Concert Review - DMA's, Auckland New Zealand, 2017

DMA’s

20th October 2017
The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Connor Crawford.

It’s Friday night. It’s Friday night, and it’s a long weekend. The combination of the two factors meaning that the crowd this evening are fired up and looking to get loose to the sweet sounds of the Aussie based trio the DMA’S.

But before the boys who would sound more at home on the streets of Manchester than their home town of Sydney grace the stage it’s the chance for some of the hottest NZ talent around to regale the crowd with their post-punk sounds. Emerging on the scene in 2015 and with two EP’s under their belt, the four piece who played Laneway Festival earlier this year (one of the youngest bands to ever do so!) already have a dedicated following, many of whom were making their presence felt tonight. While they were missing resident drummer James Thorrington, Elijah did an excellent job filling in for him; lead singer Christian Dimmick pointing out that he was “killin it” and that if only Elijah would allow it he would “kiss you on the mouth”; nothing like a bit of sweet band love. For a young band they certainly have it together, naturally looking quite comfortable on stage and Dimmicks’ vocals having a maturity to them which easily sets them apart from other bands in their age range. While their set may have been short, it certainly hit the mark; highlight track of the evening coming in the form of ‘Vietnam Man’ from their self-titled Debut EP.

With the beers flowing freely, the growing crowd soon became a little restless, eager to get the night started; one of the local roadies providing some comic relief while testing out the stage equipment, enthusiastically conveying how good the microphone was sounding and diligently “tuning” the tambourine.

A gust of much welcomed cold air from behind side of stage signaled the DMA’s entrance, the crowd roaring in delight as guitarist Johnny Took was the first to appear, acoustic guitar slung over his chest and glass of red wine in hand. Lead vocalist Tommy O’Dell quickly followed and with just the barest of nods to the crowd got straight down to business, opening track ‘So We Know’ prompting the first big sing a long of the night. At first it appeared that the band were missing a member, while normally a trio, the DMA’S do travel with a three piece backing band, one of whom many would recognise as fellow kiwi Joel Flyger of the Popstrangers. However it was Matt Mason that was notably missing from the stage – thankfully he turned up a few bars into the song, his entrance celebrated by the fans.

The DMA’S (for those wondering its pronounced dee-em-ayes) may only have the one studio album under their belt so far – the highly acclaimed Hill’s End – but that hasn’t stopped them from quickly becoming the darlings of the festival circuits overseas. With a sound that is so often likened to supergroup Oasis (thanks mainly in part to O’Dells’ very Britpop sounding vocals – something that comes naturally to him thanks to his English parents) it is of no surprise that they slot into international line-ups with ease, gathering a cult like following as they go.

Three songs in and the crowd gets a healthy dose of the deep raspy backing vocals of Mason on ‘Straight Dimensions’, the addition of which just adds to the song’s depth. O’Dell who often steps back away from the microphone to have a good shakedown with his tambourine is quite the fascinating vocalist to watch as he permanently chews gum, an ability that is really quite impressive considering the calibre of the resulting clear vocals emerging from his mouth. After a rowdy version of ‘Too Soon’ which had the crowd fully invested in a pogo session on the carpeted floor of The Tuning Fork, O’Dell spoke for the first time “Thanks very much, we’re the DMA’S from Sydney” – the normal New Zealand rivalry reaction of booing anything related to Australia being forgotten tonight, the crowd instead screaming their praises of the cap and jacket wearing singer. “This is our new song” O’Dell advised the crowd and with that the band launched into their latest track ‘In The Air’ a nice little low key number that will presumably make it onto their highly anticipated second album due for release early next year.

While many of their songs do have a similarity between them, that 90’s English sound coming through loud and clear, it is that linear component to their sets that makes them work so well; it pulls the listener into the zone as such, allowing them to relax and just allow the music to carry them away; every so often raising the tempo and rarking them up into a frenzy before pulling them back into that chilled out glazed vibe once again. Making their way through the set, the trio remain poker faced throughout, Mason especially pulling off the ‘don’t give a fuck’ jawline with ease; even when standing at the edge of the stage and brandishing his guitar at the crowd causing them to lose it completely. O’Dell does however break that po-faced look towards the end of the night as he thanks the crowd for their enthusiasm, giving them all an outstretched double thumbs up. What he won’t give them however is their cover version of Cher’s ‘Believe’ despite the desperate pleas of a group of fans directly in front of him.

By the time the popular ‘Delete’ makes an appearance the audience have turned into a heaving wall of bodies, dotted with a few shoulder riding fans; beer bottles held high. The DMA’S joining them on the Friday night drinks bandwagon as the lagers flowed freely. Finishing on ‘Laced’ it was no surprise to anyone that the band would come back for an encore, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t going to show their appreciation for what they had just witnessed by demanding one anyway. The three song encore whipping everyone present into one of the most “Rock n Roll” crowds (to quote one fan down the front) that the Tuning Fork has ever witnessed. With another quick double thumbs up O’Dell was gone, leaving Mason and Took to play out the set instrumentally, the boys giving it their all with dead pan expressions before they left the stage to be washed in a sea of feedback.

Nice.

DMA’s

Yukon Era:

Were you there at The Tuning Fork for this high energy concert? Or have you seen the DMA’s perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!