It is a fact, D.I.D are back: back with a new album, back on stage, back in our lives. And it is in an extremely packed room at the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston on Friday when the indie band from Nottingham performed the first show of their short UK tour, marking their highly awaited comeback.

In a warm blue light, under the cheers of the crowd, the five members of the band appeared on stage almost a year after their last date in London. Yet, everything looked unchanged, as if the band had never “gone”. Opening the night with ‘Flush’, a title from their second studio album released on Friday morning, The State We’re In, D.I.D spent the night mixing old and new tracks. And whether the songs were from the band’s 2012 All Our Favourite Stories album or their newest release, the audience reaction remained the same: they were singing every single lyric along with lead singer Rob Milton. In harmony with the energy shared by the jumping and dancing crowd, D.I.D played ‘Do The Right Thing’, ‘Fast Food’, ‘Two Devils’, ‘The State We’re In’ and many others songs, and even offered their fans an unusual jazzy moment with bassist and saxophone player Trev Cole becoming the band’s frontman for an instant. The crowd cheering and chanting Trev’s name after the song let the band know that we wanted more of these saxophone moments that night. And this is when the first notes of one of D.I.D’s most famous songs resonated in the venue. If the happy energy had already filled the room, it reached its apogee when ‘Glockenspiel Song’ started. The song that have become an anthem for many fans around the world brought people to another level of excitement that would not leave them for the rest of the night. “We are a mess, we are failures, and we love it!”

Later on, announcing that the time for the last song had come – before the encores – the band struggled to start playing as the whole room was chanting, screaming the name of the song they wanted to hear next. As it was not the one planned by the band, Rob slowly said, smiling: “we never said we’re not coming back…” And they did very shortly after leaving the stage. Starting the encores with a quieter new song, D.I.D brought band some of the fans present in the room’s all time favourite ‘Teenage Daughter’. Fans being carried on their friends’ shoulders, fans dancing, fans dancing, fans kissing: this songs brought everyone into an episode of happiness that would be carried onto the time of the last song of the night. The song everyone had been waiting for since the first time they heard it live months ago had arrived. The first notes were played, the audience shared an excited scream making all five members of the band. It was time for ‘Killer Whale’, a song that could probably become a new anthem for the band’s fans. “All you need to understand is that we want something for the future as we got nothing from the past.”

Under the applauses and cheers of the crowd, the band left the stage with a big smile on their faces. As per usual, they were waiting to meet their fans inside and outside of the venue, in order to keep on sharing that moment which started an hour before, or even years before. Indeed, earlier that night, the band shared the fact that this December would mark the band’s 10th anniversary. Over 10 years, a lot has happened to this band from Nottingham, but let’s hope that the next decade will be as good for the band, if not better! Right now, one thing is left to be said: Welcome back, D.I.D!

Emilie Herman
@emiliehrrmnn