Having fun with ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

To call “Weird Al” Yankovic a parody singer is almost an insult to his level of creative brilliance.

Since the mid-’70s when a teenage Yankovic had his first song played on Dr. Demento’s comedy radio show, through his ’80s MTV-era staples “I Love Rocky Road” (take that, Joan Jett) and “Ricky” (a vast improvement on Toni Basil’s “Mickey”) to the Grammy he won in February for his 14th studio album (and first to hit No. 1), “Mandatory Fun,” the spiral-haired musician has brightened thousands of days with his smart satire.

Whether you’re predisposed to guffaw at the blatant silliness of “Eat It” or “Fat” (both takeoffs on Michael Jackson songs), identify with the Yankovic of “White & Nerdy” or, ahem, spend a lot of time around words and appreciate Yankovic’s insightful rework of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” into the grammar-schooling “Word Crimes,” there will be much to appreciate on his current concert tour.

Yankovic, 55, launched his massive 82-date “Mandatory World Tour” in May and will stay on the road through the end of October. He brings his arsenal of costume changes, accordion-heavy musicianship and good humor to Chastain Park Amphitheatre on Saturday.

Last week, Yankovic took some time to chat by phone from his dressing room a couple of hours before his show in Richmond, Va.

How he assembles a set list with more than three dozen fan favorites to squeeze in:

“It’s always a challenge because there’s always so many things I try to do. We have to play the hits, but I don’t want to do the same tour over and over. About half the show has to stay the same, but on top of that, we want to feature stuff from the new album and have some stuff for the hardcore fans. It’s a bit of a puzzle, but I think we have a good mix on this tour. It’s a fun show to do. I don’t know how I came up with this formula, but when I see the (next) song coming up, it’s like, ‘Oh boy, I get to do this one next.’ But it’s a little daunting to think we’re doing it for four more months without a break!”

On the visual elements of the tour:

“Half the show takes place backstage! People have a certain amount of expectations, so there’s a costume change for almost every song. It’s a bit of a traveling circus. It’s hard to take the show overseas with the fat suits and computer servers. It’s a high-energy rock show, and there’s a huge multimedia component to it.”

On getting the live show to click:

“The medleys are the same from show to show for any given tour. There’s not a whole lot of spontaneity, unfortunately, because there are so many moving parts. The costumes are laid out and I know how many seconds the video is from one song until the next. It is a workout. I tend not to do anything all day if I can help it.”

On his trusty accordion:

“When I first started taking lessons, a door-to-door music teacher came around and my parents said, ‘Alfred would love accordion lessons,’ so that’s how it turned out. That was my act and going into my teenage years that’s what I played. None of my friends wanted me to be in their bands.”

Does he always have an ear out for the next great parody?

“I’m a big fan of pop culture, so I’m always surfing the Net, but I’m not always proactively looking for the next parody because that would be draining. Unless I spontaneously come up with a brilliant and topical idea, I doubt I’ll come up with anything this tour since I don’t have access to recording equipment.”

Would he play the Super Bowl halftime show if fans started another petition?

“I certainly wouldn’t turn it down, but I think I would have nonstop diarrhea. I’m not too worried about that because I’m convinced I will never be on the NFL shortlist! But I was very flattered by the attention from the fans.”