Music
Review
Fontaines D.C. at Reading Festival, 24/08/2024
Fontaines D.C. demonstrates exactly why they're the band everybody’s talking about with a career-defining set at Rockstar Energy presents Reading Festival
Reading Festival may have opened the dance-focused Chevron Stage in 2024, catering to the shifting tastes of younger generations in recent years. But Fontaines D.C. and their surging popularity indicate that the rock resurgence is, in fact, returning to our collective consciousness.
In the minutes leading up to the Irish five-piece’s 17:00 start time, the anticipation at Reading’s main stage is a tangible, hissing electricity. I don’t know what to expect. The crowd grows with every second. Thousands of diverse, young fans pour into the area, jostling to get closer.
Guitarist Conor Curley appears on stage, clad all in black. Donning wraparounds and standing alone, he commands the crowd’s attention, playing the ominous opening chords of their new album’s titular track ‘Romance’. Bassist Conor Deegan is next, wearing a purple tracksuit, blonde space buns, and Kurt Cobain shades. Drummer Tom Coll sits down, rocking short back and sides and a vest that exposes his two tattooed sleeves. Carlos O’Connell arrives with a lit cigarette in his mouth and a beer in hand, dressed in a fluffy leopard print bomber, with a shock of bright pink hair. He plays a couple sinister notes on the keyboard, and then makes an explosive noise into his mic.
Beyond their genre, the first thing I learned about the post-punk outfit was their activism. Their set-up was simple, with a giant Fontaines D.C. logo hanging above the band and the Palestinian flag draping off the stage. The next thing I learned was their patriotism. Just before the vocal part of the opening track starts, lead singer Grian Chatten saunters on stage to a loud cheer, dressed in a neon green track jacket, zipped opened to reveal chains with heavy harp and shamrock pendants. He then lifted a shamrock-inked wrist up to his microphone – wrapped in green, white and gold tape – and revealed a chunky Claddagh ring on his finger.
The first half of the 45-minute set leaned into the band’s more experimental inclinations. As though in a trance, Fontaines D.C. jammed out to grunge-infused belters such as ‘Jackie Down The Line’, ‘Death Kink’ and ‘Nabokov’, unbothered by the enormous crowd gathered before them. Chatten had a slightly unnerving, completely mesmerising presence. At one point he curled his fingers inwards, gesturing nonchalantly for something more from the crowd. Seemingly demanding we impress him, not the other way around. Without uttering a word of acknowledgement in 30 minutes, he had every single one of us eating out of the palm of his hand – transfixed by his commanding charisma.
It’s definitely a show of two halves. The punky ‘Boys In The Better Land’, a fan-favourite from their first album Dogrel, serves as the breaker. Then the simmering strings of their new ballad ‘In The Modern World’ officially welcomes in the more grandiose pop-inspired sound they’ve embraced in their Romance era. Listening back to their full catalogue, they seem to have miraculously reinvented themselves without isolating their core fanbase, weaving moments of rage and pure rock, throughout the new project.
Live, however, the band have reached the moment their ready to celebrate their evolution and success. Speaking for the first time, Chatten says “Hi we’re Fontaines D.C. and this song is called ‘Favourite’.” From the crowd’s reaction, ‘Favourite’ is exactly what the title suggests. Suddenly, women are popping up on accommodating shoulders, grooving to the tune like happy festival meerkats. This sensation is further accelerated by the sweeping, anthemic closing track ‘Starburster’.
Finding a new favourite band live at a festival has always been a top-tier form of music discovery. Every time you hear that band’s music going forward, you’re transported right back to that festival ground, that moment. In the modern world of algorithmic playlists and social media marketing, finding music in an organic live setting is downright thrilling. And for me, that thrill was Fontaines D.C. at Reading.
I’d heard their name bandied about in recent months, but the buzz around Fontaines D.C. has been steadily growing over the last seven years. With four studio albums to their name, I’m very late to this party. But their latest album Romance – released on Friday – is clearly a career-defining moment. As is this show.
