Pros of announcing your festival lineup way six months before the event? Anticipation is allowed to ratchet up, punters have time to digest and make their decision, and a longer lead time to sell tickets.
Cons? Organisers run the risk of putting the hottest act in the world at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon.
Fontaines D.C. were announced as fourth down on the Main Stage back in February, a placing which always looked dubious. Now, post-‘Starburster’, post-‘Favourite’ and in the thralls of rave reviews for fourth album ‘Romance’, the world is Grian and co’s for the taking. Only two days old, much of the material is box-fresh and ripe, and it shows. If ever it was a band’s time, late August 2024 belongs to this quintet. The only question mark is over how the band will going to condense their now hefty back catalogue into a preposterous tight 45 minute set.
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A question summarily answered with a pitch-perfect festival performance, with every new song supplemented by an older track. The band take to the stage one at a time during the spooky, ethereal bassline which precedes the new album’s title track, followed by a rapturously received ‘Jackie Down The Line’.
Tracks such as ‘Favourite’ and ‘Starburster’ receive bigger applauses than the likes of ‘Boys In The Better Land’ and ‘I Love You’. Yet frankly, the setlist is almost irrelevant. By virtue of their presence, Fontaines D.C. have already won this battle. Chatten does little to interact with the audience but a slight flick of the finger gets a huge cheer. This is a band fully in control of their destination, safe in the knowledge they are joining rock’s top table.
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Words: Richard Bowes
Photo Credit: Simon Wheatley
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