Tenacious D live!
Tenacious D
UIC Pavilion, Chicago
Friday, November 24, 2006
Click here for Tenacious D Photo Gallery
Say what you will about Jack Black, the one thing he’s not looking for is work. With two films in theaters during the holidays, you won’t have to look far to get your Black fix.
The subject of one of those flicks, and the project one suspects is closest to Black’s heart, rolled into the UIC Pavilion in the form of Tenacious D. With longtime collaborator Kyle Gass, the duo first garnered notice as an HBO series in the late ’90s. While the two have maintained the act between Black’s film gigs, they’ve never quite lived up to the promise of the original series. And, while I haven’t seen Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny, I highly suspect most of it was played out onstage.
Definitely more theatrical than standard shows, the night ran as one long sketch. Opening in a set representing Kyle’s apartment (complete with Dio poster) the duo jammed on acoustics for songs from their debut album such as “Wonderboy” and “Kielbasa.” Of course, what slacker jam session wouldn’t be complete without the requisite slacker friend stopping by? Enter Lee, played by J. R. Reed, who hung out, spilled beer, and took over lead vocals on “Friendship.”
After a mock electrocution due to spilled beer and a homemade guitar, the boys find themselves in Hell (via a pre-recorded film piece). Once there, they recruit a full band consisting of Charlie Chaplin on bass, the Anti-Christ, who is mistaken for Jesus, on guitar, and Colonel Sanders on drums. Of course, all of this leads to an inevitable showdown with the devil himself, again played by Reed, after it is revealed Kyle had sold his soul. In the night’s best (perhaps) off-the-cuff remark, Black notes that although Gass is the one that sold his soul, “I’m the one with the great career.”
The problem with Tenacious D in a setting like this is the bit goes on a bit too long. Fifteen minutes could have been cut from the show, and it would have only improved things. On the plus side, Black and Gass are very talented musicians. And, although the songs are all comedic takes on the metal lifestyle and attitude (with one straight on cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times”) the arrangements are quite deft and intricate. It’s too bad that the lyrics got lost in the Pavilion’s din.
Still, the beauty of Tenacious D is that, unlike other actors that want to be taken seriously when they play musicians, Black and Gass know that we know they’re actors playing musicians. And therefore, everyone gets in on the joke.
— Timothy Hiatt
Category: Live Reviews, Weekly
