Gig review | DMA’s have Manc in their DNA, whether they know it or not

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Yes, we saw the crowds in Brixton, Leeds and so on, and they were also box office, no doubt – and we’re sure there’s plenty of bias coming in here – but DMA’s final night in Manchester was just magnificent on every level.

Still managing to bring a real Friday feeling even though it was a Sunday night following the protracted Valentine’s celebrations, when most were already dreading the inevitable Monday blues (morning, all), it felt like the perfect way to close out a weekend with everyone’s first love: music.

During a period when we’re all encouraged to be a little bit more sincere and spread pure positivity, seeing the sea of happy, smiling faces watching DMA’s on night two at the O2 Victoria Warehouse was just the injection we needed.

For starters, you can’t ask for much more than getting to hear not only Hills End from start to finish but ‘Lay Down’ live twice in one night. The limbs were just as mad the second time around, if not even more.

To quote a fan speaking in the comments under this video, for some, it was beyond good: “The best gig I’ve been to in my 45 years on this planet”, apparently.

Quite the bold statement, and while we’re not sure we’re quite ready to be so superlative just yet, hearing them play their debut album from cover to cover on its 10th anniversary did make for a perfect set and an “unreal night” as we’ve heard and seen so many remark in the hours since the gig.

One person wrote, “If the next album is good, these will be absolutely huge”, while another declared that they’re “the greatest on Earth” already.

Whatever point on the scale you land on, pretty much everyone almost universally agrees that their first record is still their best, even with all the bangers they’ve put out since.

One of the best moments of the entire nostalgia trip was when they bookended the show with ‘Timeless’ and played their usual extended outro with multiple repetitions of the chorus and a proper breakout, letting their instruments do the talking in a fast, frenetic flurry as the crowd thrashed around.

DMAs never let you down when it comes to a performance, and neither do Manc crowds.

One of those where you saw way more arms in the air than phones. (Credit: Audio North)

And maybe that’s just it, as far as bands that come to this region and do well, the Sydney trio are one of the VERY best, vouched for by pretty much every mate and regular gig-goer whose opinion you trust implicitly; you can certainly add us onto that list.

Maybe it’s somehow to do with some of those Melbourne roots, too, as we’ve often heard the parallels drawn between the two cities, and they even asked if there was anyone in from ‘Melbs’ between songs – there was a notable cheer – or maybe it’s just some kind of uncalculable magic we can’t understand.

Either way, besides the ongoing rise of Aussie rock and Anzac bands doing very well around the UK in general, there is something very special about this particular indie outfit’s connection with the North West and Manchester, specifically.

Johnny, Tommy and Matt have all themselves cited it as a ‘second home’ throughout their career, having hit the ground running and finding a cult following here right from the off.

In fact, they admitted that the full touring band still regularly flies into Manchester first whenever they’re heading to the UK. Love that.

‘Olympia’ and ‘Silver’ were also big standouts beyond the Hills End part of the setlist. (Credit: The Manc)

Perhaps labelling them part of the ‘Britpop revival’ is a bit reductive, but it certainly hasn’t done them any harm thus far, and conversely, it’s definitely done them plenty of favours here in Greater Manchester.

They’re not just adopted Brits who understand our history as a nation of audiophiles; they get our crowds and this city’s culture down to a tee.

Put simply, either through blind luck or divine intervention from the music gods, DMA’s are Mancs by proxy, and whether or not that means anything to them, it sure as sh*t means a whole lot to us.

Here’s to HE10, and we can’t wait for the next celebration in whatever form it comes.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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