Tenacious D gave its loyal followers what they were looking for Saturday. In a set that lasted more than two hours, they rocked the sold out Eagles Ballroom. They rocked it hard.
Jack Black and Kyle Gass were the only guys on stage Saturday, using just two acoustic guitars to mix up a goulash of comedy, folk and rock that can be, at times, a little confusing to newcomers. This audience, however, knew every tune word for word, and despite a handful of HBO episodes of their critically-acclaimed show and one studio album, The D is more popular than ever.
KG seemed genuinely surprised that Milwaukee came out in force for the show, and JB proclaimed that they would work extra hard to meet the audience's expectations. And that they did. They played almost all the tunes off their album, as well as a Beatles medley from "Abby Road," Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" and a little Blue Oyster Cult, too. KG dazzled the crowd with his spectacular guitar work, while JB showed off a vocal range unknown to fans who think Black is just an actor in comedies.
The X-rated show got even funnier during two video breaks, reminding us that this comedy duo is ripe for making their own movie. The first video began with an acid trip in the desert and degenerated from there (it is not an overstatement to say that this reviewer has never laughed so hard in his life). The second video dealt with Black's new career as a male prostitute. Profane? Yes. Hilarious? Definitely.
{INSERT_RELATED}The sound at the Eagles Ballroom was muddled, but palpable energy of the D cut through anyway. The show lulled a little bit about halfway through, as the group launched into a comedy routine copied verbatim from their Madison show in December. However, they picked it back up and jammed through a great encore with the mini rock opera, "City Hall."
It took a while for Tenacious D to make their way to Milwaukee, but it was well worth the wait. KG said he'd be back soon -- here's to hoping that's very soon, indeed.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
