Having seen DMA’s this year already, I thought that feeling of seeing them for the first time was lost. However, it seems DMA’s have a special knack for getting a crowd going! A strong opener to the gig with “Play It Out”; a familiar guitar riff to start that had any previous DMA’s listeners shouting the lyrics at the top of their lungs, and all fresh ears perked and head bobs plentiful.
The energy didn’t stop, as the band followed up with favourites like “Dawning” and “In The Air”; songs perfect for crowd sing-alongs without that cringe, cheese-room, ‘I’ve had one too many VK’s’ vibe, but more of a ‘raise your hands and shout louder than the band’ kind of vibe.
Next some personal favourites followed, like “Melbourne” and “Timeless”, as well as new favourites, with “Warsaw”. I usually find with gigs that it can be difficult to keep energy consistent without feeling totally drained at some point so that by the end, you are completely without both energy and voice. However, given the style of DMA’s’ sound, the setlist had the crowd maintaining a constant energy that is hard to create. No song went by where everyone in the crowd wasn’t bobbing their heads or singing their hearts out. I think the band maintain great rhythm throughout their songs and are perfect for those like me who just need a good head nod that can’t be helped.
The setlist had a great balance of fan favourites and introductions to new favourites from their more recent albums. However, a standout moment for me was “Delete”. I think this is one of those moments in a gig where you know that everyone is feeling the exact same thing – there’s no-one looking round for their mates trying to ask which song it is, or anyone taking the time to nip to the bar. Instead everyone is either singing word-for-word or listening intently for the first time, too engulfed in the soft balance between acoustic guitar and perfect vocals to question anything.
Ending the entire set with “Lay Down” was a flawless move and left the crowd on an incredible high, with people dancing as though there was no-one watching and singing so loud you could hear vocal chords breaking. By the end of the night, I was straight back on Ticketmaster finding the next available gig for this Australian trio.
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