There are plenty of artists who have had their moment in 2024, but few have shone quite like Fontaines D.C.
A stellar studio effort came in the shape of their fourth LP Romance, alongside hoards of critical acclaim, bigger stages, a y2k meets post-punk restyling and hordes of new fans. Romance has seen Fontaines dominate the alternative cultural landscape. Tonight sees FDC take on the first leg of their three-night residency at Manchester’s 2,000-capacity Aviva Studios, a comparatively intimate offering on a tour in which the Dublin band have taken on arena-size shows across the world.
Much like Charli xcx’s recent Manchester show, there is a huge green curtain covering the stage and several audience members are kitted out in bright green balaclavas: you could be forgiven for thinking you were back at the Co-Op Live, if it wasn’t for the likes of Shame, Kneecap and Sonic Youth blasting from the PA system
Fontaines D.C. commence with ‘Romance’, the opener and title track from the most recent record. As the first grandiose synth woosh hits, the curtain drops to reveal Fontaines in all their glory, Grian Chatten & co. sound huge and the extra showmanship works wonders, holding the crowd on tenterhooks before bursting into life once the green curtain hits the floor.
Fan favourite ‘Jackie Down The Line’ sees 2,000 voices mimicking Chatten’s “do do do’s” and “la la la’s” back at the frontman. Conor ‘Deego’ Deegan’s bass riff reverberates around the room, shaking the floor underfoot for ‘Televised Mind’. ‘Roman Holiday’ and ‘Big Shot’ form a sturdy Skinty Fia spine of the first act before Carlos O’Connell’s synth hits technical issues and the band are force off stage briefly.
FDC resume with the Romance double-header of ‘Sundowner’ and ‘Bug’, the latter of which has seen its stock snowballing off the back of 6 Music support and TikTok virality. Cue a sea of shoulder-bouncing, balaclava-donning fans inside the concrete hall, all of whom know the track syllable for syllable, painting a scene which marks a massive moment in the timelime of one of guitar music’s great success stories.
O’Connell switches between guitars and a Wurlitzer draped in the Palestine flag. Deego sounds better than ever on backing vocals and Chatten relentlessly stalks the stage: shrouded in sunglasses and periodically picking up his mic stand and slamming it to the floor like Dublin’s very own Julian Casablancas.
‘Favourite’ brings the house down to close the main show before the four-song encore. Chatten and Deegan’s duelling vocals are spectacular on ‘In The Modern World’ before ‘I Love You’ marks a high point in a set of high points. People are wildly passionate about this song decrying imperialism and colonial rule, it’s a love song about a free Ireland and those that get it really get it. ‘Starburster’ closes the show, sounding just as urgent and vital as the single did when it landed in Spring.
Fontaines D.C. remain peerless in 2024. Their showmanship, combined with the new seismic sound is a winner and there isn’t another band with crowds like this, tunes like these and the sheer quality to rival Fontaines D.C. right now.
