D-A-D

support The Floor Is Made Of Lava
author MST date 07/04/12 venue NRGi Arena, Århus, DEN

After a week containing plenty of metal gigs, Marika 'MH' Hyldmar and I suddenly found ourselves in a very, very different setting. Denmark's finest rock band had come to Århus, and after having been a fan for years as well as having reviewed the band's latest offering I felt it was time to see D-A-D live again. Compared to the metal shows we usually go to, there's a lot less hair at a D-A-D concert, and enough perfume make one's head dizzy. Indeed, D-A-D are a mainstream rock band and enjoy recognition from a wide variety of people. And not without reason.

The Floor Is Made Of Lava

Upon entering the venue slightly later than expected due to some issues with the photopass, we found that The Floor Is Made Of Lava had just started their supporting set. Banners had been set up in front of D-A-D's drumset and TFIMOL's drumset had been set up in front of the banners. A big mass of people had gathered around the platform attached to the stage, but by the looks of it they had assembled there to secure a good spot for headliners, because TFIMOL received very little response from the audience. Perhaps the band's more serious approach to rock was too different from D-A-D's fun music. TFIMOL definitely looked uncomfortable on stage, as if they weren't used to playing without getting recognition from the audience. The music was generally well played as far as I could hear, and vocalist Tobias Kippenberger sang with passion, but as performances go there was very little going on. Kippenberger would occasionally ascend the monitor for a climax in his lyrics, and guitarist Lars Rock danced his way out onto the platform during a solo, but other than that it was a pretty standard execution of their songs without much regard to performing. Or perhaps I'm just too used to energetic performances from the type of bands I usually review..

6

D-A-D

At last the mighty D-A-D ascended the stage. The band looked ready to put on a good performance, and the audience were screaming and ready to receive one. Opening with "A New Age Moving In" from the new record, the band got the party properly started. D-A-D is a constellation of musicians with very different on-stage personalities: Laust Sonne on the drums is a powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm; lead guitarist Jacob Binzer wanders around subtly, looking very reserved about his guitar playing; Stig Pedersen walks around in tight outfits with one of his many custom two-string basses, climbs the drumset and sings while keeping an old-school glam-like feminine appearance; and last but not least, the other Binzer brother Jesper on rhythm guitars and lead vocals attempts to stare into the eyes of every single person in the crowd while waving his hands and arms around, and when the music is doing its thing without vocals he makes sure to stay in the background to let the attention fall upon the rest of the band.

Racing through a setlist of classics like "Jihad", "Bad Craziness" and "Everything Glows", really old songs like "Riding With Sue" and "God's Favourite" and quite a few new songs (the new record is still being promoted) like "Last Time In Neverland" and "I Want What She's Got", the band entertained the hell out of a screaming crowd. From prolonged guitar solos to a rocket helmet and the drum set being driven out onto the platform to be elevated to an almost vertical level accompanied by sing-alongs, the show was chock full of entertainment. After the first mandatory encore, the band returns to play a second encore consisting of the band's ultimate ballad, "Laugh 'N' A ½", and the eternal closer, "It's After Dark". D-A-D are an immensely professional live band, and their performance in Århus was particularly rewarding. Hoping for another success, I'm looking forward to seeing the band for the fourth time at Wacken Open Air this year.



Setlist:

  • A New Age Moving In
  • Jihad
  • The End
  • Everything Glows
  • Lords of the Atlas
  • Monster Philosophy
  • Reconstrucdead
  • Riding With Sue
  • Last Time In Neverland
  • Grow or Pay
  • We All Fall Down
  • I Want What She's Got
  • God's Favourite
  • Bad Craziness
  • --Encore--
  • The Place Of The Heart
  • Sleeping My Day Away
  • --Encore #2--
  • Laugh 'N' A ½
  • It's After Dark

More photos from the show can be found in Marika 'MH' Hyldmar's album on her Flickr profile.

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