Photo Credit: Eimear Lynch
On a cold and dreich Wednesday night spirits were soon lifted as this hugely anticipated headline tour saw Dubliners Fontaines D.C. roll into Glasgow for one night only and we would finally get to hear the songs from their Romance album which was released back in August, in fact we would get to hear every track from that album aside from Motorcycle Boy.
We could feel the anticipation and excitement in the air as showtime approached, the OVO Hydro was fairly filled as London-based support band Sorry took to the stage. ‘Who the fuck is Sorry?’ says the message on the big screen tonight, you may be forgiven for saying ‘never heard of them’ but they have obviously been hand picked by Fontaines D.C. for this tour. The London five piece rattled through eleven tracks during a forty-minute set with the best for us being Screaming In The Rain. Sorry have a good mixture of music to display tonight from electro all the way through to indie rock, vocalist Asha Lorenz has a very unique voice and a great stage presence. The crowd reaction to each song is very pleasing with the arena now filling up nicely for the main act. Echoes is another standout from the set as the set. Sorry head out on a UK headline tour in May and are well worth checking out. 7/10
We have a side on view of the show tonight but on the plus side it means that we can see everything that is going on behind the green screen, the start of the set is delayed due to a crowd incident. The standing area is at full capacity now as the six band members take to the stage and the curtain drops as they kick off the set with Romance from the album of the same name. The energy is highly charged for next track Jackie Down The Line, those in the standing area are waving back and forward just like in the football matches of years gone by. While Televised Mind is a darker moment but still prompts a singalong, in fact a good proportion of the fans are singing back every word to them, it really is an exceptional start. It’s not long until the big hitters are played, the first being Roman Holiday, one of their biggest songs and is quickly followed by Big Shot and the first mosh pits of the night downstairs. This is honestly one of the best crowds we have seen in the OVO Hydro for a while. Hurricane Laughter from the 2019 Dogrel album is played for the first time on the Romance tour replacing A Hero’s Death, vocalist Grian Chatten was excellent during this track as he was throughout the twenty-song set.
As we move towards the end of the main set the crowd are trying to catch their breath as the big songs come out and Boys In The Better Land prompts another mass singalong moment. Favourite has quickly become one of the lead singles from the Romance album and deservedly so as it whips the crowd into a frenzy ending the main set. After a prolonged break they are soon back on the stage for a four song encore starting with In The Modern World then Desire, the two remaining songs are the best of the set. The intensity that Chatten produces during I Love You is top class, he has the crowd in the palm of his hand and it seems like everyone is screaming the lyrics right back at him, this is the biggest Fontaines D.C. song to date but closer Starburster is quickly catching up with over forty million streams at the last count. A couple of days before the gig, Fontaines D.C. were announced for TRNSMT Festival in July next year and will also play headliners at Finsbury Park in London and Wythenshawe Park in Manchester, and with bands such as Amyl and the Sniffers, Kneecap and English Teacher already booked as support these shows are set to be massive. 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown