Tenacious Mother F*#king D!

They've been to Australia four or five times in the past decade, and pretty much everytime they come here I tell myself that I'm going to see them. And everytime it hasn't happened. So when they announced this tour a couple of months ago, I jumped to get tickets before I could find something else I had to do, and I roped Helen into coming with me so that she couldn't do it either!

We parked at the Opera House car park and headed over to Circular Quay for dinner. we had arrived at 6.30pm, and the night's show didn't start until 9.00pm, so we didn;t have to rush which was good. The weather was still amazing, middle of May and we were able to sit outside on the plaza right at Circular Quay, and I only had my long sleeved shirt on. Very pleasant indeed with the gas patio heaters fired up as well. we found a place that had a Show Special on, of an entree and a main for just $42 each. Pretty good value for Sydney, and more than worth the Soup of the Day and the Steak and Fries I had as my choice of meals. Helen made sure she also indulged in dessert and a champagne cocktail to make the most of her experience.

From here we walked up to the Sydney Opera House and made our way in. The support comprised of an Australian stand-up comedian, Damian Powers. Though I thought he started off slow, he soon gained a foothold, and put in a very entertaining 20 minutes. Next was Sasquatch, one of the D's support musicians, who played the guitar and drums excellently and entertainingly for his 20 minutes (which, by the end, was probably a little long).

Finally, after many years, I got to see Tenacious D live. And they did not disappoint. Kyle Gass is terrifically talented on the guitar, and he played excellently all night, also performing well in his nightly quitting of the band. One of the main reasons i wanted to see the D was to hear Jack Black singing live, to see if he really was as good as he seems. Well, the answer to that question is yes, he is quite brilliant. If any band of any musical persuasion happened to lose their singer, Jack could step in and do the job at least as well. He has an amazing voice and an incredible range, and along with his natural wit and comedic values, he is a real package.

The moments of the night were when they played "Kickapoo" and "Tribute". As they played, sand and performed these two songs, the Opera House was filled with 90% of the sold out crowd singing the song back to them, word for word, all the way through. It was spine-tingling stuff. Alhough this obviously happens at most concerts, because this was an acoustic show, and in the wonderful acoustics of the Sydney Opera House, it rang throughout, and was like being in a football stadium when the crowd starts singing. Awesome stuff. Well worth seeing, and it was just sensational.

The video below is not from the Sydney gig, but this is the same show from a couple of months earlier in the U.S. without Sydney references that the duo used on the night.

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