, famous for his spot-on parodies of contemporary pop hits, is a master of spinning goofball lyrics with attitude.

To keep up with all of that when it is set to a frenetic, breakneck electric music, you have to be good. The entire band has to be right on to make it work and Yankovic’s group seemed to do it easily in Greeley.

Opener Emo Phillips, maybe not so much. The comedian’s affect — a super nerd with an inscrutable sense of humor — made awkwardness the joke. In that, he was successful — his set was certainly awkward.

The tone of Yankovic’s set was generally positive, though he did indulge in a Doors parody that went pretty dark. The best tune of the night: “Yoda”, which had the whole audience on their feet, waving their cell phones and singing along heartily.