Since announcing themselves as “the greatest band on Earth” before even releasing their first album in 2001, novelty duo Tenacious D has been known for using self-promoting superlatives liberally — and under threat of obscene berating, they refuse to be told otherwise.
So when Jack Black introduced last night’s Stand with Haiti benefit show at the Wiltern as “the most powerful night of rock-comedy” ever — “the Prius of benefits,” co-founding member Kyle Gass added — well, nobody jeered.
After a soulful (painful?) rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by former Saturday Night Live star Maya Rudolph, followed closely with a surprise interpretive dance by her former co-star Will Ferrell to “Popcorn,” the fluke ’70s hit by short-lived instrumental group Hot Butter, the bar was set well above anyone’s expectations.
While Radiohead’s recent benefit show at the Fonda was so spectacular for its low-key, bare-bones delivery, Tenacious D & Friends Stand with Haiti was stunning for nearly the opposite reason: the entire show was star-studded and over-the-top, culminating in comedic relief to ease minds amid the ongoing Haitian disaster.
Granted, the three main musical acts — Pixies frontman Frank Black, the Shins‘ James Mercer, and singer-songwriter Aimee Mann — did manage to deliver thoughtful, slapstick-free turns that, much like Radiohead’s set, seemed to inject the crowd with a sobering antidote, reasserting the benefit’s deeper purpose.
More so than anything offered from the evening’s other artists, Black’s selections seemed to form a meaningful tale. Playing his signature Fender Telecaster alone under a solitary spotlight, he began with “Los Angeles,” a cut from his 1993 solo debut that served as a deliberate call to his current audience.
Next, Black epitomized the feelings many have regarding the Haitian earthquake via the Pixies hit “Where is My Mind?,” barely pausing before launching into “All My Ghosts,” an appropriate choice from his time with backing band the Catholics that mentions “going past a scene of gore” and asks the relevant question, “Who needs that now?”
The 15-minute slot ended with two singalong Pixies favorites, “Monkey’s Gone to Heaven” and “Nimrod’s Son,” both reinforcing Black’s apparent focus on themes of religion, death and redemption.
At various other points, notably during Mercer’s haunting, acoustic-driven performance and Mann’s stripped-down version of “Freeway” — a song with this blatant message: ‘If you’re rich, give more!’ — tears seemed likely to flow as audience members sunk into the show’s momentarily somber tone.
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