Live Review: Fontaines D.C. - O2 Ritz, Manchester 19/11/2019

Last December we caught Fontaines D.C. in one of Manchester’s smallest venues, now here we are only eleven months later at the O2 Ritz for a sold-out show. In fact, the event had already sold out six months ahead of the show! 

Lots has happened in this small space of time for the Dublin based band. They’ve played Glastonbury and SXSW, released their debut album (which got nominated for the Mercury Prize) and sold out a huge UK tour. As predicted in our review a year ago, Fontaines D.C. have exploded onto the music scene, and with this in mind they are easily one of the most exciting bands around at the moment.

Support came from LA based duo, Warm Drag, who are the main support for the majority of the tour. Sporting a black leather jumpsuit with the words ‘Warm Drag’ bold in studs on the back, singer Vashti Windish had the crowd hooked. Setting the mood for the night ahead, Warm Drag brought grungy vibes to their thirty-minute set.

As the venue filled up, there wasn’t long to wait until the Irish punks hit the stage.

Creating momentum before taking to the stage, they opened with ‘Hurricane Laughter’. Playing their first three songs in the dark, a nightmare for us photographers, but an exciting element for the fans, Fontaines D.C. had arrived!

Singer Grain Chatten isn’t much of a talker and he is recognised for his fidgety awkward stage presence. However, seeing Fontaines D.C. in the present day means that the nerves have now been swapped for confident stares into the crowd, the actions of a real frontman. 

Playing every song on their debut record, the venue didn’t feel big enough when album highlights ‘Boys in the Better Land’, ‘Too Real’ and ‘Liberty Belle’ came. As fans sang along and crowd surfed, the hour-long set proved the band had stepped up their game and provided us with a no-nonsense night of bangers.

As the crowd looked on in admiration of the post-punk band, the end had come far too soon. Keeping us entertained throughout, the band finished with ‘Big’, arguably their ‘biggest’ tune.

We can’t wait to see what’s next for this band! Give it another year and we can only dream of where they might be!

Words and Photography by Abbie Jennings