For who knows what time, D-A-D was again part of the Grøn Koncert line-up. You know what that means? Sun, beer, open air - and Metalmoments present, to take the pulse on the show!
This time was no different…

“God damn it all to Hell, Amager!”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

And yet, it was different. Most notably, D-A-D wasn’t headlining the event. If it was by their own design or not, one cannot say.
Neither were they displaying anything special when it came to the stage construction, nor any new instruments. For a band known for showing up with creative, massive, and playful stage designs, a completely scraped stage, with the exception of a Marshall line and four LCD screens, seemed a bit underwhelming. Likewise, bassist Stig Pedersen, who had prior to the show gone on social media to advertise a new bass of his, didn’t actually use said bass in the show. Paraphernalia to some, I suppose, but for a band which has built much of its status as something to behold live through the use of exaggerated visuals, this was a surprising turn of events, to say the least.

Still, what’s most important is the performance of the band members, right. Also here, D-A-D has cemented themselves as people who know how to bring that certain extra spark, which has for so long set them apart from the throng of common artists. And yet, also here it was a strangely stripped down D-A-D that met us on the sunny stage on Tiøren, Amager, for the first Grøn Koncert of the year.
It’s not that they were without antics, but they were fewer and further between than usual. And again, it all seemed strangely familiar - moves, comments, audience interactions - it’s like we’d seen them all before.

“I’m going to ask you a rhetorical question. Do you want to hear a new D-A-D song?!”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

There were some new things, like the attire of the band. When it came to Jacob ‘Cobber’ Binzer, we saw the smallest change, having only a different shirt on, and skipping the vest. Jesper Binzer had gone in a slightly more rock’n’roll’ish direction, sporting a denim vest with patches on (patches for D-A-D and his self-titled solo project). Laust Sonne had a new and colourful suit on, and yet none of them, combined even could match Pedersen - as usual, I should add. Pedersen was wearing what can only be described as a pink Converse bodystocking - not his most outrageous costume ever, but certainly up there in the creative sense.
There was also the part in the performance, during the unavoidable Laust Sonne chant in I Want What She’s Got, where Jacob Binzer disappeared from the stage, only to reemerge moments later on top of a container out in the middle of the crowd, playing there for the rest of the song. After this, Jesper joined him, and the brothers performed their Laugh ‘N’ A ½ duet on top of the container, albeit without the added solo parts that have accompanied the song as of late.
Lastly, there was the part of the setlist, where D-A-D debuted a new song. The style was in their familiar rock fashion, there wasn’t an immediate hook, and we never got a title for it. Maybe it doesn’t have one yet? So far, it was neither good nor bad - it’ll take some repeated listens to classify it as the one or the other. The rest of the setlist was almost painfully familiar, containing nothing but live staples which have been used and abused for longer than we can remember. The songs themselves aren’t bad (except for I Want What She’s Got, I’d love to see that changed, the sooner the better), but just a tad of thinking outside the box would be nice at this point.

Different, and yet not different, that could easily be the headline of this show. Minor details were changed, btu on the whole, this was D-A-D exactly as we’ve seen them a million times before. They’re a great band, and they’re still enjoyable to watch, but I honestly think we are allowed to hope for a bit more than this from their side. This was D-A-D without imagination, and that’s the worst thing this band can be without.
Pull it together boys, we know you can.

Setlist:

Evil Twin
Jihad
Rim Of Hell
New Song (unnamed)
Everything Glows
Riding With Sue
Grow Or Pay
Monster Philosophy
I Want What She’s Got
Laugh ‘N’ A ½
Bad Craziness
Sleeping My Day Away