Good music but lacking stage presence
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4
When DMA’s took the stage at Guildhall on the 6th, they were not what I expected. We had been treated to two amazing support acts, Mia Wray and Stone, both acts brought charisma and high energy to the buzzing crowd and made us more excited for the headliner. However, while watching DMA’s performance, I was a little underwhelmed.
Don’t get me wrong, the music was played well, Johnny Took and Matt Mason clearly know their way around the fret board and Tommy O’Dell’s vocals do impress but I did feel that the band didn’t radiate passion for their music. The boys stepped on the stage, all in caps covering their faces and the stage went black between each song, it felt as if they were reluctant to reveal much to the crowd.
Fan favourite ‘In The Air’ proved very popular as the crowd sang along loudly and copied O’Dell when he approached them and put his hands in the air. ‘Fading Like A Picture’ from their new album had Took jumping as the crowd as the crowd clapped. When the band played ‘Delete’ it had a slightly different vibe as the backing artists removed themselves from the stage so it was just Mason, took and O’Dell playing. Took carried this song with his acoustic guitar playing to the crowd while Mason sat away from the crowd, looking almost a little dazed before looking down at this guitar and strumming slowly. ‘Lay Down’ appeared to also be a fan favourite with the crowd reaction causing even Mason to crack a smile.
Via Milo Hutchinson
Took did most of the talking to the crowd, thanking them saying “we love you, you’ve changed our fucking lives” but for this most part, the band played stoically, mostly emotionless and focused on the music. Even when O’Dell approached the crowd arms wide open, it was not with a smile.
For me, I’m not so sure I would see them again however the crowd did seem to enjoy it as they chanted “D-D-DMAS”, a chant that continued out Guildhall and onto the street once the show had finished. The audience was largely masculine, something reminiscent of football hooliganism and they did climb on each other’s shoulders and take their tops off however I didn’t feel as if the band weren’t really warranting this reaction as they just seemed laidback about it all. However there is maybe something to be said for this being my first concert experience where the audience wasn’t full of gays and girlypops.
DMA’S are currently on tour throughout the UK, tickets can be purchased here.
