In a performance that climaxed with a “Star Wars”-themed encore set, Weird Al Yankovic mocked, parodied, spoofed and ridiculed everything about late 20th century pop culture, taking Friday’s Stephens Auditorium audience on a time warp through the decades.

As master of the strange and unusual, Weird Al may as well have been teaching a lesson on the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

Between ’50s traditional rock, ’60s folk music, ’70s heavy metal, cheesy ’80s pop and angst ridden ’90s alternative, Al had all the bases covered, made for an unquestionably eclectic show.

Sure the performance was gimmicky, but that’s what Weird Al is all about. Bubble machines, video screens, costume changes, sophisticated stage lights and fog machines joined forces to create a multimedia extravaganza, an essential part of the Weird Al wackiness.

The performance spanned the spectrum of Al’s discography, complete with old favorites like “Like a Surgeon,” “Fat,” “Lost on Jeopardy” and “I Love Rocky Road,” but it also featured newer favorites including “Pretty Fly for a Rabbi,” “Jurassic Park” and “Grapefruit Diet.”

The subdued audience stayed seated during the first set, with the occasional fans leaping to their feet when one of their favorite selections from Al’s musical arsenal would be fired off.

In fact, crowd antics were essentially one of the more entertaining elements of the show.

Made up of college students from all across Iowa, middle school kids and their parents, the mixed audience waved signs in the air, chanted “We want Al!” and sang along to every word that came out of the polka king’s mouth.

“Would you like to hear polka?” Al asked early in the show, prompting hundreds of fans to scream and yell uncontrollably. He then strapped himself into his shiny black accordion and launched into “Polka Power!,” a turbo speed medley of current pop music transformed into polka dorkiness. Marilyn Manson’s dismal “The Dope Show” has never sounded happier.

There is virtually no performer in this age with more costumes than Weird Al. The early portion of the concert had few costume changes, but later, nearly every song featured new, crazier costumes than the last.

Between costume changes, a giant video screen was lowered to the stage level, showing clips of Al’s classic ’80s comedy “UHF,” ALTV, “The Weird Al Show” and “Saturday Night Live.”

Al and his four-piece band wore yellow plastic space suits and danced robotically as they played the Devo-like “Dare to be Stupid,” one of the older and more exciting selections from the concert.

On “Smells Like Nirvana,” Al and his buds dressed in grunge gear, mimicking Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video, complete with cheerleaders and all. In fact, they were pretty believable. Yankovic put on Kurt Cobain’s persona with slickness and dexterity.

Strutting across the stage wearing a silver metallic suit and gold chains, Weird Al and ridiculed an entire style of music on the Puff Daddy-based “It’s All About the Pentiums,” poking fun at an artist guilty of the same crime — music robbery.

Al’s versatility didn’t stop with gangsta rap, synth pop and grunge.

He even brought out his “Flintstones” costumes as the band drilled through “Bedrock Anthem,” a parody of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give It Away.”

When Al left the stage in a shower of cheering and praise from his fans, members of the crowd drew their light sabers and waved them in the air. They knew Al would return for an encore of “The Saga Begins,” the adapted version of Don McLean’s “American Pie” that tells the story of Anakin Skywalker.

Swaying side to side, sparking lighters and singing as loud as they could, crowd members were swept off their feet as they bonded over their love for “Star Wars,”

Weird Al fans are like a cult. They’re into the same type of humor, the sci-fi weirdness and taking pride in a common element of geekiness. But it’s all good clean fun.

Weird Al has evolved as a performer to the point of near-perfection and Friday’s concert has proven it.