Date – 29th April, 2018. 

Words by Jordan Scott.

It’s an exciting time for Australia’s DMA’s, as they released their second album ‘For Now’ on Friday before embarking on a mostly sold out UK tour. They descended on the Northumbria Institute in Newcastle on Sunday night and powered through incredible set packed with fan favourites and exceptional cuts from their new record.

The striking thing about the night was how much the crowd has grown since their last trip to the North East in August 2017, with fans young and old swarming the packed out venue. The sense of raw anticipation filled the room before exploding into life when the band took to the stage, kicking off with ‘Feels Like 37’, which perfectly set the tone for the night.

They followed with the new single from their album of the same name, ‘For Now‘ which threw the crowd into further chaos, relieving any fear that the new tracks may not go down as well as their older material. They continue with a good mix of songs new and old, ‘Timeless’ ‘Dawning‘ and ‘Warsaw‘ being highlights mid set. New tracks ‘In The Air’ and ‘Time Money‘ getting some of the best receptions of the night, with O’Dell’s live vocals excelling on the latter.

The truly special moments of the night came when they brought down the pace, with fans climbing onto each other’s shoulders to belt out ballads like  ‘Delete’ ‘Step Up The Morphine’ and the anthemic ‘Emily Whyte’. 

After a brief break the band returned to the stage with singer Tommy O’Dell holding his pint in the air before exclaiming to the crowd “I know it’s a Sunday, but come on!” before launching into their final songs of the evening.  The band close the night with the irrepressible ‘Lay Down’ – one of the highlights of their 2016 debut album ‘Hills End’ giving the crowd one last chance to go mad.

It’s clear that the DMA’s have tapped into something special, and at risk of using the tiresome Oasis comparison, they seem to ignite an excitement similar to that of the Mancunian heroes, and it looks like it’s only going to get bigger and bigger. See DMA’s remaining UK dates below:

TUE 01 May 2018
London O2 Forum Kentish Town

WED 02 May 2018
Brighton Concorde 2

FRI 04 May 2018
Cardiff Tramshed

MON 07 May 2018 
Cambridge Junction

TUE 08 May 2018
Norwich Waterfront

WED 09 May 2018
Leeds Beckett Students Union

THU 10 May 2018
Oxford O2 Academy

MON 21 May 2018
Bristol O2 Academy

TUE 22 May 2018
Glasgow Barrowlands

WED 23 May 2018
Dunfermline Alhambra Theatre

FRI 25 May 2018
Birmingham O2 Institute

SAT 26 May 2018
Sheffield Plug

 

 Review by Jordan Scott, you can follow Jordan on twitter here.