Walking into the venue and being met with the opening act “Salarymen”, who set a calm and intimate tone immediately was surreal. Known for their own indie rock persona, I've since been drawn to their upbeat yet calming music. If I had to describe their sound, I would ask you to envision a summer evening barbeque and beer garden, surrounded by smiles. You know that warm happy feeling inside? I had no choice but to add them to my Spotify immediately after.
However, it wasn’t long before this calm energy was flipped entirely. Perhaps due to the crowd’s clear sense of loyalty to the band, who’s current tour marks a decade since their own breakthrough and continuous growth of popularity, the atmosphere was turned on its head, now electric, upbeat and full of life as a chorus of chants for “DMA” engulphed the NX.
"constantly dancing and interacting with the audience truly made the show worthwhile."
Situated just in front of Johnny Took (playing the acoustic and rhythm guitar), it was evident that the band held a certain charisma, constantly dancing and interacting with the audience truly made the show worthwhile.
Forming in 2012, Sydney, the band first were recognised for their single “delete” , leading to an upward spiral of hit after hit until in 2019 the band supported Liam Gallagher on his UK and Ireland tour
Citing influences and often compared to Bruce Springsteen, Oasis, The Stone Roses and more, DMAS had the audience captured immediately opening with their classic hit “Timeless”. Originally released in 2016, this song clearly brought nothing but nostalgia and joy the crowd as cheers swiftly erupted followed by some questionable dance moves. The most common questionable dance move was next on the set as it became apparent that the aim of this song was to see who could backbend the best as “lay down” led to a chorus of people leaning back simultaneously. As a first time DMA’s concert go-er, it was made apparent to me that it was either “lay down” or be taken out by the clearly avid fans.
"They continue to be the moment"
A similar evident love for the band was reflected through their song “Silver”, even with its poetically melancholic lyrics, the chorus had the crowd jumping in the pit, a strange mix of this saddened reminisce and an energetic joy transpired. Yet leaving the NX, it was clear that the DMAs aren’t just simply riding this wave of nostalgia, but they continue to be the moment.