DMA'SDMA'S have graduated to much bigger headline shows and with their knack for memorable songwriting and dedication to cultivating great atmosphere at their shows, this success is well deserved. Not to mention the fact that they are selling out big venues all over Australia and England.
Tonight was definitely a night to remember for young Brisbane singer Hatchie, aka Harriette Pilbeam, who opened the night on the back of a lot of radio airplay and hype for her light and airy dream pop. While the live sound was reasonably solid, the use of backing tracks wasn't ideally managed. The recorded harmonies weren't perfectly replicated, which affected the live show, even though her guitarist (who people may recognise as Joe Agius from The Creases) chimed in with some lower register backing vocals. Perhaps the addition of a female backing vocalist or backing singer-guitarist could help?
But the general sound was still more than reasonable. Opening with Try was bold as the band threw out their best-known number at the start, but Sleep - towards the end - also sounded solid. All in all, Pilbeam and co's clear vocals and ethereal guitar effects sound nice enough, but the sum of the whole could be improved with some high end in the harmonies and greater cohesiveness in the mix.
DMA'S were clearly determined to create a big atmosphere from the outset. Lead singer Tommy O'Dell sounded great and his movement on stage has become more and more confident with experience. Due to this live band now-expanded line-up, there was a huge wall of sound and crackling distortion that took the overall vibe of the show up another level when compared to their last two headline shows in this state. This, combined with the silhouettes cast by the big arena lighting and the overall stadium-rock feel of the show, resulted in a rich ambience and the feeling that we were watching one of the defining Australian bands of our era in full swing.
When they brought out their breakthrough hit Delete, the emotion in the room seemed to peak, but new song Dawning is perhaps the best of the latest material, even though slow ballad In The Air has a wonderful opening riff and For Now feels like a more authentic snapshot of Oasis in their peak. As odd is that could sound in many other contexts, in this case, they simply make it work. Since The Strokes dropped their debut EP years ago, few bands have made sounding derivative as cool as DMA'S.
Play It Out and Lay Down remain their most anthemic live songs and the capacity for these tracks to capture an audience is simply something to behold. As big as Powderfinger, Grinspoon and Jebediah in their heyday, there is something magnetic about this band that has led them to pack out shows all over the world and win the acclaim of the arguable architect of their sound, Liam Gallagher.
With the big hits coming in the latter half of the set, the show was perfectly paced as a big arena-rock show, with plenty of ambient jams, big guitar effects, charismatic stage energy, singalong ballads and, above all, some timelessly catchy tracks. The legacy of DMA'S will stay on in the minds of many on the basis of shows like this.
