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Music Live Tenacious D @ Brixton Academy, London 
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| Tenacious D @ Brixton Academy, London |
| By Afsheen Shaikh | |
Sunday, 03 November 2002 There's something intriguing about a man of Jack Black's calibre. He's an international movie star and a successful 'musician'. Certainly he is not short of a bob or two, so why is he still wearing the same clothes four months on?At the D's last live appearance in London, little Jack Black strode onto stage in blue jeans and a tartan shirt. A few days ago, the duo made a television appearance on the BBC's Jonathan Ross Show, and Jack was dressed in the aforementioned outfit. Tonight, the same shirt has been pulled out of the wardrobe to show off to 4000 people. Maybe it's a trademark for Tenacious D, like the Polyphonic Spree have their white robes, Badly Drawn Boy with his tea-cosy woolly hat and Nelly's bizarre devotion to that Elastoplast. Perhaps it's Jack's lucky charm or could it be that the buttons are easier to do up? It's only Jack though - Kyle always wears something different and this time, has even shaved off the goatee. So casting our minds back to the D's first UK show in July, it was in a small club and the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl introduced the greatest band in the world onto the stage. Who could the honour go to this time? Try a 30-foot plus inflatable dragon, snorting smoke through its nostrils and engulfing the entire stage with its enormous tail and spikes. Yes, really. The sight is quite astounding, more so when Black attempts to 'slay the beast' with his plastic sword during 'Wonderboy'. But Black doesn't stop there. He's twirls around the stage like a ballerina, runs back and forth flapping his arms, rips his shirt open and bullies Kyle and roadie Jerry, while Kyle, for most of the time, looks on cluelessly. The pantomime-like performance looks unrehearsed but is superbly executed, and the outcome is hilarious. The less can be said about Black's feeble attempt at an English accent, though - sounds more like Dick van Dyke. During the set, KG and JB have a bust-up, which results in KG expressing his annoyance with the one-finger salute before turning his back and dropping his kecks to moon at Jack. Seconds later, he rejoins his buddy for a rousing rendition of 'Kyle Quit The Band', with Jack substituting the opening lines "last week..." for "one minute ago, Kyle quit the band..." What's more noticeable on the night, is the crisp sound quality reverberating around the magnificent Brixton Academy. Every strum, riff and note is abundantly sharp, with no room for amplifiers, electric guitars and a drum kit. It makes you wonder why more live bands don't do acoustic sets longer than one song. Tenacious D go for about 17 songs in a 90 minute set! "So what you do study at the academy?", quips podgy Kyle, who for a man of his stature, has an incredibly high-pitched voice, almost similar to Jackass' Steve-O. The stage, which comes alive when the strong lighting blinds the crowd, is almost bare, except for a table on either side, covered with a sheet, a few bottles of water/beer in an ice-bucket and a couple of towels. On two separate occasions, the D vacate the stage, making way for a screen which runs a couple of skits. If you have seen Tenacious D live before, you will remember one features Jack hallucinating on a home pregnancy kit (while Kyle ends up 'giving birth' to a "butt baby" - don't ask) and the other shows the pair trying to flog off their sperm on the street, with a defiant Liam Lynch sampling a cup. Pretty grotesque, you'll agree.  Apart from lifting tracks off their self-titled album, the duo squeeze in a few live favourites - 'Cosmic Shame' and 'Jesus Ranch', which contains the odd lyrics "I fell in love with a baked potato" and "I'm taking a walk in the woods and it's nice outside / Smells of shit." It's the way they sing them with such irony and precision, you can't control the giggling. As expected, 'Wonderboy' and 'Tribute' receive a raucous sing-along from the crowd, possibly because they are they are most familiar songs from Tenacious D. I beg to differ. 'Explosivo', 'Karate', 'Kielbasa', Rock Your Socks Off', 'Double Team' and 'Lee' are of equal splendor, all rare jewels in the crown of Tenacious D, and all immensely powerful live. The vibe tonight is nothing but ecstatic, as the D pull off another fine performance. You can bet your bottom dollar you won't see a band like this for quite some time. Without a shadow of a doubt, they are the greatest band in the world and richly deserve such an accolade. Time you bowed down to the D - fuelled by Satan, naturally. (5/5)
 Check for Live Dates
Photos: Afsheen Shaikh |
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© 2004-2006 uk-fusion.com
All rights reserved. Editor: Afsheen Shaikh.
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