The only thing you need to know about Fontaines D.C. is that they’re cooler than your favorite band and they’re gunning for that top slot. With a packed house at The Van Buren in Phoenix this week, the Dublin rockers proved that they fully deserve their rising success and have the chops to back up those bigger venue bookings.
The band has been tearing it up in their home country and around the world for 10 years and, like many of their peers, the rest of the place is finally catching on to their impressive musicianship. Taking the stage under a barrage of colorful strobes, the band quite literally launched themselves into “Jackie Down the Line” and “Televised Mind”. The pit had been restless before their set and they let out all that pent up energy with plenty of dancing and trying to overpower the band with their singing along.
The guys spoke very little throughout the set, preferring to let the music do all the talking and let the fans bask in all 19 chosen tracks. “Bug” was a clear favorite, as was “Sha Sha Sha” based on the level of enthusiasm radiating from the audience.
Preferring a sprint to a marathon with their performance, we reached the end of the evening all too soon. The main drag crossed the finish line with “Boys in a Better Land” and “Favourite” before the crowd’s incessant chanting brought the band back out for a three-song encore. It’s still plenty hot in Arizona so after a perfectly timed “Starburster”, a very sweaty audience left the steamy dance floor with a new favorite band and an experience not to be missed.
