TENACIOUS D

Words: John Newspeaker for Noise Addiction

I will skip over support band The Bots, even though their L.A PR machine have sent them over to us whether we want them or not. I personally would not enjoy reviewing them live as they were pants with a capital P, but I will bet you a Yankee dollar you will hear more of them as they are (apparently) the future of black American afro Punk… Exactly… so let’s just leave it there!

So just after 9 (P.M. not pints) out come our Hollywood heroes Tenacious D dressed in godly white boxing robes ready to pour out their blood, sweat and tears upon us mere mortals. The crowd scream and chant and the band crack out Rize of the Fenix, a total choon. Be it spoof or piss take, it matters not one jot, for everyone in the Brixton Academy is here for them and them only… and man, do they own it. Just to keep the mood in sync with the D’s Tenacious appetite for offensive comedy, cue the huge erection of a phallic phoenix complete with balls and wings to oversee proceedings. The D backed by the gifted John Konesky (lead guitar) John Spiker (bass) and Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion’s drummer) really are a top outfit and are musically second to none. Jack Black’s vocals are powerful yet tender and together with Kyle Gass, they rock the acoustic like no other human beings on earth and yet still manage to write songs so sweet they can make your eyes cry with blood. The awesome Low Hanging Fruit was so good I bought the tee shirt – literally. For me the highlights were personal fave and song of the moment Deth Starr, with The D being joined on stage by one of their very few stage props (an alien squid – an evil alien squid) and The Roadie which can be found on YouTube for the full length promo version. Along with MTV favourites Tribute and Wonder Boy they also re-visit the first 2 albums and still manage time for a WHO medley. A set time of 1 hour 20 to be exact and good value for a rockin’ night out.

A small negative would be that some of JB’s comedy gold can get lost in an auditorium of this stature but this is a Rock gig venue and that is exactly what we got.

Get the album, get the tee shirt, get the humour, get The D.