Gorilla, Manchester, 13 April 2019

Band Members

Grian Chatten (Vocals)
Conor Deegan III (Bass)
Carlos O’Connell (Guitar)
Conor Curley (Guitar)
Tom Coll (Drums)

Having recently heard the band’s new album I was looking forward to witnessing a live performance. Manchester’s Gorilla venue is of a smaller scale but one of Manchester’s most popular venues often hosting great acts. But something worried me. I had previously attended an Idles show but was forced to retreat owing to out-of-control and drunk fans causing mayhem at the front of the stage (with no protective pit). Myself and others were forced up against the stage due to unruly moshers. Security staff took no action and I had great difficulty in leaving.

Fontaines offer a similar style of music to Idles and I feared similar fan behaviour and threat to those (like me) who were directly in front of the stage. Even before the band’s performance started the unruly antics began but this time with no security staff in sight and, as previously, no protective stage pit. As Chatten prowled the stage like a caged animal the jumping and pushing increased and was so bad that taking photographs was almost impossible, and I was being squeezed up against the stage with drink being thrown (I was not sure whether this was from the stage or from behind me). I was forced to leave before the first song finished and managed to get to the side of the stage where I did take some images with great difficulty.

The combination of drink throwing, no pit, no security staff and a belligerent band front man proved an impossible and dangerous combination, and I eventually left (with great difficulty). It should not have been like this. I have been reviewing and photographing shows for over 20 years and on just 2 occasions have I been forced to leave - both times at the Gorilla in the last 12 months.

My brief view of the band was enough to confirm the band’s musical capabilities and live performance verve, but there’s not much I can add to a bad experience which probably worsened after I left. Both the band and the venue need to ponder on their attitude to fan safety and viewing pleasure. This was as bad as it gets. However, the band’s new album will take a lot of beating in 2019 by other punk rockers.

Biography

Fontaines D.C. (previously Fontaines) is a Dublin based post-punk band comprised of Grian Chatten (Vocals), Conor Deegan III (Bass), Carlos O’Connell (Guitar), Conor Curley (Guitar), and Tom Coll (Drums). The band have released eight singles and, in 2018, signed with Partisan Records.

The band members met in college in Dublin, after having played individually in other bands, where they quickly formed a connection. “We loved the same poets and artists. Immediately our group and our band was everything to us.” Though the members all come from various cities, they have planted themselves as a Dublin band. “We’ve become inextricably attached to Dublin for all its foibles and brilliance. I can’t write about life on Mars when I’m so invested in life here. It’s all reflection.”

Fontaines D.C. released their debut single, “Liberty Belle” with Daniel Doherty in Darklands Studio and through their own independent Trigger Party Records in June of 2017. They continued the relationship with “Hurricane Laughter” and “Winter In The Sun”. On May 24, 2018, the band signed with Partisan Records, who have also signed with bands such as Idles, Cigarettes After Sex, and Eagulls. Both “Hurricane Laughter/Winter In The Sun” and “Boys In The Better Land/Chequeless Reckless” were named Singles of the Week by Rough Trade.

http://fontainesband.com/

Setlist

Hurricane Laughter
Sha Sha Sha
Chequeless Reckless
The Lotts
Television Screens
Roy’s Tune
Liberty Belle
Too Real
Boys in the Better Land
Dublin City Sky
Big

http://fontainesband.com/