Tenacious D gives rousing performance

Monday, the self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Band Ever" took the stage of Normal, Ill., Redbird Arena. No, I'm not speaking of Weezer, the rock quartet whose popularity surged this past year because of their commercially viable "Green Album." Friends, I speak of the aptly titled rock duo supreme -- Tenacious D.\nThe D is composed of comedic genius Jack Black and his portly sidekick Kyle Gass, and their live show rocks like few have rocked before. Black, best known for his film roles in "High Fidelity" and a recent turn in "Shallow Hal," has a great stage presence and an even better voice. The man is a jumbled ball of hyperactive hilarity. His broad physical humor, which ranged from break-rolls to incessant lewd sexual gestures and dances all within a mere 45-minute set, elicits memories of an "Animal House"/early-"SNL" era John Belushi. He's that funny. Gass serves as an appropriate comic foil to Black, and he's an excellent guitarist to boot.\nThe D tore through many tracks off their recent self-titled debut album. Highlights included their more musically accomplished efforts such as "Tribute" and "Wonderboy," as well as crude comedic gems "Fuck Her Gently" and "Double Team," which they prefaced by mockingly flirting with girls in the audience in a rather crass but funny manner. All-in-all an excellent, albeit short set from the D, which concertgoers would benefit from seeing in a smaller venue as opposed to an arena, thus catching more, if not all of Black and Gass' comic nuances.\nWeezer headlined the show in fine form. Their hour and forty-five minute set consisted primarily of cuts off of their popular 1994 self-titled debut (also known as the Blue Album), and their aforementioned "Green Album," as well as some yet to be released material of a somewhat darker nature. \nUnfortunately, Weezer only played one tune, the hard-rocking "Tired of Sex," off their best album to date, 1996's Pinkerton. The absence of further material was rather disappointing, with the exclusion of the rarely-played "El Scorcho" and "Across the Sea" meriting most highly.\nCuts off the "Green Album," which have been much maligned by long time fans as being far too pop-oriented, worked much better live. Examples of this trend include "Don't Let Go," "Photograph" and "Island in the Sun." Whatever pop sensibilities once existed are excised and replaced with the thrashing guitars of lead singer Rivers Cuomo and lead guitarist Brian Bell and the hellacious backbeat of drummer Patrick Wilson. The effect was pop-gone-punk, true to the very nature of Weezer, and very cool.\nOld favorites "In the Garage," "My Name is Jonas," "Undone -- The Sweater Song," "Say It Ain't So" and "Only In Dreams" were all given rousing renditions. But "Only In Dreams" had the most profound effect, in part because of its lavish staging, which involved billowing fog from which band members' silhouettes were projected and an array of cool blue and purple lights. Weezer capped its set off with a gracious encore featuring fellow classics "Buddy Holly" and "Surf Wax America," both done to near perfection.\nOpening act Jimmy Eat World, fresh from a stint on this past summer's Warped Tour, rounded out the impressive line-up with a likable set. Jimmy Eat World's sound can best be described as punk tinged power-pop, similar in nature to a more mature Blink-182 or a less talented incarnation of Weezer.\nFew concerts could match-up to the sheer entertainment value contained here, and as such, I would highly recommend any interested parties to check out upcoming shows on the tour. Weezer, and most especially Tenacious D, are guaranteed to make the trip well worth your while.