© CPU – Joost van Hoey
During a tour of the UK and Ireland, the band members of DMA’S found time for a short break at the Channel. It’s time for their first full-scale show on the mainland in Brussels, after a pit stop in Kent in honor of a certain fortieth birthday. A month ago, the Australians released their fourth album How many dreams? outside. However, opinions on this were divided. So it’s important to make the new songs as good a live version as possible and get the doubters on their side.
Demo Happy is the band supporting DMA’s during its glittering European adventure and at Ancienne Belgique they had that honor for the first time. Her three-piece band from Newcastle came well. We were given the booklet Indie Rock. In addition to singer-bassist Matthew Margantonio’s catchy British accent, it’s mainly guitarist Adam Godfrey who steals the spotlight. From under his seventies haircut he rocked Queens of the Stone Age’s best riffs. The audience was second to none, moving if possible and Demob Happy managed to captivate the entire half hour.
© CPU – Joost Van Hoey (Archive)
AB Club meanwhile filled in nicely for the main action DMA’s. Singer Tommy O’Dell and guitarists Johnny Duke and Matt Mason, wearing a sober hat, a striking hat and an eccentric hat respectively, formed the evening’s front trio. Duke in particular managed to attract attention with his infectious enthusiasm and obvious mimicry. Accompanied by three additional musicians behind drums, bass and electric guitar, the songs played one by one as if they were on a record somewhere in the hall. And we mean that as a compliment.
The opening and title track from the new album, “How Many Dreams,” opened the evening and immediately set the tone. It soon became clear that there were plenty of fans on hand as they sang new song “Olympia”, followed by the slightly less green “The Glow”. “Timeless” first started the moment when they sang ‘Hee-hoo’ together. “Silver” and “Delete” are highlights in that category. The first song, like all the others, was flawlessly sung by O’Dell, backed by a hundred-member choir from the audience. That second was the only time the three frontmen had to do it without the help of their band, and as much as anyone else, they enjoyed it.
The decor was dry, the lighting sober but effective and the conversation with the audience didn’t go much beyond the widely used ‘Hi Brussels’ or ‘This beer is fucking strong’. But it is not necessary. Let the music do its job, the band members must have thought. A moment during “Hello Girlfriend” threatened to derail the performance, but thanks to a too-long outro that seemed comical, it turned out to be an unexpected but welcome display of energy, where there was plenty of dancing. .
The songs from the new record were well received, but still couldn’t believe the same enthusiasm as the older, more popular songs. On the other hand, most new songs have only been released for a few weeks, and we can fully imagine that we can count on the same amount of praise in a few months. So let that new post mature for a while.
Still playing at DMAS today milky way In Amsterdam and for now only stands as a festival in our neighborhood Pinkpop In the calendar.
Set list:
So many dreams
Olympia
The glow
Timeless
Friday
Something We’re Coming
Tape deck
Disappearing like a picture
Hello friend
Always
destroy
Play it
lie down
Blow it up
Feels like 37
Everyone says Thursday is the weekend
