In the midst of the Corona epidemic, D-A-D was forced to cancel a big arena show.
Making up for this, they booked a smaller venue tour (not that it was small though), which in Copenhagen consisted of four evenings as the Tivoli Concert Hall. As these shows were sold out in mere days, two more nights were quickly added. This review is of the first show of these six.

“Somewhere in the world there’s an election going on, so let’s party before it’s all fucked!”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

We’d certainly been without concerts and other entertainment for a long while, and what would be better than to start off a new season with Denmark’s darlings, D-A-D? I don’t know, you tell me.
It was a given that certain restrictions were in place. We had to use mouth guards when not seated (luckily, the merchandise booth sold some pretty stylish ones with the D-A-D logo), and the inside bar was only open after the show started, and because of legal reasons, open until 10 PM. More importantly though, no one was allowed to sing along or shout and cheer at the show - we were asked to clap extra loud, but that’s just not quite the same though, is it?
Honestly, the singing along part, as well as the cheering, wasn’t followed to a T, even though Tivoli’s guards were in place to calm the more rambunctious revelers. But we gave it an honest try, what could anyone except?

“This is our gift to you, so just sit back and enjoy - and don’t sing along!”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

When everyone had found their seats, and the lights went down in the room, a dour church bell sound filled the room, during which the band took the stage, and after which, they started the new title song, A Prayer For The Loud.
There were a few of the new songs played this evening, but the 19 songs strong setlist was mainly made up of classic live favourites, which was an excellent choice for the evening. A couple of personal favourites reared their heads in Black Crickets and the Monster Philosophy / Trucker mash-up, the latter a song which we haven’t heard since 2014, and the former not since 2011.
It was also fun to hear a snippet of Ill Will, which was requested by 14 year old Laust Sonne, during his Reconstrucdead drum solo.

“If this feels weird, just imagine that you’ve just bought a live DVD, and that you’re watching it at uncle drug dealer’s, and everything is fine.”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

It certainly was a different kind of experience, going to a concert with the implemented COVID-19 restrictions, and I won’t lie. Some of the fun went away from the show. Not being able to go to the frontline, not being able to properly headbang or generally rock out, not being able to (properly) sing along. It’s just not the same, is it?
On the other hand, D-A-D had the benefit of playing during COVID-19 in their back as well. None of us had been at a show for a long, long time, and thus we were very forgiving and accepting of what they provided.
The show wasn’t the liveliest we’ve ever seen, but it did deliver on all the fun that we’ve grown accustomed to, and to completely show our cards, we absolutely loved it!

“Laust, can you play the drum solo faser, but also longer? So it takes the same amount of time, but there’s more of it?”- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

D-A-D is, as they’ve been for a long time, a band experienced in the way of delivering an entertaining show, and nothing less was done this night. I can’t figure out why they didn’t change “Disneyland is closed” to “Tivoli is closed” though, in the foundational song It’s After Dark.
And if nothing else can lift your spirits, try making a drinking game out of the times you tell your friend / partner, that they’re not allowed to sing along (and vice versa of course) - I promise you, you’ll have a good, albeit unhealthy, time! Luckily, we’ve found out that Tivoli’s guards are helpful and kind - one even helped me out when I said the unfamiliar sentence; “Help, there’s a mouth guard in my eyes!”

Setlist:

A Prayer For The Loud
Jihad
Burning Star
Rim Of Hell
Nothing Ever Changes
Everything Glows
Grow Or Pay
Something Good
Black Crickets
The Sky Is Made Of Blues
Nineteenhundredandyesterday
No Doubt About it
Monster Philosophy / Trucker
Reconstrucdead / Ill Will
Bad Craziness
I Want What She’s Got
Sleeping My Day Away
Laugh ‘N’ A ½
It’s After Dark