Fontaines D.C. / Rock City / Nottingham
Fontaines D.C. are one of those bands that come along once in a generation and stand out from the crowd. The Dublin based post-punks launched their Mercury Prize nominated debut album “Dogrel” in 2019 and then launched their follow up masterpiece “A Hero’s Death” in 2020 (Reviewed by LiveWire Music in July 2020 scoring 9.5) but the pandemic robbed us all of the chance to see the new album live.
But here we are, finally – At Nottingham’s icon Rock City and expectations are high. A sell out crowd eagerly await the bands arrival on stage and it’s great to see such a wide age range in attendance, and boy, was it worth the wait ! Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O'Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan III (bass), and Tom Coll (drums) took to the stage, throwing flowers into the crowd and dived headlong into a ferocious rendition of the title track of their latest album A Hero’s Death.
Singer Grian pacing around the stage with a confident swagger and broad grin whipping up the crowd with a sense of theatre, assisted by the new lighting set up, dominated by vertical lines of white/gold lights at the back of the stage blasting shafts of light out into the crowd, and then the appearance later in the set of giant white balloons, bouncing around the capacity crowd.
It all works and shows their growing confidence as a band, but at the same time, it isn’t needed. Don’t get me wrong, a great addition to the experience but their song writing and playing is second to none and stands tall as an exceptional experience in it’s own right. They have an air of the Smiths to them with the posturing of Oasis, and the lyrics in so many of their songs is so poetic and brings a rich diverse language to the music with lines such as “Sink as far down as you can be pulled up, happiness really ain't all about luck, let your demeanour be your deep down self, and don't sacrifice your life for your health. When you speak, speak sincere, and believe me friend, everyone will hear” (A Hero’s Death).
The audience shout out the lyrics along to favourites such as “Boys in the Better Land”,” I Was Not Born” and “Sha Sha Sha”. There’s a noticeable difference in the feel of their two albums, and the lads increase the energy levels as they mix in the punk styled tracks from their first album, Dogrel such as fan favourites to shout along to “Sha Sha Sha” and “Chequeless Reckless” but more mellow moments such as “The Lotts”.
Then the one so many have been waiting for as they belt out an energetic version of “Boys in the Better Land” before leaving the stage to the usual chants of ‘One More Song’, before they return again for an encore and entertain us with “Roy’s Tune” and probably my favourite track on Dogrel, “Liberty Belle”.
And then it’s over. The Dubliners were simply on outstanding form tonight. So having been over 12 months since “A Hero’s Death” was issued, was it worth the wait ? You bet it was…. Fontaines D.C. are a rising star and one certainly to add to your essential show list.
Set List
A Hero’s Death
A Lucid Dream
Sha Sha Sha
Chequeless
I Was Not Born
I Don’t Belong
The Lotts
Living in America
Hurricane Laughter
Too Real
Big
Televised Mind
Boys in the Better Land
-
Roy’s Tune
Liberty Belle
In support we had The Altered Hours hailing from Cork, who have been a vital presence in Irish music over the last few years and it was great to see them touring the UK. The Altered Hours are a five-piece alt-rock group fronted by lead singers Elaine Howley (w/percussion) and Cathal MacGabhann (w/guitar). They kind of reminded me in some ways of The Murder Capital and certainly had a theatrical feel to them akin to something like The Velvet Underground.
Prior to Covid, the band had supported Fontaines D.C. on tour, appearing at such icon venues as Le Bataclan in Paris, and they certainly had an assured, comfortable presence on stage.
A really enjoyable set, that complimented Fontaines D.C. so effectively and really set the scene for the main act. If you’re attending one of the up coming Fontaines D.C. shows, I thoroughly recommend getting there early to check them out yourself, or check out the brilliant 2016 album “In Heat, Not Sorry” available on all major streaming platforms.
Set List
Cement
Here it Comes
Hey No Way
All Amnesia
Colour Scheme
Smoke Your Eyes
F.T.P.
