REVIEW: D.D Dumbo - Castlemaine

Driving through the main street in the vibrant country town of Castlemaine is similar to what you would expect for Wednesday night in a small town. By 8pm all of the general stores have closed down, you notice a handful of people sitting at the bar of the pubs and there isn’t a person in sight on the streets.

Now, I know I’m not here to give you a guided tour of Castlemaine, but drive around the corner about 400 meters and you get to the Theatre Royal. There are people poured out onto the footpath drinking beer and eating a snack before the show, there was a line up which stretched out onto the road to get into the band room and the vibe was awesome.

It was my first time seeing D.D Dumbo aka Oliver Perry and I knew we were in for something special when I could see his sound tech placing a microphone next to two sets of garden chimes – not dissimilar to the chimes in my back yard.

D.D Dumbo got a huge round of applause as he walked on stage and it was clear that his hometown of Castlemaine was over the moon that he was back in town to play for them.

He opened his set with the song Walrus which immediately got the crowds feet moving and their heads bopping. I might add that he began the song by looping a combination of his chimes, trumpet and to top it off some flute.

After a few songs in he thanked his hometown crowd and said how special it was him to be playing for them. As he tuned his guitar he introduced his band. D.D Dumbo had a 4 piece band which included a drummer, a percussionist who also played keys, guitar and trumpet in some songs, and a saxophonist.

Throughout the crowd favourites from his debut LP were songs such as Satan, In the Water, Cortisol, Kind Franco Picasso, The Day I First Found God, Toxic City and the upbeat Brother.

D.D Dumbo thanked the crowd for coming before the band finished the set off with a lovely performance Oyster, which is the closing song on Utopia Defeated.

 I left my first D.D Dumbo show in awe of the musical ability of Oliver and his band, and I’m sure everyone else that filled the Theatre Royal felt the same as I did. It was great night for Victorian music and it breathed some fresh air into the Central Victorian music scene.

Written by: JL Kennedy.