D-A-D was doing a very special show in Vega, which was to be filmed and used in a movie.
Well, the filming plan fell through, but D-A-D still showed up to play the show, and of course the fans showed up to see it.

“Laust, do you know what you’re going to do tomorrow?”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

“Oh my, yes indeed!”
- Laust Sonne (drums/backing vocals)

“Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think he’s going to do?!”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

“Sleep!”
- Crowd (additional vocals)

There was no support band for the evening, so D-A-D were supposed to go straight on and rock us out of the room!
Well, somehow, they didn’t take the stage until more than half an hour after the announced time anyway, but then..!

D-A-D opened the show with a carnival sounding intro, after which the band members burst onto the stage and threw themselves, and the rest of us, straight into Riskin’ It All. Already from the start, there was a tremendous energy coming from the band, more so than I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe it was the song choice, maybe it was pent up energy from not having been on the road for a while, or maybe it was the more intimate location - if you can call a sold out large venue at Vega intimate. Whatever it was, it was working!
The energy was kept up as D-A-D quickly shot Burning Star, Jihad, and Written In Water at us, and it was thought he momentum just kept building. Unaccustomed to the band, Jesper Binzer didn’t say much, or anything during this time. It was straight from one song to the next, and the uninterrupted music fed the vibe in the room.

“We’re very lucky to have Laust in the band, who’s a hundred years younger than the rest of us!”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

“Two hundred years!”
- Laust Sonne (drums/backing vocals)

Later, Jesper Binzer did speak a bit, but nowhere near as much as we’re used to, and apart from the well-known Jesper/Laust banter leading up to Laust Sonne’s drum solo, he didn’t stick with the usual, scripted comments either. Instead, he made present comments on the crowd and on this specific gig, among other things mentioning that he had thought this to be the very first time D-A-D played this venue, which would have been something quite extraordinary, but apparently the band had played a couple or three songs at a benefit show here at some point in the past (as far as I can tell, this was back in 2005). Still rather impressive, given how much this band tours.
There were also some comments on how old the band was, and in bringing some of their oldest tracks back on stage, they’d had to rely on the expertise of Sonne, who not only knew the music best, but was also the only one who remembered the lyrics.
Of course, the band didn’t keep up the initial break neck speed during the entire concert; songs like A Prayer For The Loud and Soft Dogs took the tempo down a notch, but overall this was a more rocking set than we’ve seen for years from this band as well, and I liked it. They mentioned this being somewhat of a trial run for their gig at Copenhell the month after, so that made sense. Not sure if it will be the exact same setlist, but I’m hopin the energy stays intact.

“God damnit Laust, kill those drums!”
- Jesper Binzer (vocals/guitar)

“God damnit Laust, kill those drums!”
- Crowd (additional vocals)

That much mentioned energy wasn’t just emanating from the band however, as the room as a whole rocking out, breaks thrown out the window. The balcony was a little lighter than the floor, as one would expect, but there was still plenty of singing going on.
On the floor however, people were singing, dancing, and jumping. They were pumping their fists in the air, and they were swallowing beer by the gallons. I’d been a bit worried going in, because the attitude had seemed a bit stiff, with people very protective of the spot they’d secured, but once the band started playing, all of this evaporated in an instance.
Apart from the initial roar of pleasure heard when the band hit the stage, there was an equally loud shout when Jacob ‘Cobber’ Binzer slid into Call Of The Wild with a tasty slide guitar.
Singing was, as always, a big part of the crowd participation, and there were several songs that got the old audience application - Jihad, Bad Craziness, It’s After Dark; these were just some of the tracks where we got to sing on our own.

The concert lasted a bit over one and a half hour, and included two drum solo bits, in Marlboro Man and I Won’t Cut My Hair, and two main extended guitar solos from Cobber, in Grow Or Pay and Sleeping My Day Away.
These one and a half hours were pretty much pure rock delight from start to finish, and I have to deem this the best D-A-D concert in many years.

Setlist:

Riskin’ It All
Burning Star
Jihad
Written In Water
A Prayer For The Loud
Marlboro Man
Everything Glows
Soft Dogs
Call Of The Wild
Grow Or Pay
Riding With Sue
Helpyourselfish
Monster Philosophy
Rim Of Hell
Bad Craziness
Evil Twin
I Won’t Cut My Hair
Sleeping My Day Away
It’s After Dark