A D that is most tenacious

Sunday night we went to see Tenacious D at the Patriot Center. I’d seen them once before at the 2001 HFStival, but it wasn’t a full one and I was jonesing for a rematch. Plus Jill hadn’t seen them and really wanted to (to the point where she studied all weekend to take the night off before her first final). We successfully avoided the opening act, and got there a little while before they went on. They pulled off one of the best entrances I’ve seen. In their HBO episodes, they have a one bedroom apartment, and the stage replicated that, a giant painting showing the room and outside and a number of props, including a TV, couch, and fridge. The crowd was cheering lustily, and Jill noticed the lumps on the couch were moving. Yep, the D was asleep, and stirred into awakeness, then got up, acknowleged the crowd, and launched into “Kielbasa”. I had a setlist and wasn’t too surprised, but I was happy to see them cover Queen’s “Flash”, which went straight into “Wonderboy”.

The first half of the set was good, had some funny skits with Lee (he was also in the episode “The Fan”). After an accidental “electrocution”, the set was stripped away to reveal a movie screen, and a short clip played where they went to hell and formed a band. The screen was removed to show a big set behind it, set on a shelf in hell – the drumset between two smoking towers was a nice touch. They started off with “Kickapoo” (first track off the new CD) with Kyle doing Meat Loaf’s parts and Jack doing Dio’s, just as they’d done on SNL the night before. They went through a number of old and new songs, then Jack “called an audible” to go off the setlist and cover Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times”, bleeding into “Jesus Ranch”. That delighted the asshat in the row in front of us who’d been screaming for it all night, but the Zeppelin cover was really rockin’ and made up for it. The highlight was their duel with the devil, “Beelzeboss”. I held up some faint hope that Dave Grohl, who plays the devil on the CD and in the movie would show, but Lee did a great job as the devil. They encored with “F*ck Her Gently” and “Tribute”, we left during the latter. Still got home by 11, which was Jill’s goal, so a good night all around.