By Deanna Costa

Jack Black and Kyle Gass were happily living out their nerdy, rockstar dreams — and their fans were loving it.

Tenacious D in Boston. Photo: 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 Boston on November 5 — bobbing their heads and singing along to “Young Lust” 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 November 2, along with a six-part animated series on the Tenacious D YouTube channel. Considering that their 2006 hit “The Government Totally Sucks” has been the general atmosphere of the comedy-music industry since the 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 took place on the night before election day. Jack Black not only sang about his dissatisfaction with the current administration, he also encouraged the crowd to get out and vote themselves. “Every vote is a chance to save the world,” he proclaimed.

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 became involved with the tour and mentioned the headliner’s “legendary status” to his childhood. Ironically, fans seemed more excited by this commentary than by the pair’s original songs. The one exception was “Bush Blaster,” a punny single from the 2014 album Spreading the Gospel of Good Times. Half of the crowd knew the lyrics, and happily sang along.

The two strummers harmonized pleasantly. Their southern rock version of “Ignition” by R. Kelly, a crowd-favorite cover from their most recent album, also fit in with their overall theme. The rest of the short set list followed what seems to be the Wynchester formula: rockabilly riffs, rural-hipster aesthetics, Tenacious D-reminiscent lyrics, and a spattering of one-liners for laughs in between songs.

During the setup 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. 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. Up there, everyone had breathing room and a great view of the eccentric crowd below. The couple to my right people-watched to pass time; one of them was overjoyed to spot two tall men on the main floor in painted-on devil costumes. The demons’ inspiration was clearly Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny’s Beelzeboss: 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 popped up below as the show opened with an animated slideshow projected onto a thin, transparent curtain. Post-Apocalypto’s opening theme played loudly over the speakers. The lights went up as the album played:

[JB:] 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.

[KG:] Oh-ho, can we keep him?

[JB:] Of course we can. We will name him…Hope.

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

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

The show’s visuals were dynamic and original. The projected animation periodically came in throughout the performance, incorporating entertaining clips that drove the story forward. In 45-minutes, JB and KG 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 front men and the backup band. Konesky nailed his “Beelzeboss” solo when spotlighted, and Black killed every high note as if they has been pre-recorded. Throughout the classic set, Black and Gass threw guitar picks and took bows, cracking jokes between songs just as the Wynchester duo did. They were happily living out their nerdy, rockstar dreams — and their fans were loving it.

The pair 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 “F*** 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 for more of an encore. Deliberating from stage right, JB and KG hesitated, but decided to ignore the cheers. The years may have weakened Black and Gass’s stamina, but the music lays just as good as it used to.

Deanna Costa is a recent graduate of Boston University’s College of Communication, where she earned a B.S. in Journalism with a focus on Magazine Design. During her time at BU, she covered local concerts for on-campus publications in multiple formats. Outside of writing, she routinely interviewed artists and reviewed albums live on her weekly radio show, DJ-ed on campus events, and held the Studio Productions Director position in 2017. Currently, she is a full-time nonprofit administrator, a freelance music journalist, and a podcast co-host alongside her husband.