On April 29, Dublin indie rock phenoms Fontaines DC played a blistering set at Newport Music Hall. This blast of energy provided a much-needed reprieve from the relentless pandemic. Fontaines DC never got to tour behind their last album, A Hero’s Death (2019) and were out to promote their latest Skinty Fia (2022). It is fair to say that the Irish band is on the cusp of greatness and this show strongly emphasized that point.
Fontaines DC played a selection of sixteen tracks throughout their brief career with a heavy focus on tracks from debut, Dogrel and A Hero’s Death. Skinty Fia was tread upon lightly which is odd considering it is their latest release. That said, Fontaines DC opened the show with a rousing version of “Nabokov.” Grian Chatten dominated the opener by prowling the stage and cajoling the crowd into a frenzy. The rest of the band were not slouches either as their dynamics were evident between the interplay of guitarists Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley.
Dogrel favorite “Sha Sha Sha” whipped the crowd into a frenzy punctuated by Chatten’s insistent microphone maneuvers as well as the vigilant security of the venue. Chatten’s awareness of crowd dynamics was evident as the band slipped into Skinty Fia’s “Roman Holiday.” The audience played up this fact and sang along to knockouts “Televised Mind” and the brutish “Big.”
Fontaines DC closed their enigmatic set with “Jackie Down the Line” which contains the following lyrics “I will wear you down in time, I will hurt you, I’ll desert you” and thankfully they never did.
