Events and Reports - D:A:D - Live At Tobakken, Esbjerg - October 14th, 2005
Written by Tommy

The popular Danish Hard Rock band D:A:D played Esbjerg city three nights in a row, the last two days were completely sold out and it was on the second gig on Friday that Steen and I visited Tobakken to see if the band still got it going.
I mostly blame bad luck for the fact that the band never really made it big outside Denmark or at least outside Northern Europe and Japan. Their energetic and at times humorous Hard Rock is so unique and wonderful that it's a shame not more people know about their music.
They have nevertheless never failed to pay attention to their home country where their popularity has always been huge and tonight was no exception.
The show opened with Lawrence Of Suburbia from their latest disc Scare Yourself, I find the song a bit static and would have liked a number of other starters, but you can't kill that massive groove.

The No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims album was well represented this evening, first up were Isn't That Wild, which brought a nice positive atmosphere to the beginning of the show, while Point Of View was not quite as excitable. The mega hit Sleeping My Day Away rocked hard and Overmuch kicked major ass, especially thanks to Jacob's ultra mean riffing and the thrilling drum solo by Laust. nice move with the moveable drum kit by the way.



This was nevertheless no way near the promotion they choose to give their new album, 9 out of 11 songs got thrown towards the audience, which was a bit too much.
The most successful ones included a heavy version of the title track, Allright featuring some dynamic two-way guitar action, the energetic Unexplained and Camping In Scandinavia with cool sing-a-long participation.

As always bassist Stig brought his special extravagance to the gig, a show in the show so to speak. Were it his rocket formed two string bass, Zorro like costume or big helmet with additional fireworks coming out of it.I wouldn't have a D:A:D show without it. More importantly I was really happy with the cool tight bass performance and the prominent weight the bass was giving, overall the sound was very clear but it could have been an inch louder.

I liked the Soft Dogs and Everything Glows albums quite a lot. They represented a calmer vibe for large parts but were still very good albums. Soft Dogs with its catchy chorus line and the warm and cosy Something Good were some of the highlights for me this evening and also to a lot of the crowd that really joined in on these songs.

My two personal favourite albums, Helpyourselfish and Bad Craziness, were sadly quite overlooked this Friday. Reconstructdead saw the addition of a really heavy banger to the set, smoking with thick guitars and gloomy vocals. Making Fun Of Money was a great surprise in the show and was given a tight drum handling while one of the coolest party rockers of all time, Bad Craziness, brought a smile on a lot of faces, unfortunately it somehow lacked a more powerful foundation.

The most advanced passage in the show came when Laust sat down beside the piano and started performing Hate To Say I Told You So with only Jesper on vocals. This gave this melodic song a whole new meaning and worked splendidly. I have always adored the unique combination of harmony and rawness that lies in Jesper's voice and a song like this one really made it shine.

Towards the end the crowd shouted for It's After Dark, it wouldn't really be the same feeling without it. Luckily the band met the demands and played a cool version of this vintage classic.



I really enjoyed the way the band interacted, being able to step outside the routine and add something unexpected to the set. It may look very easy when Jacob plays his guitar but his special groovy and playful style demands more skill than one might think, the way his solos twist and turns make them highly interesting all the way through.

This was surely value for your money and a very good concert, 2 hours and 15 minutes, 23 songs, a band in fine form and as expected some cool comic quotes from Jesper, who had the crowd on his side right from the start.


Setlist:

1. Lawrence of Suburbia
2. A Good Day (To Give It Up)
3. Isn't That Wild
4. Point Of View
5. Scare Yourself
6. Soft Dogs
7. Home Alone 5
8. Something Good
9. Allright
10. Making Fun Of Money
11. Reconstructdead
12. Riding With Sue
13. Hate To Say I Told You So
14. Hey Now
15. Everything Glows
16. Sleeping My Day Away
17. Bad Craziness
18. Unexplained
19. Camping In Scandinavia
20. The Road Below Me
21. Overmuch
22. Little Addict
23. It's After Dark


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All pictures taken by Steen
Written by Tommy
Sunday, December 4, 2005



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RevelationZ Comments


Comment by Rune M (Anonymous) - Thursday, December 8, 2005
Nice review... was there myself and enjoyed it very much.
One note by the way: The album with Sleeping My Day Away is called "No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims", and not "No Sleep...".


Comment by Tommy (Member) - Friday, December 9, 2005
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Comments: 74
Ratings: 31
Hey Rune.

First off, thanks.
And of course you are right, I mixed that up, I'll correct it. I guess I should try getting some more sleep ;)

Tommy
RevelationZ Magazine

Posted by Tommy
Friday, December 9, 2005






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