Jutland’s, and more precisely Herning’s, big bet on sport and entertainment, the grand indoor stadium Boxen, celebrated its fifth anniversary, and for this occasion a special event had been created.
The famous stand-up comedian and impersonator Andreas Bo had been invited as compere and entertainer, the almost local band Inside The Whale had, for possibly one night only, been reunited, and as the grand finale, D-A-D had been invited to do something special.
As Boxen’s fifth anniversary almost coincided with the anniversary of the release of D-A-D’s Riskin’ It All album, it was decided that for this night only, this album would be played from start to finish, and it would be done so in the very stage setup that the band used back then. That means, the stage looked just like the living room depicted on the cover of the album, complete with a huge couch and lamps, and wallpaper backdrops on three sides of the stage.
Not surprisingly, this was not something we were prepared to slip by us, so together with a couple of friends we set out on a trip to the only mainland Denmark has to offer.

After Inside The whale and Andreas Bo had given what they could to warm the very mixed crowd up, it was time for the main event of the evening. I say main event, because even though the obvious reason for this happening was to celebrate the venue, the amount of people that took to the floor at this particular time told a telling tale of who people were here to see. Whether you were here in worn jeans and band t-shirt, or in the finest of suits with silk tie, you were still here to hear Denmark’s largest rock sensation, D-A-D.
And there is a reason for this, which is as simple as it is good – D-A-D knows how to cater for their audience, and create special moments. We have been privileged enough to visit quite a few of these, and were more than happy to be part of yet another one.
So, with anticipation as thick as the smell of beer in the air, the lights dimmed slightly up, and in walked Jacob ‘Cobber’ Binzer with a huge LP album replica in his hands, which he placed on the equally huge LP player next to the huge sofa. The album started spinning, the familiar noise of vinyl filled the speakers, and then we were off into the first part of the set, which consisted of the Riskin’ It All album.

The album was played from start to finish, with only one small alteration – Makin’ Fun Of Money and Down That Dusty 3rd World Road had changed position with each other. Why this was is not entirely clear, but the overall flow was good, and it didn’t bother anyone as far as I noticed.
During this part of the set, D-A-D delivered a few of their trademark alterations, such as lengthened drum and/or guitar noodling, but not so much that it hurt the flow of things. Neither did Jesper Binzer spend too much time talking, a few short remarks between songs was enough, and then we were quickly moving on to the next track. That this album didn’t become the huge hit that their then American label was hoping for is hard to understand today, as it is, with good right, considered one of the absolute top classics of the band. There are several songs here that they don’t usually play live, but which proved tonight that they could easily be put into any of D-A-D’s present day live sets, and I hope to hear many of them again in the future. Riskin’ It All was, and still is, a genuinely great hard rock album.

There was an obvious end to this part of the fun though, and as vinyl’s has harder limitations to time than the CD does, this end came quicker than I would have hoped. Still, these are the realities we live in.
D-A-D were far from finished though, and the same went for the audience. Next up was a mix of songs from the rest of the band’s long career, and it began much like the first part, with Cobber putting an album on the LP player (cool idea by the way).
Another fact of the age of vinyl, was that the A-side was reserved for songs with expected hit potential, whereas the B-side was the place for some more unexpected things, and possibly weaker, not as worked through material. I guess the idea of the labels was that fans were too lazy to go up and change sides, so you needed to put the A material on the side they were most likely to listen to first.
Doing a complete run-though of Riskin’ It All was definitely A-side material, showing that D-A-D had mastered the former idea, and were able to turn it into live entertainment gold, but as we hit the second set, we sadly saw that D-A-D also fell into some of the pits of the B-side idea. Time that could have been used to keep the momentum of the first set and give more of their rare diamonds, instead saw a band that jumped straight back into their comfort zone, delivering songs we’ve heard a million times before, and dragging them all down with too many and too long solo sections. Sure, these are live staples for a reason, well, most of them anyway, as they are good songs, but I was really hoping for something more inventive.

Still, with this creative setback, D-A-D delivered exactly what they were hired for, which was another unforgettable experience. I will always cherish seeing Riskin’ It All live, with the entire stage setup, the atmosphere, and all those great songs, and even when creativity had run dry in the band for the second half of the show, they still delivered in atmosphere and energy, and I highly doubt anyone left Boxen in any other state than sweaty and smiling.

Setlist:

A-side
Bad Craziness
D-Law
Day of Wrong Moves
Rock ‘N’ Rock Radar
Makin’ Fun Of Money
Down That Dusty 3’rd World Road
Grow Or Pay
Smart Boy Can’t Tell Ya’
Riskin’ It All
Laugh ‘N’ A ½

B-side
A New Age Moving In
Monster Philosophy
Everything Glows
Riding With Sue
I Want What She’s Got
Sleeping My Day Away
It’s After Dark