Credit: Chris Tranter
Live
Fontaines D.C.
The Garage, London
April 17 2019
Words: Dan Lawler
When the hype precedes an act to the extent of people clammering not just for the sainted guest list, but actually willing to pay over the odds to secure a ticket, you can pretty much put a few bob on this being a band who are en route to the big boys' arenas.
So it was when Dublin lads Fontaines D.C. hit the capital, five days after the release of their much acclaimed debut album 'Dogrel', it was a sold out, hot ticket show that brought the fans, the liggers, and a few celeb faces, out in tandem. And as they take to the stage to The Pogues' 'Boys From The County Hell', to run through the album in its 11-song entirety, any sign of nerves (such as frontman Grian Chatten's pacing of the stage) are soon blown away by a crowd who are musical putty in their hands.
Credit: Woodsmick
The triple whammy of the forceful 'Hurricane Laughter', 'Sha Sha Sha' and 'Chequeless Reckless' start the set, building on each other to incite crowd participation. From the raw-edged garage rock of debut single 'Liberty Belle'; 'Too Real' which spins on propulsive guitars as Chatten - part Ian Curtis, part Mark E. Smith - spits his repeated refrain, “Is it too real for ya?” to the blistering 'Boys In The Better Land', the five-piece are at their most visceral.
There's no a lot of chat or audience banter with these; what you get is just a barrage of one perfectly executed number after another. Closing on the rallying cry of 'Big's "My childhood was small / But I’m gonna be big", somehow you get the feeling Fontaines D.C. are halfway to achieving that.
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