The Medley

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mybologna
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The Medley

Post by mybologna »

One of my favorite, and at times most frustrating parts of the set list, for me, is The Medley.
When done right this can be my favorite part of the show, showcasing every era of Al's career, mostly focusing on the older material. The Bad Hair, Running With Scissors, Poodle Hat, and Alpocalypse tour did this the best.

...and then we have the other medleys. SOL and even the Mandatory Fun tour have a very poor balance of old vs. new, with the old being almost completely obliterated in the SOL tour (the whole set list for that tour in general suffered from that problem).

See for me the medley should be reserved for the older songs and parodies that are no longer able to be performed in full, not to cram all the new stuff theres no time for. Almost the entire rest of the set is the new stuff and the medley nowadays is the only place the really old parodies seem to get a few seconds to shine.

But I am here to ask everyone else, how do you feel about how the medley should be done? How do you feel about an old vs. new ratio, or hardly having any older material period such as the current tour or SOL?
I personally feel there has to be an even ratio, which the Alpocalypse Tour did the best. The medley was about 40% new, 60% old which was PERFECT and exactly how it should be.

Thoughts?
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OneWAY
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Re: The Medley

Post by OneWAY »

I was okay with the Mandatory Medley, but I definitely liked Alpocalypse best; it's the best mix of old and new I've seen since I started attending shows.

I think part of the reason the current one focuses so much on newer material is because of the acoustic set they do now. Without it, we would have had Like A Surgeon and a couple of others in the regular medley that haven't been in the show since 2000 (Three of the acoustic songs all left at the same time after the Scissors Tour and never came back). I don't know if the acoustic thing will stick around past this tour, but if it does, there's a good chance all of the older stuff will get pushed there over the regular medley. I legitimately don't know if the unplugged stuff is a one-off, though.
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mybologna
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Re: The Medley

Post by mybologna »

I'm thinking the acoustic medley is a one-off. As awesome as it was, it probably didn't have the same comedic effect for the more casual fans who attend his concerts who would have preferred to have heard "Eat It", even if just a snippet, in its original form.

I do wonder how the medley would have been if they hadn't done the acoustic medley. "Like A Surgeon" in the set list in its original format for the first time since 1992...yes please! Because this medley was, more or less, the same medley as the 2010 and almost the 2007/08 tours, same basic structure and almost the same songs.

Then again, it seems nowadays its an "every-other-tour" situation where he'll give us an awesome medley...we had one in Poodle Hat, lost it in SOL, kinda-sorta got one in Internet Leaks then he went FULL FORCE with the Alpocalypse Tour. And now back to an uneven mix.

I can forgive the 2010 tour though because the focus on the oldies was apparent in the entire rest of the set, probably the first "recent" tour where we had FIVE 80s/90s originals, even if just rotating! I still love that tour because the set was so focused on the long term fans
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yankochick38
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Re: The Medley

Post by yankochick38 »

Why do you think the acoustic medley will be a one-off if you think casual fans might be turned off by it, but after this tour is over Al won't be touring for albums anymore and he wouldn't be getting much of a draw of casual fans anyway? Let the acoustic medley live on in 2018!!!!
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drewdy9999
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Re: The Medley

Post by drewdy9999 »

I'm actually a fan of the Mandatory Medley, as every song is one that I love to see performed live. But yeah, I'd be in favor of making it more oldie-focused. I saw Al during the Internet Leaks tour and absolutely loved the unexpected catering to long-term fans. Though, it seems like just as songs like Fat and Yoda are staples of Al concerts, some medley songs also seem beloved enough that Al may feel like he has to perform them. eBay and Ode to a Superhero probably won't be dropped any time soon. And so there's only so much room to work with in the medley.

What I hope will return are the concert-only medley songs. Stuff like Snack All Night, Fast Food, Free Delivery... They're hilarious and an incredible treat to people that actually come out to see Al live. I'm too young to have heard any in person except for In Luv Wit Da Skipper, and that's been around for almost nine years. It feels like it's time again for another. I was sort of hoping that the Let It Go parody Al conceptualized but canned would make its way into the Mandatory medley. I understand how it's a lot to ask for and how it's not a priority, but I can hope.
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YankoSwag 8888
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Re: The Medley

Post by YankoSwag 8888 »

I agree with you the medley should focus on older stuff. The Straight Outta Lynwood tour suffers from that problem as I will list here:
Couch Potato: New
Do I Creep You Out: New
I’m In Luv Wit Da Skipper: New
Headline News: Old
Confessions Part III: New
A Complicated Song: New
Ebay: New
Bedrock Anthem: Old
Ode To A Superhero: New
Pretty Fly For A Rabbi: New
Trapped In the Drive-Thru: New
Gump: Old
Eat It: Old

There were only 4 old songs in that medley. As for the Mandatory Fun Medley I think the old stuff was saved for the Acoustic Medley.
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mrmeadows
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Re: The Medley

Post by mrmeadows »

I also think the medley should include one or two "concert-only" parodies. Seems like we haven't gotten any new ones the past few tours.
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chickadee
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Re: The Medley

Post by chickadee »

As a relatively new fan I loved his Mandatory Fun medley.
BUT... I'm going to see him again this year and there are some songs I discovered on youtube that I'd LOVE to see him perform in a NEW medley!!!!!! :please:
GEE, I'M A NERD
I'LL REPAIR FOR YOU
I WANT A NEW DUCK
CHICKEN POT PIE
YOU'RE PITIFUL (ACTUALLY I'D LIKE TO SEE THE WHOLE SONG AND STRIP TEASE) :inlove:
AVOCADO

Please Al!!!!! :please:
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Annie27
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Re: The Medley

Post by Annie27 »

I'd love to see those! I really hope we can get some concert only songs too. That would be so cool!
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Cameron the Taco
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Re: The Medley

Post by Cameron the Taco »

I just saw Al at the Indianapolis show tonight. I fell in love with the unplugged medley as I've been searching years for any of the acoustic versions! (Besides Eat It which I was able to find in a podcast.) Unfortunately my phone camera was having a malfunction and only caught 15 seconds of it. Would anyone happen to have footage of the entire unplugged portion? I would be eternally grateful! :D
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