Tenacious D, the dynamic duo of comedic actors/musicians Jack Black and Kyle Gass, are indeed funny. They have the theatricality that comes with the Hollywood chops they both clearly posses. They know how to entertain a crowd. But, they also do something that not a lot of other bands do anymore. They rock with a capital R and, despite now being middle aged and separated by more than two decades from their debut album, the D was as fresh as ever on the outdoor stage at White Oak Music Hall.
Flanked by a trio of young musicians and backed by a massive inflatable devil with lit red eyes, Black and Gass bounded around the stage putting on a show that was part This is Spinal Tap, part Rocky Horror Picture Show, but deeply steeped in their hard rock and metal roots.
They barreled headlong through songs from their admitted “bomb at the theater, but cult favorite now” film Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny as well as some classic songs like “Fuck Her Gently,” “Wonderboy,” and “Tribute,” all of which date back to that self-titled album from 2001.
They also mixed in a couple of covers including a fairly true-to-the-original version of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and Thin Lizzy’s “Jail Break,” with lyrics morphed into “Jable Break” about Black needing a breather from his hard work as front man. He spent part of the song lying flat on his back on stage, the rest belting out the chorus.
Make no mistake, Jack Black can sing. He channeled some of his hard rock heroes like Ronnie James Dio and Ozzy Osborne, while prowling the stage like Meatloaf. He is a born entertainer who can keep a crowd hanging on his every word, and Gass, a consummate pro on guitar, is the perfect aw shucks foil to his partner’s wild man persona.
Naturally, there were the comedic bits including a running gag that their “pyro guy,” Biff, just could not get the pyrotechnics to go off at the right time made funnier when a single stream of fire would randomly appear and disappear in the middle of the song for seemingly no reason.
The crowd, an interesting mix of ages and styles — from metal heads to nerds to frat guys — got every joke and knew virtually every word including the many, many f-bombs that are signature to the D’s songs. And, as a nod to his audience, Black took his own vocal solo singing a medley of ZZ Top’s “La Grange” and Beyonce’s “Halo” to a bunch of wildly enthusiastic Houstonians.
Tenacious D knows how to rock, sure, a throwback to the blue-jean-and-long-hair concerts of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, but they also understand how to have fun with the audience and keep them engaged. The combination of humor, stagecraft and skill is reminiscent of other comedic musical performers like Weird Al Yankovich, but with more curse words and songs about the devil.
And like all great talents, they are really, really into it, with an earnestness that would be corny if it weren’t so damn genuine, and an absolutely—well—tenacious commitment to the full rock concert experience.
As the show wound down, Black called Biff back to the stage to first chastise then encourage him not to be nervous. As the last massive chord of the night sounded, a full background of fire and sparks lit up the stage as the band stood in mock admiration. It was the big crescendo everyone expected from the self-titled “Greatest Band on Earth.” Biff got his moment and we all got our rock show.
As we headed out, a passerby shook his head, “Fucking Biff.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
