When Grian Chatten tells you to clap, you do. And when he tells you to cheer louder, you do that too.
Fontaines D.C. closed out their North America run with a sold out show at the Fillmore Philly. The crowd was ecstatic to see the Irish-born rock band. Every few songs, Chatten would come to the front of the stage, stand on a monitor, and raise his arms for the crowd to cheer, louder and louder. It seemed almost like a club scene in a movie. The lights were flashing, the music was loud, and the crowd was dancing.
The energy of Fontaines D.C. seemed to be propelled by lead singer Chatten. He took the mic, and sometimes even the whole stand, around the stage with him. He couldn’t possibly stand still, unless there was a guitar in his hand and those moments were few and far between but had a noticeable energy shift. His stage presence opened up the room, it felt like we were up there with him. When he got limited by his guitar, the performance felt disconnected from us. Still sounding phenomenal, but a little more forced to be restrained.
They saved their two biggest songs for the encore, which was the longest encore wait I’ve seen in recent history. Typically, bands do the encore song and dance – they say they’re done and then come right back out within seconds. But we waited between 5 and 10 minutes for them to come back out, and with each passing moment I couldn’t help but wonder if they were done for the night, like they were in DC a few shows back. Which, for the last night of their tour, I wouldn’t blame them for wanting to be done.
They ended the night with “I Love You” and “Starburster” – both incredibly complex and impressive vocally. There are so many words in “I Love You” that the lyrics read more like a short story than a song. Their live performance sounded just like the studio recording. “Starburster” was the first single off their 2024 LP Romance. The only thing that would’ve made the performance better is if they included the sharp inhales that are on the recording.
Their stage setup was simple. They only had a backdrop that said “FDC,” a Palestinian flag, and fantastic lighting. For the exception of a “Free Palestine” and a few thank yous, the band had pretty much no conversations with the crowd, they really were there to just play their music. Their night in Philly put an end to their 31 day run in the US and Canada, leaving fans hopeful for what they’ll bring with them next time.
