Dublin rockers Fontaines DC draw much of their inspiration from The Liberties area, a feature on many of their tracks, particularly on debut album ‘Dogrel’. Having moved abroad, and delivered two further heady pieces of full-length punk poetry, the band’s latest return simply had to be on the fringes of the Liberties district, at Vicar Street, a venue they could comfortably fill many times over.
And what a return it was.
Fontaines are startlingly consistent in their ability to draw together immaculate wall-of-sound guitar and poppy little poetic soundbites. Led by a stage-front cheerleader and increasingly iconic frontman Grian Chatten, on the first night of three they pound through cult hits like ‘Sha Sha Sha’ and ‘Big’.
Lines like “Dublin in the rain is mine” and “Life ain’t always empty” have come to be the band’s calling card, but it’s the bristling intensity of a pulsating stage show that keeps fans coming back.
This set builds in intensity throughout, with a trio of old-ish tracks towards the end, including poppy single ‘Liberty Belle’ and the aforementioned ‘Big’, leading the band through to perhaps their most inventive track as a closer.
‘I Love You’ is Fontaines DC in miniature: deceptively plodding in its early stages, an almost droney declaration of love that explodes into sections that are nothing short of manic, leading to bouts of slam dancing down the front, crowd surfing, and yet another pointer that this rising group are amongst the best live acts Ireland has produced in a very, very long time.
Keep an eye out for tickets in the coming weeks: new show announcements often follow the fulfilment of old local commitments, and this band, if you haven’t seen them yet, are genuinely unmissable. Or, you know, leave it and make the growing scramble a little easier for us!
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