Tenacious D @ The Horden

You're probably aware from my previous entry that I consider myself quite the fan of the JB/KG duo that is Tenacious D. So it'd come as no surprise that I found myself part of a 6 person entourage headed to the Horden last night to catch them live in action with a mix of music, theater and adult humour. And I was not to be disappointed.


We showed up relatively late and hence missed the warm up act of T'n'T - the Tex Perkins/Tim Rogers combination that copped a few mixed reviews from seeing people we knew. I didnt see them however, so you will, in turn, hear nothing about them. After a nice frisking and seeing everyone get bag checked we made it through the gate, and we then walked inside at about 850 because we were informed that the D were to be on stage at 9 o clock. I generally dont have a problem with crowds at gigs, whethter it be standing in them or navigating through them but it turns out there are alot of people that DO have a problem. My say? If you bought a fucking ticket and dont want your view disturbed, get off the floor and go sit down. That way you might sweat a little less you fat bastard. And take your girlfriend with you. Do I care that she cant see? No. And whats she doing with the massive handbag, didnt you see the cloak room you douche? Needless to say a few of the lines I snuck on the end of to move further to the front had some of their leading patrons involved in shoving matches and verbal duels with people who obviously dont go to gigs very much and think that its their god-given privelidge to watch the show with an unobstructed view the whole time. While what? I just go watch from the back? Suck my balls.

But anyway the lights suddenly went out, the cheer from the crowd was deafening and the curtain was drawn. What lay behind was a set, like a theater production, based in a living room with little more than a matress on the floor, tv, couch and a bong. Being high myself it took a while to figure out what the hell was going on but then from under the covers on the matress poked the heads of the two men who would take us on an adventure for the rest of the evening. The two tubby minstrels took us through a few songs by themselves, like Kielbasa and Wonder Boy before their biggest fan and best friend Lee entered through the back door. The lads had a sesh and then continued into Lee's title song featuring breakdancing and beer spillage and pandemoneum. After a few more Black makes the call to the crowd - 'Its time to go electric!' and brings out an absolute monstrosity of a guitar with power cables for strings. Needless to say KG is completely against the idea and after some general crowd banter JB pulls out a massive cord for the guitar. No amp - just straight into a power socket. Thanks to some sound effects, strobe lighting and physical acting the duo then proceed to die. The lights go out and the organ plays..

Up next comes a short film and we find out where the D are - in hell. Or maybe its heaven (as JB likes to think - 'Maybe heavens just really hot! High Five!'). But nevertheless its time to find some musicians to form a backing band. Some shredding guitar kicks in from the distance and the boys find who else but Jesus (aka the Anti-christ) playing some killer riffs. They have a chat and ask him if he'd like to play - and he's in. He takes them over to meet Colonel Sanders (drums) and Charlie Chaplin (bass) and the band is complete.

The screen then drops to reveal a hell-like setting with a full band setup and the five of them march out and straight into Kickapoo before a chat about where they are, what they're doing there and the fact that Lee still has a key to the backdoor. Kyle quits and returns just in time for JB to fight the next character of the evening - The METAL! (also Lee, in a suit). After the duel they all dance around, I didnt quite get it but god it was awesome. A few more songs off the new album including Car-Chase City which involved flinstones-esque running cars, and big bright dancing mushrooms, and the antichrist asks if his Dad can have a jam with the band (you mean Satan?). While KG/JB are discussing the few pro's and many cons of playing with the devil he emerges from the side of the stage telling the band they have to play, and we find out a few years ago KG signed a deal with the devil to ensure their success. Instead of being pissed off JB thanks Kage for signing it, adding that its just a pity it didnt seem to work out for KG anywhere near as well. The final showdown begins with bone-crushing metal before the D prevail in their duel with the dark side.

Double Team is the song that closes the set including a massive jam at the end, where the band are all introduced personally before soloing. Its at this stage that I notice the man playing Charlie Chaplin all evening looks remarkably like Kevin Pietersen, and not only that but his solo is absolutely horrible. I thought he did a good job during the set, played solid and had nice fills, but yes - dont let Chaplin solo. Up next is Jesus who crucifies (geddit?) the crowd with a face-melting solo before the Colonel kicks every arse in the building with one of the best drum-solos I've ever seen from a dead guy. JB closes with saying 'Theres someone else very special I'd like to thank, and I dont really do it enough' before thanking - himself. The band leave the stage but we all know that the shows not done yet.

The usual darkness and crowd chanting goes on until the lads walk out one last time. 'We were just about the get in the chopper but then we heard the crowd must have more' says JB as they kick into the contemporary love song Fuck Her Gently before the band comes out too to kick into Tribute which brings the house down. To be completely honest with you I have no idea what the last song was, and judging by those around me they didnt know it either but I'm going to assume its a cover and sure it was cool but they still had a few more songs to choose from that couldve ended it better.

So in summation what can be said about my night with the D? Absolutely amazing. A stage show, highly entertaining and absolutely hilarious, a vast array of characters and a setlist that almost couldnt be flawed. Not to mention an absolutely superb backing band and a glorious sound and you've got yourself one of the best damn gigs I've ever been to. If more bands took a theatre-like approach to their live performances it certainly would not be a bad thing. The setlist was as follows:

Scene I
Kielbasa
History
Flash/Wonder Boy
Dio
Lee
Saxaboom Solo
The Road
Scene II
Kickapoo
Karate
Dude (I Totally Miss You)
Kyle Quit The Band
Friendship
The Metal
Storm The Gate
Car-Chase City
Papanegu (He's My Sassafrass)
Master Exploder
Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)
Double Team
-------------------
Fuck Her Gently
Tribute
???

And there you have it. Stay tuned for Muse on the 24th followed by WBDF's massive BigDayOut review to end them all. Oh, and go and see Apocalypto!

Until next time