Bands love talking to the crowd between songs. They love giving silly little anecdotes, they love getting a rogue laugh or baiting a cheer. I see it all the time. Not tonight. Grian Chatten says “thank you, Chicago” in the middle of the show, between songs. But that is it. No recognition of previous shows. No asking “is everyone having a good night?” Not even a shoutout to his bandmates. When one song ends, the next starts. And it is brilliant. Sure, I love when a band interacts with the crowd. It gets me fired up. But tonight is different. What I see is Fontaines D.C.’s unmitigated loyalty and service to the artform. They do not do gimmicks, just deliverance of music. The result is spectacular.
Fontaines D.C. at the Salt Shed was an unforgettable show. Before I get into specifics, I want to expand more broadly on what I tried to get at in the introduction. Aside from the individual songs, all of which were brilliant, there was a sort of air to the show that was rare. Every song came on top of the last. There were no breaks or interludes. They played no covers. The songs were short but more than sweet. There was no space, no jam sessions. Each song sounded pretty much just like the recorded version. Usually, these are things that I consider to be less interesting in a live show. I usually love a spontaneous guitar solo, or a song lasting fifteen minutes. I usually love a crowd pleasing cover or a little bootlicking. But there was none of that, and I loved it even more. It signified respect. Chatten and co. respect that the people in the crowd came to the show to hear great music, and that is what they gave, without anything ancillary. This also has to do with the idea of the art that they have created. They are especially meticulous in their creation of a record, regarding everything from lyrics to instrumentation to cover art. So, in exhibiting a live product that remains true to this creation, the result is a high quality. They are experimental and creative in the studio (especially on Romance), and they do not overcomplicate that in performance. They are aided by the fact that they are in their prime. At their age and with their work ethic, they are able to perform night after night, with great energy, and staying faithful to their vision. Maybe when they get older, they will feel like experimenting more on stage, but for now the method is effective.
The concert started with the title track off of their newest album Romance. With the opener, those previously introduced to Fontaines D.C. might be jarred by the weirdness. The tempo and volume shifts, lyrical intrigue and overall intensity that the song displays nicely introduces the songs that are to follow. That is especially clear in the other songs that come off Romance, a project that was an experimental leap for the band. Admittedly, the opener would probably turn many off from the band, but it hooked me. If you can embrace the weird
I could highlight lyrics from every song that illustrate the poetry of Fontaines D.C.’s songwriting. “A Lucid Dream,” which they played fourth, exemplifies this poetry. The first verse starts with the lyric “I was there / When the rain changed direction / And fled to play tricks with your hair.” My curiosity grew beyond this meticulous line with the rhyming that follows. The verse follows a AAABBACABA scheme While the verse utilizes frequent rhyme, it lacks a clear pattern. This notion compounded with a stress on the final syllable of each line creates an uneasy feeling throughout the verse. It finishes by circling back to that first line, qualifying it slightly: “and the main thing is that the rain changed direction before you were there.” The anxiety, lack of clarity, and emphasis on such a seemingly superficial detail, is a beautiful depiction of a dream. With many listens, the meaning behind the lyrics becomes only partially more clear, but this dream is never fully lucid, despite the song’s title. That line, which keeps coming up throughout the song, is a favorite of mine for its attention to detail. More on “A Lucid Dream” later.
I do not want to stray from recognizing the lyrical brilliance of Fontaines D.C. just yet. Many lines throughout the show (and listening to the records) stuck with me, so I’ll point out a few. The paradoxical“never let a clock tell you what you got time for” in “A Hero’s Death.” The ironic loyalty of “I changed my name to ‘Promise You,’ yeah” in “Bug.” The metaphorical depth of “I’ve eddied the heart now, from Dublin to Paris” in “I Love You.” The alliteration of “the misery made me another marked man” in “Favourite.” Parsing through endless lines like these is a treasure trove. Chatten and Fontaines D.C. are rocking poets.
Digesting the lyrics fully requires many listens much is lost when listening at a live concert. Their lyrical depth is revealed even further in songs that they do not play live often. Two of my favorites finish off their sophomore album A Hero’s Death. “Sunny” and “No” each deal with grief, existentialism, and the banalities of life. “The Couple Across the Way,” from Skinty Fia, tells a wonderfully devastating story about a decayed love through the lens of younger lovers. It contrasts perception with reality and with an optimistic turn at the end. These softer songs do not make as much sense in a powerful live setlist, but cement the band’s range.
Overpowering the lyricism in the live show was the intensity of sound which I mentioned earlier. Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley delivered it with their guitars on “Big Shot” and “Boys in the Better Land.” Conor Deegan’s bass guitar delivered it on “Nabokov” and “I Love You.” Tom Coll’s drums provided support throughout, and shined on “Sha Sha Sha.” The unit is cohesive, and the instrumentation will excite those uninterested in the lyrics that they accompany.
I would be remiss to not discuss Fontaines D.C.’s relationship with Ireland. It is their homeland, and informs much of their identity. They continue a long tradition of poets and rock icons that come from the country, but they are in a tricky position. They are undergoing an experience similar to other Irish artists, regarding their making it big on an international stage. Irish people have questioned these artists for their representation of Ireland while having popularity outside the country. Fontaines D.C.’s experience with Ireland is complicated, and some have questioned their Irishness in the process. The band is aware of this issue, and is careful with how they portray Ireland in their music. Nevertheless, so much of their music still revolves around their experience as Irish people.
“A Lucid Dream,” can be heard and read out of context of the Irish experience, but the full picture is missed. The original title for the song is “A Lucid Dream of 1916,” a reference to the setting of the dream: the 1916 Easter Rising. The Easter Rising was an insurrection led by Irish republicans against British rule, that has a legacy of importance for Irish independence. In an interview with Stereogum, Chatten explains that he thinks he had a dream where he was at the insurrection. He mentions cutting out the reference to 1916 from the title of the song because he was afraid “it would’ve been too controversial in Ireland.” O’Connell also mentioned that they experienced backlash after their first album, Dogrel. He explained that some Irish “People have this notion that…we represented a Dublin that doesn’t exist, or whatever,” and that he thinks “a lot of it comes from a place of resentment towards success.” Chatten and O’Connell speak at length about how they create their music based on their own experiences, and that they do not want to feel limited by certain bounds. Since Irishness is intrinsic to their being, Irishness is intrinsic to their music. Even if it upsets some of their countrymen.
Fontaines D.C.’s artistic merit is further cemented with the way they grapple with their ethnicity. They are not apologists or zealots. Much like their dedication on the stage, they do not act to please people. They do not do things for money or popularity. Instead they create music that expresses human emotion. The creation comes first, and the reception is just an afterthought. A characteristic of all great Irish artists, Irishness remains a motif throughout all of their albums, even if less so on Romance (The Easter Rising is alluded again in “Starburster”). My uncle introduced me to Fontaines D.C. in the spring. He was so excited about the band, and this show at the Salt Shed. I was slow to take a liking to them. I wanted to love them because I could recognize their literary bent, but did not love the music itself right away. When Romance came out, there were a few songs that I liked a lot, and I began to listen to the earlier stuff more. Now (with help from the show) I cannot get enough of them. The point is, if you are so-so on Fontaines D.C., keep trying, it is worth it. For my judgment, Fontaines D.C. is above any other band right now. I cannot wait to see them live again.