Getting Attached

Last night was the first time I'd been to Red Rocks for a concert in a while -- and among the most unusual concerts I've attended. Well, not so much unusual as... weird. "Weird Al" Yankovic was playing a sold-out Red Rocks, accompanied by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, as part of his "Strings Attached" concert tour.

So much about the show seemed surreal in a fun way, like it couldn't really be happening. Last time I saw Yankovic was in the comparatively tiny Paramount Theater, and here he was filling up Red Rocks. Whenever he'd do a parody song, I'd think "I'll bet Robin Thicke/Chamillionaire/Coolio has never played with an orchestra." Whenever he'd do a particularly deep cut original song that took advantage of the orchestra, I'd think "I never imagined I'd be seeing The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota/Jackson Park Express" performed in concert. Whenever he'd play something especially strange or irreverent, I'd think "I wonder if the Colorado Symphony Orchestra has ever played anything as odd as Weasel Stomping Day/Harvey the Wonder Hamster?"

From the "opening act" of the symphony playing a selection of great John Williams music (plus the Mission: Impossible theme), to the all-Star Wars parodies encore, it was a fun concert that the crowd was really into. A sea of cell phones went up unprompted for "Don't Download This Song." You could hear the laughter throughout "You Don't Love Me Anymore," even though it seemed like half the crowd knew every word to every song. The call and response at the end of "Dare to Be Stupid" was loud.

Part rock concert, part stand-up set, part night at the symphony -- this was a unique experience I'm really glad I went for. And judging by my Facebook feed, which last night was filled with "attending this concert" posts, I wasn't alone.