REVIEW: Tenacious D, Wynchester @ House of Blues 11/05

By Deanna Costa

The crowd that gathered for Tenacious D’s first tour in five years largely looked like the band themselves: middle-aged (and older), predominantly white, and a little immature. Dozens of concert-goers packed themselves into the general standing room at House of Blues, bobbing their heads and singing along to “Dirty Woman” by Pink Floyd as they patiently waited for the D.

The reason for the duo’s unexpected resurgence? The 2016 presidential election inspired them to write an album, of course. Post-Apocalypto was just released on Nov. 2, along with a six-part animated series on the Tenacious D YouTube channel. Considering their 2006 hit “The Government Totally Sucks,” and the general atmosphere of the comedy-music industry since the last election, an anti-Trump project was inevitable for the two.

Post-Apocalypto is the Pick of Destiny for 2018. Same classic rock band, same sense of humor; just add a new sense of political urgency. The Boston show, having taken place the night before election day, Jack Black not only sang about his dissatisfaction with the current government, but he also encouraged the crowd to get out and vote themselves.

“Every vote is a chance to save the world,” he said as he openly gave away their album’s motivation.

The opening act for this tour was another two-man band named Wynchester, consisting of Tenacious collaborators Mike Bray and John Konesky. Their 15-minute set was solid on its own, but felt a bit like an obligatory salad before an indulgent dinner.

In between songs, Bray told the story of how they got involved with the tour and mentioned the headliner’s “legendary status” to his childhood. Fans seemed more excited by this commentary than by Bray and Konesky’s original songs. The one exception to that rule was “Bush Blaster,” a punny single from the 2014 album Spreading the Gospel of Good Times. Half of the crowd knew the lyrics, and sang along.

As the two strummers sang together, they did have great chemistry and harmonized pleasantly. Their southern rock version of “Ignition” by R. Kelly, a crowd-favorite cover from their most recent album, translated nicely to their overall theme as well. From the rest of the short setlist, I gathered the Wynchester formula: rockabilly riffs, rural-hipster aesthetics, Tenacious D-reminiscent lyrics, and some one-liners for laughs in between songs.

During the set-up break between Wynchester and the main act, some in the crowd were less patient than others. Three intoxicated, young guys were clobbered and escorted out by security before the opening act even took stage. Two unamused-looking women ahead of them applauded the security guards as they left.

“VIP is so much more…civilized,” a man next to me commented as we witnessed the scene. Due to a staffer’s error, I was rerouted to the second floor’s VIP balcony in my search for the press pit before the show. From up there, everyone had breathing room and a great view of the amusing crowd below. The couple to my right people watched together to pass time; one of them was overjoyed to spot two tall men on the main floor in painted-on devil costumes.

The devils’ inspirations were clearly Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny’s Beelzeboss, as the shade of red covering their skin was identical to that of Dave Grohl’s character in the movie.

“That is a lot of commitment, going full-body in this weather,” the man laughed to his date.

Little plumes of smoke slowly increased in number across the crowd below as the show opened with an animated slideshow projected onto a thin, transparent curtain. The opening theme to Post-Apocalypto played loudly over the speakers. The lights went up as the album played:

Jack Black:With our wits, and our friendship, and our rock…We will find a way. We will survive. Whoa–look at that; it’s a cute little two-headed doggy.

Kyle Gass: Oh-ho, can we keep him?

Jack Black: Of course we can. We will name him…Hope.

The intro slipped seamlessly into the live band singing aggressively from behind a transparent curtain. Bright, blue lights outlined Black and Gass as the crowd got their first look at the aging stars. Black looks like more like Jerry Garcia than himself these days, but his voice hasn’t changed at all. Gass was also sporting a thick, graying beard and sweatpants.

The flow of their set was methodical, spending the first half of showtime on new material and the last half on their biggest hits. Local references in the Post-Apocalypto songs excited the crowd just as much as the singles of the second act. Animated scientists that were meant to the save the wasteland created in the album’s storyline cracked up the whole floor: “Where do you think we’re from? MIT of course!”

The presentation of the show itself was dynamic and original. The projected animation periodically came in throughout the performance, incorporating entertaining clips that drove the story forward. In 45 minutes, Black and Gass were able to: adopt a two-headed dog named Hope, procreate with Amazonians, slay a penis-shaped squid monster, venture into space and return, befriend a Schwarzenegger-reminiscent robot, overthrow the evil Trump administration, and defeat JB Jr., Black’s evil Amazonian love child.

The end of the show, when the Tenacious D standards came out, was a showcase for the collective talent of the frontmen and the backing band. Konesky nailed his “Beelzeboss” solo when spotlighted, and Black killed every high note as if they were pre-recorded. Throughout the classic set, Black and Gass threw guitar picks and took bows, cracking jokes between songs just as Wynchester’s did. They were happily living out their nerdy, rock star dreams; and their fans were loving it.

The duo ended the night with a closing-time staple that seemed like a perfect, dirty cherry on top of the innuendo-filled evening: the 2001 hit “Fuck Her Gently.”

“This one goes out to the guys, but it’s a message from the ladies,” Black laughed as he introduced the song.

By its end, the band was spent, but the crowd was screaming an encore. Deliberating from stage right, Black and Gass ultimately decided to ignore the cheers, but no one in the audience seemed particularly upset as they walked away. The years may have chipped away at Black and Gass’s staminas, but the music lays just as good as it used to.