Weird Al Yankovic played the Apollo Theater in Harlem and made his guitar-playing debut on Neil Young‘s “Cinnamon Girl”. Weird Al’s band rocked hard and played it straight — no parody of Young here, leave that to Jimmy Fallon. Even Weird Al himself played it straight at the Apollo, even if he played it simple. Very simple. “Cinnamon Girl” has a one-note solo and Weird Al selected that single note with which to make his debut. He crushed it.
“Tonight is a very, very special night for two big reasons,”Weird Al told the crowd. “One is on this next song, I’m going to make my guitar playing debut. My whole life, I never learned to play the guitar. I figured, you know, I’ve been in entertainment, I’ve been a recording artist and a professional musician for most of my life, and I should know how to play the guitar.” Weird Al is currently on his “Vanity Tour” — described as the “The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour” featuring a set list “comprised almost entirely of his original (non-parody) songs.)
