Highly accomplished with effortless cool and sheer brilliance. Irish heroes Fontaines DC delivered an incredible headline set for the sold out Exhibition Park crowd in Newcastle.
This is a band who exude confidence in their ability without arrogance. The most recent album, last year’s epic Romance, dominated the set with its bold mix of styles ranging from heavy grunge rock to indie anthem. Opener Here’s The Thing set the pace for the energy and drive of what was to come. Wild guitar licks, incendiary drumming, and the commanding presence of frontman Grian.
The setlist was extremely well chosen. Early key tracks Boys In The Better Land and Big turned up the punkish aggression. Always a thrill to hear Televised Mind with that ferociously heavy bass line. And these mixed well with more recent tracks, including the anthemic and beautiful, Favourite, which went down a storm with the crowds.
On the fortieth anniversary of Live Aid, the histrionics of bands using their platform for political and humanitarian causes was clearly present, especially in the visuals accompanying the set. This was particularly seen with the powerful, passionate performance of I Love You from Skinty Fia as part of the encore, which was accompanied by comments on Palestine and the current situation in Gaza.
Fontaines fully loaded set ended with their defiant track, Starburster. The gritty, almost hip hop style delivery of this track gives it a real swagger. It’s a mark of a band who are ever evolving in their sound as they intersperse a range of musical and cultural influences to create a raw energy that is infectious.
They are THE band of the moment, which has been notable in the way their influence has bled into the current crop of grassroots bands… there were certainly plenty of guys from the best local bands in the crowd yesterday.
WORDS AND PHOTO CREDIT – STEPHEN LOVELL
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