Tenacious D @ SECC, 11 Dec

Frank Zappa once posed the question: "Does Humour Belong In Music?" Of course, he couldn't care less for anybody's answer and carried on with his distinct fusion of sonics and satire regardless. Fast forward a little over two decades, however, and the mass popularisation and subsequent over-saturation presented by the palatable quirkiness of The Darkness and their ilk may have served the proverbial fatal Aikido blow to 'ironic' rock, but Jack Black and Kyle Gass, perhaps more unashamed in their folk-metal approach, still know exactly what to do to get the reaction they require. Somewhere between a gig and a panto show - with well arranged theatrics and a frills able backing band rounded out by Charlie Chaplin, Colonel Sanders and the Anti-Christ - laughs and bullhorns are rife throughout an unfolding story peppered with daft ditties like 'Kickapoo,' 'Car Chase City' and the dual-acoustic six stringer epic 'Wonderboy,' delivered with a backdrop of Hellfire smouldering behind them. 'Tribute' predictably wraps things up, with Black in characteristically animated form, shimmying the stage and laughing his ass off. Does humour belong in music? Tonight The D answer with an assured "sometimes." [Dave Kerr]