LIVE: DMAs @ M&S Arena, Liverpool

After numerous Aussie/British quarantine periods and multiple rescheduled dates, Sydney’s coolest trio, DMAs, finally returned to the UK and graced the Liverpool Echo (it’ll always be the Echo) Arena with their setlist packed full of modern anthems.

As fun and intimate as their previous visits to the city have been - Sound City 2018 stands out - things just felt that little bit more polished and fine-tuned this time around. It almost feels like DMAs should have been headlining venues like this since the very start, so to finally see them perform in front of thousands of fans was great to see.

With the gig falling on Halloween weekend, I strongly debated rocking up as Napoleon Dynamite ready to hit town straight after, but bottled it in fear of carrying stains of Strongbow Dark Fruits into MOTEL. A good move.

Support came from Liverpool’s very own RATS and The Night Cafe. I was made up to see both of these bands get late invitations to the tour, having waited over two years to catch TNC perform tracks off their debut album, 0151. Seems quite fitting that they were able to play them back to a packed out Echo after a tough couple of years.

After queuing far too long for an overpriced pint, it was time to head back in ready for the main event. I’d been looking forward to hearing ‘Silver’ performed live since the very first time I heard it and Tommy’s perfect vocals combined with an outstanding kagool/cap combo more than exceeded expectations. I remember seeing a YouTube comment about him once saying something like “voice of an angel, face of a brickie” and to be quite honest, I haven’t seen a more accurate comment since.

Third and most recent album ‘The Glow’ featured heavily throughout the setlist, with long-time fan favourites ‘Delete’, ‘Lay Down’, and set closing ‘Feels Like 37’ also making welcome appearances. Personally, I thought new track ‘We Are Midnight’ was up there with the best of the night and if it’s anything to go by, the next album will be loaded with even more arena-worthy anthems.

Despite there being far too much Stone Island about to feel fully comfortable around, the crowd was in fine voice and helped contribute to a very good evening. An extremely strong return to Liverpool from Australia’s biggest Scousers.