CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — In another dimension, Tenacious D would be the biggest band in the world.
Jack Black (JB, Jables), with his unblemished golden pipes, would rule justly as rock’s ambassador and bring the world together with songs about rock, sex, weed and, er, rock. The guitar playing of Kyle Gass (KG, Kage) would inspire millions of kids to pick up their own instruments, posing in the mirror to look as cool as their hero. And the movie “The Pick of Destiny” would have been a beloved box office smash.
But this is not another dimension. So we’ll have to settle for the D reigning supreme over Blossom Music Center on Friday night.
Which, to clarify, is no small feat. It’s just that, even in this dimension, this is a band that should always play somewhere bigger. Move over, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, here comes JB and KG.
I kid. Only slightly.
The 20-song, 85-minute concert - the first time the actors-turned-musicians performed in the Greater Cleveland area in a decade - had everything. Sure, the duo played the “hits” - “Tribute, “Wonderboy,” “Friendship” and a massive singalong of a song whose name is too dirty to put here - along with several hilarious sketches/interludes.
It was a dream for anybody who bought the duo’s first album in as kid in 2001 (or watched the earlier HBO specials) and howled their way through it while trying to prevent mom and dad from hearing. This was, and still is, hard R-rated comedy rock, with enough f-bombs and sex jokes to make a pirate blush, and the rabid crowd responded by collectively leaving its maturity in the parking lot.
But there was more.
There was giant silver mechanical creature that robotically danced to “The Metal.”
There was a dance tune called “Sax-a-Boom,” with melodies from a toy saxophone played by Black and a sweet recorder solo by Gass.
There was a band breakup after Black “flew off the handle” at Gass, along with a reconciliation via song about two minutes later.
Jack Black performs at the Tenacious D concert at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022.Eric Heisig, special to cleveland.com
But aside from all the gimmicks, the show worked as well as it did because the D and its crack trio of backing musicians just plain rocked. Not just harder than other comedy acts but also many “serious” bands. Ripping into a metal song like “Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)” seemed easy to the group, which is a testament to the quality of musicianship onstage.
And that’s what helps Tenacious D. The show would be nothing if these guys didn’t take their craft seriously.
They seriously do. Listen to their recent Audacity special “The Road to Redunktion” if you don’t believe it. The songs, while joke-laden, are well-crafted and show a deep knowledge of popular music history.
As for their chops, Black’s voice is remarkably malleable, as evidenced as he growled, screamed and crooned his way through the concert. He can also flick a guitar pick incredibly far, though is that considered part of his chops?
And Gass, who doesn’t get his dues as a master guitar player, threw out one tasty acoustic lick after another
They worked hard, too. Black, who looked like he hasn’t shaved his hair or beard since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, immediately started sweating profusely and didn’t stop as he bounded across the stage, except to take a brief “Jables Break” a few songs into the show, as the band launched into Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak.” Gass busted out a few moves of his own as well, especially on “Sax-a-Boom.”
The crowd responded in kind, participating in some of the loudest singalongs I’ve heard at Blossom this year (which is a feat, considering there were no lawn seats for Friday’s show). And not just on the better-known songs either, but lesser-known ones like “Kickapoo.”
To the audience, the D was the biggest and best band in the world on Friday night, and nobody could convince them otherwise. And this is the real world we’re talking about.
Now, how do I get to that other dimension?
Setlist (courtesy of setlist.fm and our own reporting)
1. JB JR RAP
2. WOMAN TIME
3. SAVE THE WORLD
4. POST-APOCALYPTO THEME (REPRISE)
5. Low Hangin’ Fruit
6. Jailbreak (Thin Lizzy cover)
7. Rize of the Fenix
8. Sax-a-Boom
9. Roadie
10. Happy Birthday to You (for roadie Sean Cox)
11. The Metal
12. Kickapoo
13. Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)
14. Dude (I Totally Miss You)
15. Friendship
16. Kielbasa
17. Wonderboy
18. Tribute
19. Double Team (with snippets of “Panama” by Van Halen and “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” by Billy Joel)
Encore:
20. F--- Her Gently
Eric Heisig is a freelance writer in Cleveland. He can be reached at eheisig@gmail.com.