On Wednesday night, the “greatest band in the world”, Tenacious D, brought their 2022 Tour to Bridgeport, CT. The duo led by Jack Black and Kyle Gass visited the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater for the very first time. The recently renovated ballpark turned music venue just opened last year and has had its fair share of iconic artists and shows. Wednesday night’s Tenacious D show will certainly go down in the history books for the amp.
The night’s entertainment was kicked off with an hour long set by DJ Douggpound. Douggpound used his time by mixing together both a typical DJ set along with a bit of comedy. It was only natural that the opener for Tenacious D had some humor in his set. Real name, Doug Lussenhop, Douggpound quickly won over the audience and had everyone laughing at his self-aware corny jokes.
Shortly after 9 PM, Tenacious D took the stage. Jack Black emerged holding a glowing crystal from their track “JB JR RAP,” which is featured on their 2018 release Post-Apocalypto. The first quarter of the setlist was composed of tracks off of their latest album. The other tracks they picked off the album were, “WOMAN TIME,” “SAVE THE WORLD,” and “POST-APOCALYPTO THEME (REPRISE).” After this batch of songs, Jack and Kyle seemed to work backwards throughout their music catalog.
Next up for Bridgeport was a handful of tracks off their 2012 release, Rize of the Fenix. Fan favorites, “Low Hangin’ Fruit,” “Rize of the Fenix,” and “Roadie” were met with a loud applause from the near sell-out crowd. For the track “Roadie,” the band brought out some of its crew to thank them for being a crucial part of putting on the show. Before moving on to their iconic 2006 release, The Pick of Destiny, The D snuck in a cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak.” The choice of covers that Jack and Kyle pick to play live and release as studio tracks truly shows how much respect they have for iconic classic rock artists such as Thin Lizzy and others such as The Who. While their covers may not be traditional, Tenacious D’s musicianship shines on the stage.
Anyone who goes to a Tenacious D show has obviously seen their film, The Pick of Destiny. Most fans more than likely at least once or a few hundred times. The film is certainly a cult classic and its soundtrack is one of the best of all time. Before the P.O.D. portion of the set started, a giant Pick of Destiny emerged in the background with lights coming out of its eyes. Sadly, the entire album couldn’t be played live and fans had to live with only 5 tracks being picked. Songs like “Kickapoo” and “The Metal” were taken over by the crowd singing along. This part of the set really showed how much the fans love Tenacious D. Everyone was singing along, dancing, and having the time of their lives. There weren’t many extra props or costumes this time around for The D but for “The Metal,” the giant Metal Robot made an appearance.
Last but certainly not least, the band changed the backdrop one last time for their self-titled Tenacious D album. Out of 21 tracks on their debut, the top 6 were chosen to be played in Bridgeport. During the track “Double Team,” Jack introduced the entire back and gave each member a mini solo of their own. Tenacious D’s magic wouldn’t be possible without a group of fantastic musicians behind them. The rest of the band featured Scott Seiver on drums, John Konesky on guitar and John Spiker on bass. After the extended version of “Double Team,” the band said goodnight and left the stage. No one in the amphitheater was leaving because they knew The D was going to give them more. Sure enough, the band came back out after only a few minutes and did a 2 song encore. First up was “Baby,” off of Pick of Destiny. Unfortunately, Jack Black didn’t get to snuggle up with Monster Mash on the park bench like he did in the film. To cap off the night, Jack and Kyle performed a love song, a love song for the ladies, “Fuck Her Gently.” After the encore, the band took to the center of the stage along with their roadies and bowed goodnight.
For fans who missed out of the show in Bridgeport, there are a handful of dates left on the 2022 Tour. Unfortunately, there are no more east coast dates but for anyone looking to travel for the holidays, Tenacious D just announced 2 nights in Las Vegas at The Theater at Virgin Hotels on Dec. 30th and Dec.31st. Ringing in the New Year with Tenacious D certainly sounds like an awesome time.
For tickets and information visit: https://tenaciousd.com/tour
Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater Setlist:
JB JR RAP
WOMAN TIME
SAVE THE WORLD
POST-APOCALYPTO THEME (REPRISE)
Low Hangin’ Fruit
Jailbreak
Rize of the Fenix
Sax-a-Boom
Roadie
Kickapoo
THe Metal
BeelzeBoss (The Final Showdown)
Dude (I Totally Miss You)
Friendship
Kielbasa
Wonderboy
Tribute
Double Team
Baby
Fuck Her Gently
