Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, D-A-D, und The Raveonettes

D-A-D, formerly known as Disney After Dark, have been rocking my playlists since way back in 1990 when they released Riskin’ It All. I then listened back to the rest of the albums released by the Danish rock band, and immediately fell in love with their catchy choruses and power chords in the verses. They opened the show with I Want What She’s Got, and from the moment they played the first chords on their instruments, they had the audience on their side.
‘I look at my watch n’ look at my wrist, then I punch myself in the face with my fist’…as they sang these lyrics from Smart Boy Can’t Tell Ya, they encouraged the audience to join in, and as we sang it in the crowd over, and over again, the band picked up the pace, and launched right back into the song whilst we carried on singing along with them. They played through loads of their tracks from Behind the Seen, and Disn30land Af30r D30k, which was cool to hear, as it was one of their first live performances of the songs off the new album, and it went down really well. The entire production value of the show was great, from the lighting and sound, down to the musicians themselves. A really great show.

Last year, I did an interview with Sharin Foo - the female half of The Raveonettes - which actually turned out to be kind of pointless. The event it was due to promote - the Danish duo’s headline set at the Ja Ja Ja Nordic music festival at London’s Roundhouse - didn’t end up happening, because Sune Rose Wagner - Foo’s opposite number - failed to recover from appendicitis in time. It was a real shame, but part of me wondered just how fitting they were as headliners of a Scandinavian event; they hail from Denmark, of course, but their music is very much steeped in American influences, particularly The Velvet Underground. On their most recent record, Observator, they moved in a slightly poppier direction, but their achingly cool live shows remained largely unchanged; with a drummer fleshing out the lineup and in front of amps stamped with the slogan ‘RAVE ON’, they delivered quickfire sets that barely saw them stop for breath; there was little in the way of interaction with the crowd, but that didn’t stop them from achieving a genuinely intimate atmosphere when playing a handful of stripped-back acoustic cuts. As with their records, the bedrock of their sound is the uncanny way in which their voices work together; their harmonies really soar on stage. Ostensibly, the band are now working on a follow-up to Observator, but they might just be back sooner than you think...all I’m saying is watch this space.