Last time Fontaines D.C. played The Birmingham Institute they were supporting Shame, even though they were first on and, had a limited sound or stage to work with it was obvious that this was a band who like Shame were going to go on to big things. Just as I predicted Fontaines D.C. had an amazing whirlwind of a year, delivering one of 2019's best debuts, touring extensively, appearing on American TV and winning huge acclaim. Before they took their victory lap to Birmingham, it was up to Warm Drag to kick things off, a challenging and polarising prospect for an audience expecting a night of raucous punk rock. What the crowd actually got was a sexed up take on the repetitive loops and synths of early electronica, such as Silver Apples, all delivered by a woman in a black leather cat suit, her voice distorted by a mountain of pedals. Warm Drag are one of the few acts of recent years who eschew laptops for wires and pedals, experimenting with making electronic music the old school way. The industrial noise was a bit much for some, (particularly my girlfriend, who i had dragged along for this evening), but I feel that Warm Drag are a tip for anyone after new sounds for a new decade. (8/10)
Fontaines D.C. came on stage to bright white spotlights and the sounds of what can only be described as cowboy music. Thankfully this doesn't seem to indicate a change in direction, as heavy hitting early singles 'Hurricane Laughter' and Checkless Reckless kicked things off with a storm, (giving my girlfriend a birds eye view of a mosh pit for the first time, seeing pints and shoes fly into the air). Despite their hectic schedule Fontaines D.C. have somehow managed find time to pen new tunes, 'Televised mind' and 'Lucid Dream'. Both repetitive, pounding post punk tunes, in the same wall of sound style as the fan faves they opened with. Both tunes bode well for any new material around the corner. It may have been the same day that BBC 6 Music declared their album Dogrel their album of the year, but if the band or singer Grian Chatten were even aware of this they weren't showing it. Grian has developed an air of nonchalantness, taking breaks to lie down during intros (a sign that they probably deserve a break), keeping talk to a minimum and banging his mic stand on the ground to grab attention. It's been a very long time since any rock band has had a singer quite as cool as Grian, with his thick Irish accent and roguish attitude that recalls a young Liam Gallagher. Of course none of this would matter without great tunes which Fontaines D.C. have in spades. the live versions are all much louder and noisier live than on record, with the band experimenting with their pedals to create walls of noise. The only disappointment in the hour long set (for me at least) was the lack of the acoustic, 'Dublin City Sky' as the show had to be cut short and ended with a triumphant, 'Big', (this and the fantastic 'Boys In the better land were the undoubted highlights of the show). Despite all the acclaim and time on the road, Fontaines D.C. remain endearingly rough around the edges, the little band from Dublin done good. They ended with no encores* after already delivering more than enough, and even my girlfriend (whose not really into punk) had to admit they were great. (8.8)*IDLES and Kate Tempest also refuse to do encores, seems as if they're going out of style?
