DMA’S: A LOVE LETTER TO MANCHESTER AND THE MAGIC OF HILLS END
DMA'S - Credit Reuben Bastienne-Lewis
LIVE REVIEW | DMA’S w/ Salarymen | O2 VICTORIA WAREHOUSE, MANCHESTER | 15th February 2026 by Lucy Holden
It’s a grim, rainy Sunday in Manchester, and the collective hangover from Valentine’s Day is still heavy in the air. But as the swell of Fred Perry’s descend upon Victoria Warehouse, the atmosphere shifts. Tonight isn’t about romantic dinners; it’s a ten year anniversary celebration for every 2016 indie kid who found their soul in a three-chord progression and a denim jacket.
Opening the night were fellow Aussies Salarymen. It’s always a telling sign of a band’s pull when the support act plays to a room already packed to the brim. Their harmony-drenched set was a great reminder of why you should always get in early, but by the time they depart, the room is wall-to-wall gagging for the main event – the true love in everyone’s hearts tonight.
When DMA’S – the holy trinity of Matt, Tommy, and Johnny – take the stage, there’s no need for stadium theatrics. Against a backdrop simply reading DMA’S and bathed in moody lighting, they let the songs do the talking. Tonight truly belongs to the record that started it all: Hills End.
The opening of ‘Timeless’ and ‘Lay Down’ sets a pace that turns what was a gloomy Sunday into a happy Friday. But it’s three songs in where the night truly shifts. ‘Delete’ remains the definitive turning point; it’s the moment goosebumps stand high, and the singalongs made for churches begin. Seeing people crying on their mates’ shoulders to a song that defines that specific, late night drive feeling is a distinctive experience. It’s a track that still to this day, demands to be felt, not just heard.
‘Step Up The Morphine‘ triggers another massive sing-along during the anthemic chorus we all came for. But ‘Melbourne’ is where it’s really at. It starts all moody and tense, holding the room in a vice, before those heavy electric solos and insane drums just absolutely tear the room in two. It’s a total masterclass in noise right before track 11/11 – ‘Play It Out’ crashes in to finish the job.
But the DMA’S effect is so bloody real, and they aren’t done. Returning for a huge seven-song encore, they lean into the anthems. ‘Silver’ is practically drowned out by the Mancunian choir, Tommy O’Dell’s vocal barely audible over the crowd.
A highlight, is the elongated ‘Hello Girlfriend’. Coming in at around a solid seven minutes, with that extended, hypnotic outro: “such a funny thing for me to try to explain.” It’s hilarious watching the newbies look confused while the veterans are loving it.
Then came the curveball. While the tour usually wraps with ‘Feels Like 37’, the boys decided to double down. As the opening chords of ‘Lay Down’ rang out for the second time that night, a few “again?” mutters rippled through the crowd. But honestly? If it’s nice, play it twice. They could have played it five times and we’d have still been there, pints aloft.
Catching up with Johnny after the show, he admitted the band is well into the swing of things now, and it shows. There is a profound, almost cult-like connection between this band and this city. The band even admitted that they fly straight to Manchester the second they hit UK soil, it feels like a homecoming every time. These lads are at the point where they could be wearing a bin bag and still make it look good; they could be singing the alphabet or Happy Birthday and we’d all still happily be there. A decade on from Hills End, the fire hasn’t just stayed lit – it’s a fucking inferno.
DMA’S will return to the UK to finish what they started in May with shows in Nottingham and Norwich, before returning to the North West for Neighbourhood Weekender on Sunday 24th May!
