The nonstop extravaganza that is Weird Al

The audience waited. The roadies slipped offstage. Finally, the spotlights blazed to reveal...a skinny guy holding an accordion.

Weird Al Yankovic came to the San Diego County Fair and with his “polka axe,” he held everyone's attention for over two hours. His band included a valedictorian and a Hawaiian slack key virtuoso, yet they thrilled the audience with songs with titles like “My Bologna.”

Yankovic's show was a nonstop extravaganza, with more costume changes than Lady Gaga, frenetic video montages, and the music. Never think that Weird Al is only comedy. Yankovic and his band can play.

The opening medley included his Oingo Boingo-esque "You Make Me." “Canadian Idiot" gave a sassy nod to Canada Day. After each song, “Al TV” mock interviews flashed onscreen while the band changed costumes. Al sang "I Perform This Way" as a Big Bird-style peacock.

The finale was Al's classic "Fat” (a spoof of Michael Jackson’s “Bad”). The encore set pulled the multigenerational audience together around the modern myth of Star Wars. "The Saga Begins" with choreographed Stormtroopers was followed by crowd-swaying sing-along “Yo-yo-yo-yo-yoda.”

Yes, we all want to be Jedis, and for that one moment, Al Yankovic made us believe: We are not weird.

• Concert: Weird Al Yankovic
• Date: July 1, 2013
• Venue: San Diego County Fair
• Seats: 3rd level grandstand