A night of epic rock

It’s a completely sold-out tour for the duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, but we’re on the first leg of the Tenacious D UK side tonight in good old Brummie. It hosts bands such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Led Zeppelin, to whom Jack Black later sings a tribute.

Tenacious D

Resorts World Arena, Birmingham – 7 May 2024

Words and photography: Georgia Brittain

The arena is completely packed, and with the film’s intro music blasting as they make their entrance, the crowd goes wild at the first sight of the pair taking the stage.

We are treated to Kickapoo as an opener, with the crowd singing almost louder than Jack Black himself. Of course, his voice isn’t in the same key as originally sung, but we can’t blame him considering this was originally released almost 20 years ago now.

Here’s what I love most about watching Tenacious D live. It’s like watching a real show. It’s not just song – crowd interaction – song. They almost play entire scenes.

From a giant robot coming on stage being ‘The Metal’ to an onstage brawl and a cheeky moon from Kyle Gass ‘dropping for Dude I Totally Miss You, you almost can’t wait for the end of the song to see what they will pair up next.

While performing their cover of Wicked Game, the pair stay true to their comedic roots, playing their video on the big screen, which is nothing but them running around in skin-tight bathing suits in the sea.

It warms me to hear the crowd singing along to every song, the loudest being the absolute classic, Tribute. Although Black doesn’t hit the same notes as before, apart from the iconic “rock – aaaaaahhhh!!”, the crowd does it for him without hesitation.

The show can’t end without Gass and Black showing their appreciation for ALL of their crew, something you don’t often see with bands. Anyone near the stage is called and the sound and light technicians are told to give their solos, which is met with a bit of a “1, 2 check” and a silent light show.

Although this part goes on for a while, you can tell it’s for the band to show their appreciation to everyone around them so the crowd doesn’t care too much about this pull.

In the end, I’m sad that the show is over, knowing that I didn’t stop smiling for an hour and a half.

If you were unlucky enough to lose a ticket, I recommend finding one on resale as soon as possible, because you will experience extreme FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) to sit on it.