Festival Supreme ft. Tenacious D Make Los Angeles “LOL”

Festival Supreme
October 25, 2014
Shrine Auditorium- Los Angeles, CA

Jack Black and some of his closest friends banded together at the Festival Supreme this weekend to help bring some major lulz to the masses of Los Angeles. The festival is an eclectic mix of the finest acts that comedy and music have to offer. From older veterans like Dr. Demento and The State to younger acts like Kumail Nanjiani and The Protomen; there was a little something for everyone.
The event boasted 3 stages as well as a carnival of death that ensured that at any given moment something was going on. Each area had its own vibe and wherever I went I was greeted with a different kind of energy that kept the 8 hour event from ever feeling tiring or stale. Although I will say I feel that the carnival of death could have been better utilized. Adding descriptions to each of the performers would have been a big help because every time I showed up it was a gamble as to what I would see.
The stage I found most enjoyable was the Phantom Stage which was really just a nice auditorium where a bulk of the comedians performed. However, auditoriums have seating and air conditioning! So if you were looking for a place to take a break in between bands on the outdoor stages you could come here, have a seat, and cool off. Maybe find a new favorite comedian while you’re at it. When I first stumbled into the Phantom Stage I ended up being introduced to Arj Barker who ended up being hilarious and now I’m a fan. Who knew being a lazy fuck could pay off for once? However, I do want to mention that despite my immense love for the Phantom Stage the festival could have had a better system in place for ushering people in and out of the auditorium. People were allowed to come and go rather easily but most often people would instinctively head towards the front of the auditorium where there was no seating; thus disturbing people trying to enjoy the show. If the festival were to use this venue again it might be best to use some kind of queue system found at many comic conventions.
The two outside stages ran in typical festival fashion with food vendors in between them; allowing for optimal snacking during alternating sets. A much appreciated layout given that Festival Supreme had some fantastic food vendors present throughout the day. Heck, I was able to pick up a veggie dog on my way to see Cheech and Chong after just watching the State with no real effort whatsoever. It’s like the veggie dog just jumped into my mouth. Talk about convenience! Sure prices weren’t the best, but that’s standard for a festival; the fact that I could walk away with nachos that didn’t taste like utter dog shit no matter the price is still a win.
But enough about veggie dogs and nachos, let’s talk about the awesome performances that went down this weekend. I had a full list of acts I wanted to see and like any festival that list was quickly tossed to the wayside. I did, however, manage to catch my big 3 for the weekend: Kumail Nanjiani, Comedy Bang Bang with Scott Aukerman, and The Protomen. The highlight of those 3 might have been the Comedy Bang Bang podcast as they had both Zach Galifianakis and Adam Scott as previously unannounced special guests. The latter of which I have the biggest man crush on, so to see my king in the flesh was a pleasant surprise to say the least. Of course I was able to catch my favorite band, The Aquabats, put on another killer show. While it may have easily been the shortest Aquabats set I have seen to date it was also one of their tightest. With so little time available the band had no room for errors and it showed in their performance how aware they were of this fact. Even their usual stage banter was kept to a minimum.
Though one cannot deny that the best set that night belonged to that of the masterminds behind the whole festival, Tenacious D. Cramming as much as they could in their 40 minute performance they left the crowd wanting seconds and while I definitely could have handled more of the D sometimes you have be left aching for more. Hell, I got to see Weird Al jump on stage with the band for a song and somehow I still feel like I didn’t get enough. What kind of asshole am I? Clearly one raised in America. The band closed out their epic set with the classic, “fuck her gently”. I mean what else could they have ended their set with?
Then of course you have the headliners for the evening, Dethklok Metalocalypse who essentially melted everyone’s faces off. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve only seen a few random episodes here and there but what I have seen I enjoyed. So while not the biggest fan I respect the band simply because they’re fucking incredible musicians. They were easily the loudest act the whole day as I actually had to use my earplugs during their set (bite me). A nice touch was to see clips of the show playing on a screen in the background. It might seem like a small gesture but it definitely goes a long way.
Overall, Festival Supreme was an incredibly fun festival and one I would go to again. My only major qualm, other than the previously mentioned lack of a queue for the Phantom Stage, is that in the future perhaps the set times for the bands can be increased. At the very least the headliner should definitely go on longer than 40 minutes. Aside from that I can’t wait for the third incarnation!