M'Lou Elkins
It was threatening rain and a mercifully cool (to Texans!) 77 degrees as the surprisingly diverse crowd of young and old metal heads, preppies, and geeks anxiously filed into the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX, ready to experience Tenacious D in the flesh.
Tonight’s gig is the second to last stop on the Spicy Meatball Tour for the comedy-rock duo Jack Black and Kyle Gass.
The band’s self-titled debut album, which featured the hit “Wonderboy” and “the greatest and best song in the world” – “Tribute,” was released 22 years ago this month. But this trek is in support of three new tracks. In May, they released “Video Games,” their first new song in five years, which was streamed over 18 million times across all platforms within a month of its release. They followed that up with the release of “The Spicy Meatball Song” and a fan-favorite live cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”
As I waited in the photo pit for the greatest band in the world to hit the stage, I was surrounded by grown-ass TEXAN men along the barricade loudly chanting, “We want the D! We want the D!”
As if on cue, Tenacious D appeared onstage to thunderous cheers and launched into “Kickapoo” off of 2006’s The Pick of Destiny, which debuted at #8 on the charts.
As a more subdued, yet visibly amused, Kyle Gass looked on, Jack Black maniacally raced across the stage, somersaulted to lay flat on the floor, and took a mini breather between songs before rising again to bring more rock to the people.
Backed by a trio of musicians and a giant, inflatable devil with glowing red eyes, the guys hit us with the classic “Wonderboy.” But it was when the familiar opening chords to “Tribute” began that the audience erupted into what can only be described as absolute joy and the two girls next to me basically lost their shit.
After playing for almost two hours, the stage cleared, but the guys soon returned to melt the audience’s faces off with an encore that consisted of “Master Exploder,” “Spicy Meatball,” and last but not least…”Fuck Her Gently” off of their debut album.
Tenacious D are clearly funny, and they know how to entertain a crowd and keep them engaged. But don’t let their middle-aged, unkempt dad appearance fool you – they’re also skilled musicians who still know how to ROCK, and their music remains as fresh and entertaining today as it was over two decades ago when their first album debuted.
Check out our gallery of Tenacious D concert photos from the show below:
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