Fontaines DC Remain Unbowed
Words by Mickey McCarter
Photos by David LaMason
Fontaines DC visited 9:30 Club for the first of two sold-out nights to introduce Washington DC to their new album, Romance.
Things didn’t go exactly as planned, however. After five songs, Fontaines guitarist Carlos O’Connell bowed out ill, throwing the setlist into question.
The band exited the stage and returned moments later. Frontman Grian Chatten asked the audience if anyone could play “Boys in the Better Land.
A young blonde boy named Griffin confirmed that he could indeed play the song, and Grian welcomed him to the stage and outfitted him with a guitar to continue the Oct. 18 performance. The band then slammed into their well-known single, lifted from their debut album Dogrel (2019), and Griffin was totally in the zone. The Fontaines’ temporary guitarist bopped all through the song, clearly living his dream, and he even received an embrace from Grian by way of thanks toward the end of the number.
Afterward, Fontaines DC did not tackle their fully scheduled setlist, which contained perhaps 18 songs, instead bounding through a neat dozen songs plus a quick round of “Happy Birthday” to their drummer Tom Coll.
Across that setlist, the Irish post-punks played four songs from Romance, released in April via XL Recordings. They began the show with the title track, and they later played “Favourite” (dedicated to Tom) and “Bug.” They got through some of “Death Kink” before Carlos dropped out of the show, too sick to continue.
Watch the official music video for “”Favourite” by Fontaines DC on YouTube:
Despite the abbreviated setlist, the audience was very happy to be there. We clapped with enthusiasm and cheered Grian and company on through a taut and energetic set. Throughout the show, Grian as the perfect picture of a cool singer, delivering many songs from an elevated step at the front of the stage to clearly sneer and rattle over the audience. Later in the show, he took his sunglasses off and we could clearly see his confidence countenance. He beamed in appreciation for his audience and his bandmates.
Apparently everything went forward as intended the following night at 9:30 Club, where the band were able to complete their full show. And yet, there were no complaints to be heard on this first evening. We left as excited and pleased with the experience as Griffin.
Here are some photos of Fontaines DC performing at 9:30 Club on Oct. 18, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.
