Jack Black comedy and a doll queue

Jack Black is breaking out of Kong-dom for two comedy gigs in New Zealand next month.

He and Kyle Gass - his partner in rock-comedy duo Tenacious D - are performing in Wellington and Auckland in the last week of December, presumably after he wraps up his role as Carl Denham in Peter Jackson's King Kong.

The pair started out with their act 10 years ago in Los Angeles.

As well as dividing their time between comedy clubs, opening for rock acts and Black's increasingly high-profile movie career, they released one album in 2002 and followed it last year with a double DVD, The Complete Masterworks.

The album, which parodied metal and prog-rock excesses with guest appearances by the likes of Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, got them a New Zealand hit with the track Tribute.

The pair play at the Westpac St James in Wellington on Monday December 27 and the St James in Auckland the following night. Tickets go on sale on Friday.

Another strange American musical pair are also headed this way. The Dresden Dolls , the Boston duo - yes another two-person band - of pianist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione, bring their gothic chamber-rock to the Kings Arms on Monday, December 13. Tickets on sale from Monday.

Also touring next month is Aussie Pete Murray, the chisel-jawed singer-songwriter who became a success across the Tasman after injuries put an end to his promising rugby career. The Brisbane-born heartbreaker behind the hit So Beautiful will play the Studio on December 2.