Upon entering the front doors of Cardiff’s sold-out Motorpoint Arena from the chilly night air, the temperature change is tangible. There is a real buzz in the venue, as over seven thousand eager fans are clearly already several pints in, with the lifelong Oasis followers swaggering around sporting their mod-cuts and parkas in support of their idol Liam Gallagher. The stage is set for the DMA’s, the three-piece Australian rock band described by Liam as “biblical”, to blitz the opening set before the man himself takes over.
The band take to the stage to raucous cheers from the faithful, and kick off the set with their heavy-hitting “Play It Out”, the final song from their 2016 album “Hills End”. The opening song draws to an end and it is clear there are a lot of DMA’s fans in attendance, with the band’s Brit-Pop influenced sounds certainly being comparable to early Oasis works. The band follows with “Dawning” from their 2018 release “For Now”, lead singer Tommy O’Dell’s unique vocals bouncing off the walls of the arena into the ears of an increasingly energetic crowd. The band’s stage presence is confident without being arrogant, and they appear a perfect fit to open for the Oasis frontman’s oncoming bravado; there is no doubt they could command a crowd this size if they were to one day come back for their own tour.
The chemistry between the boys, guitarists Johnny Took and Matthew Mason alongside lead singer Tommy, is obvious. New single “Silver” then gets its live debut, and it goes down a storm. The song’s dreamy lyrics drift around the arena, and it’s clear that the band are enjoying this moment, blasting out their new material. Two songs off their newest album “For Now” follow, with “Time & Money” and “In the Air”, my personal favourite, seeing the crowd singing along. The boys finish with two of the band’s old classics, the hazy love melody of “Delete” coupled up with the heavier, romping “Lay Down” from “Hills End” to see out a perfect ending to the set. Liam could scarcely have asked for a better opening band to his UK tour, and it is clear the DMA’s rapid rise will continue to come in droves with the release of new material.
