‘Did anyone see Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny?” asks Jack Black, referring to their 2006 rockumentary. “Well, you didn’t see it in the cinema. No one did! It almost destroyed us.” The widely panned movie was indeed a box office disaster, but otherwise has been a rare blip on Tenacious D’s almost accidental rise to global domination. Formed by Black and sidekick Kyle Gass in 1994 as a joke when they were struggling actors (before High Fidelity and School of Rock catapulted the former into the Hollywood A-list), the comedy prog-metal band have gone from underground LA clubs to arenas packed with thousands of fans, all chanting “D”.
Seemingly unwittingly, the duo have tapped into a gigantic fanbase of people who love South Park/Wayne’s World-type humour as much as they adore Led Zeppelin or Ozzy Osbourne. Like Spinal Tap, it’s a spoof that comes from a deep love and knowledge of its subject. Their gigantic rubber demon references 80s rocker Dio’s 18 foot dragon, Denzil. Black has a superb operatic metal vocal. The acoustic guitar duelling and Queen/Darkness harmonies are tremendous and some of the songs sound as if they could almost have been actual venerable rock classics had they not been accosted by two ageing comedians and packed with knowingly silly lyrics about beasts, devils, farting and “the metal”.
It’s a daft but fun show – complete with pantomime villain (Biffy Pyro, a hapless pyrotechnics guy), a metal robot and a mock argument/dramatic walkout that affectionately sends up rock’s seriousness and earnestness. “This is a song about video games,” announces Black. “It’s called, uh, Video Games.” There’s another about roadies, called Roadie. As well as bass, drums and toy saxophone solos, there are lighting and sound crew solos (the latter’s, totally deadpan, is “Check, one-two”). None of it would work without the songs, and the likes of Tribute, Master Exploder and lurve ballad pastiche Fuck Her Gently have the whole arena singing: a parody of a rock show that’s a great rock show in itself.
• At OVO Hydro, Glasgow, tonight (sold out). Then touring.
