In a cavernous room full of kids comedic duo Tenacious D worked its magic with complete success Sunday night at the Coliseum & Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Jack Black and Kyle Gass -- Tenacious D -- opened for Weezer, who were touring on the heels of their self-titled third disc.
Black, better known to most as an actor ("Shallow Hal," "High Fidelity"), and Gass have been plying their trade as witty songsters for years on television ("Mr. Show") and in clubs. Black, as anyone who has seen "High Fidelity" already knows, is a top-notch singer and Gass is a phenomenal guitar player.
But it is the chemistry between these two tight friends and their innate sense of raunchy humor that makes them so great. Like a latter day Spinal Tap, the duo melds often juvenile wit with archetypal heavy rock sounds to lampoon the music industry and over-serious bands.
The duo's eponymous debut, released a couple months ago on Epic/Sony, calls on friends like Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl to create heavily-orchestrated '70s-style pomp rock with lyrics that are perfect for Weezer's mostly teen crowd.
Opening with a cover of Queen's title track from the soundtrack to the film "Flash Gordon," the scene was set. The D was going to rock out on the camp classics. After a version of their own brilliant "Wonderboy," a song almost any band would love to call its own for its anthemic melody and sweet vocal, they performed a rollicking cover of the theme song from TV's "The Land of the Lost."
But, predictably, the crowd really went wild with "F**k Her Gently," the penultimate song of a 45-minute set that had all sorts of hi-jinx interlaced with 15 songs.
Also performing at the show was Duvall, which includes Josh Caterer, formerly of the Smoking Popes and Mike Femulee, late of the Alkaline Trio. The quartet's grungy modern rock sound was tight and tempered by plaintive vocals.
A crowd of nearly 10,000 attended the sold out show, according to a Coliseum staffer.
-Bobby Tanzilo
If you love filthy, puerile and profane potty humor, nobody does it better than the self-proclaimed folk/metal duo of Tenacious D. The pudgy, loveable slackers entertained devoted fans Sunday night, and the fans were not disappointed.
Earlier this year, the duo released their first album of songs, ramblings and various comedy bits. It is uproariously funny, featuring highly inspired bits like "Kielbasa," One Note Song," "Dio," "Kyle Quit the Band" and "Double Team."
The guys proved to be just as funny in concert as they are on their album. When not performing during their 50 minute set, they ran around the stage like a couple of kids on a sugar high, hit on girls in the audience, and raved about what a nice, tender town Madison is.
The stage set up was simple. Black and Gass stood before a massive poster of their album cover with just an acoustic guitar and the clothes on their back. The decision to go without a backup band was appropriate. Their set is as much stand up comedy as musical performance.
When the guys did play some songs, such as "Wonderboy" and "Tribute," they showed that they really can play with the best of them. Gass, especially, is an impressive guitar player.
Black handles most of the singing and has a great voice. He's a good rock singer capable of using his pipes to suggest a demon or to just plain rock out.
Tenacious D are great at what they do. Black's day job certainly didn't hurt when it came to getting a record deal, but these are a couple of talented musicians and comedians who do an outstanding job of combining the two. Long live the D.
A new band called Duvall, made up of former members of The Smoking Popes, played before Tenacious D. They played a 30 minute set of solid if slightly generic rock with an emo flavor. Think Weezer meets The Promise Ring. They never clarified to a confused audience whether or not they are named after actor Robert Duvall.
The headliner of the evening, Weezer, took the stage way past the bedtime of this critic.
-Paul Doro
