S Poddar
Fontaines D.C.’s Conor Curley takes the stage tonight, every bit the ’90s gr. The wraparound shades that add to the intensity as he plucks out a foreboding bassline set the scene for what follows. The atmosphere becomes electric when Carlos O’Connell joins him, an eruption of pink hair and tiger-print jacket magnetically charged. With a skeletal keyboard melody, O’Connell leans into the mic, imitating the sound of an explosion. A cacophony of demented noise announces a gnarly cacophony from frontman Grian Chatten, striding forward in a neon-green jacket. Here, his low voice works its magic prior to the title track “Romance” from their career-defining new album.
That was the most engaging way possible to signal a defining point in the trajectory of this band becoming one of the best acts around. A large crowd is a testament to the fact that Fontaines D.C. is a band striking many nerves and continues to push its music beyond known boundaries. There’s a moment where Chatten looks out upon the sea of fans with neither an overwhelmed nor an arrogant gazing; there is just a tinge of quiet confidence in there, like a predator calmly eyeing its prey.
The longer the performance, the more animated Chatten becomes, engaging with the crowd through a combination of howling intensity and gesture. He hoists his hands into the air and pounds the tambourine with real spirit—summoning cheers and applause, conjuring the ghost of rock greats like Liam Gallagher. In an NME interview just days before this weekend’s headline performances, Chatten revealed that the new material is “neon and ridiculous.” And from the sound and sights on display tonight, it’s an accurate summation. A case in point is the haunting ‘Favourite,’ a song that tends to capture the fleeting moments of life with wonder and melancholy.
The mood is dark in ‘Nabokov’ from their latest 2022 album, ‘Skinty Fia’. Somehow this track feels somewhat of an emotional purge, through which Chatten’s anguished cries of “I did you a favour” are met by Conor ‘Deego’ Deegan III’s sarcastic retort: “Happy days, yeah? “It builds in intensity, the sound ballooning into a cacophonous crescendo, before being cut adroitly with perhaps their best-loved anthem to date, ‘Boys in the Better Land’.
Sweat-drenched devotees clamber onto each other’s shoulders, O’Connell grins from ear-to-ear with pure elation and Chatten, throwing caution to the wind completely, lets his jacket slide open baring his chest. Fontaines D.C. They have a way of charging up a crowd with a really gritty indie anthem, almost touching on Anglophobia to be truthful. They have had the potential all along, but tonight they seem to really grasp the destiny that is being one of the best bands in the world. Final song ‘Starburster’ is a fitting close for their set, opening with a disjointed fairground synth before all the chops and shards all come together in a soaring, euphoric finale.
As it reaches its peak, friends in the crowd mimic Chatten’s sharp, gasping breaths, adding a communal sense of magic to the closing moments of a truly breathtaking performance. The Reading performance is lively, and the setlist transmits the fast growth and rise of art in Fontaines D.C. From the haunting opener ‘Romance’ to the anthemic closer ‘Starburster,’ it’s a set list that tells the story of a band on the ascendency, not shying from risk, and exploring new sonic landscapes. Really, it is a reminder of what sets Fontaines D.C. apart. They are such power in the music world that has become power—a band that never ceases to amaze challengers with every live performance.
