Fontaines D.C. w/ Jadu Heart @ The NorVa
Norfolk, VA
You are indeed my favourite Fontaines D.C. and have successfully made me fan girl in a way I didn’t know I could be (and I slept on the gross grimy streets of St. Louis for Paramore). I’ve been fully obsessed musically with Fontaines D.C. since 2019 when I came across the song ‘Televised Mind’, in the midst of a desperate search for new music. At the time, FDC had only two albums out: Dogrel and A Hero’s Death. I definitely had more pull towards A Hero’s Death because of the first 7 tracks which are a mix of Grian Chatten lulling you into his sadness and then two tracks later telling you Hey, don’t cry, being sad was sooo 5 minutes ago. Dogrel is a gritty, fun, punky Irish youth with songs like ‘Boys In the Better Land’,’Chequeless Reckless, ‘Sha Sha Sha’, and ‘Big’- we will come back to the importance of “punky Irish youth” here in a moment … However, in the spring of 2022, my ears (and everyone else’s) were blessed with the near perfection of an album Skinty Fia– jam packed with deep, personal general “life sucks” meaning and the members ties to their Irish heritage. Skinty Fia is what solidified FDC in my top 5. This record is one of the first albums I list to people when giving a “these albums changed my life” soap box spiel. I didn’t think I could love anything from them more than that album UNTIL Romance! Skinty Fia was the bands most experimental art rock/post punk album (that reminds me soooo much of my favorite band of alllll time, Interpol) BUT ROMANCE sort of takes the title to me of most experimental, especially when we get to hear more vocals from members other than Grian Chatten.
Everyone shines a bit more in Romance and in turn you as a listener. Now to say I was nervous with excitement for this show was an understatement (I got ready 4 hours early and had nowhere to go). I had moved an absurd amount of money over from my savings to prepare for the unnecessary greedy merch pull (I ended up just getting a shirt and a poster) and I even ironically picked an outfit that was the color scheme of Skinty Fia. This was my Beyoncé Cowboy Carter tour, my Taylor Swift Eras tour, and no one was going to ruin it for me. We wait in line, I count, 27th spot, easy pick for not barricade but just behind – they let us in, and I make a beeline towards the merch stand, grab my shirt and say I’ll circle back for the poster at the end because I’d be damned if it was not in pristine condition, and I take my place amongst my friends as the opener begins.
Jadu Heart– a band I discovered through the song ‘Forgotten Ghosts’. A band whose song I put on every playlist but miraculously didn’t feel the need to know anything else from them. What a mistake. A duo that draws heavy influences from Radiohead’s Kid-A – with an electronic soundscape, delivers this dark, emotional, modernity in their POST HEAVEN album. POST HEAVEN navigates the reality and intense feelings following the breakup of members Alex and Diva-Sachy’s 9-year long relationship. Standing in a crowd, captivated by two people who interchangeably get lost in opposing narratives of their own ill-fated relationship. You can’t help but feel sorry for them but selfishly relieved they somehow managed to keep it together for a whole album and then tour. So, thoughts and opinions on this perfectly British duo who successfully won me over, again, 6 years later: obsessed. Was it the casualness of the glass of wine on the set up that would be sipped on in between songs or the nonchalant ness of everyone on stage (especially Alex who would throw out a couple of thank yous that the crowd immediately started repeating in his accent- silly Americans) convincing me that I was actually the weird one for doing anything other than nodding my head along to the beat? It worked- I haven’t stopped listening to them and they will yet again be added to all of my playlists.
‘‘I Shimmer’ (Derealized,2023) being the opening song tricks you into thinking you’re in for a full set of shoegaze-y, electronic, songs that feel oddly like a head high after a bad day. Yeah, no, I was constantly shifting from the punchy and catchy songs of ‘Metal Violet’ (Hyper Romance, 2020), ‘U’ (POST HEAVEN, 2025), and ‘Mild to Moderate Pain’ (POST HEAVEN, 2025), to being put in a slow-motion trance where it felt as one of those movie shots of that person in the crowd of people dancing who is just standing there because obviously they are the only one with ears who can appreciate the weight of whatever song is being played – ‘AUX’ (POST HEAVEN, 2025), ‘Burning Hour’ (Hyper Romance, 2020), ‘Another Life’ (Hyper Romance, 2020). ‘Mild to Moderate Pain’ was one of two songs that had me fixated feeling completely isolated in the lights. The electric violin really helped sell the sadness and the feeling of being stuck with lyrics like “I wanted fate to design my life, too bored to live too tired to try” which was broken up with deep, droning, bass lines that kind of pushed you into a feeling of acceptance about the situation. The other – ‘Metal Violets’. GOD this song was so good to hear live for a first listen.
Diva-Sachys vocals were SO dreamy against the heavier guitar riffs in this song. In ‘Mild to Moderate Pain’ there was a heavier use of drum/beat machine which again, really helped you get lost in this melancholic setting they created as you quite literally feel every beat go through you no thanks to how close we were to the speakers. ‘Metal Violets’ is already one of their faster paced songs without being too in your face but in a live setting you can see it’s one of their favorite songs to play as their energy, especially in the ending breakdown, really amps up. Long story short: these guys are under appreciated and deserve their roses.
After a pleasantly short intermission, the lights? Off. A single spotlight shows Conor Curley enter from the left side of the stage – I know what’s happening as I’ve watched so many videos of this unique start to their show. He stands there very nonchalant as he adjusts his guitar and lets his hair fall into his face, over his dark sunglasses he keeps on all night. He will start to play the beginning sequence of ‘Romance’ and everyone else will file in! I was prepared camera ready to capture this moment. What I was not prepared for, was being absolutely star struck by Grian Chatten, in his white adidas track jacket, walking directly towards the spot in front of me and if you watch the recording I have and see my angle start to droop a little, I indeed was having a 14-year-old – just saw Justin Bieber- for the first time moment at my big age of 23. ‘Romance’ is the perfect eerie, heart racing, adrenaline raising intro that leaves you a little anxious as to what’s next. Especially when what’s next is ‘Jackie Down the Line’. I can think of a couple drum lines that invoke a full body response from me and this is one of them. Tom Coll should keep a timer each show to see how fast the crowd registers ‘Jackie Down the Line’ and I am confident enough to say Norfolk probably would be at the top. It’s a huge crowd pleaser and rightfully so as it’s one of their most popular off Skinty Fia with a chorus of
that feels even more haunting in person. The consistent groove locks you in and keeps the crowd jumping and pushing the entire time (for better or for worse). ‘Televised Mind’ was everything and more as the song I found them through.
The crowd started to get rowdier as a pit opened, slamming anyone who was in the first 3 rows into the barricade. To turn around and see a rather large group of late teens/fresh 20 year old dudes in soccer kits and beer shirts felt like an oh shit moment as I knew they were just warming up. My attention resumed on Grian Chatten, him and his little tambourine against the world as he expertly gets the crowd involved with the chorus. ‘Roman Holiday’ and ‘Big Shot’ were easily in my top 5 songs of the night (who is surprised as they are from Skinty Fia). ‘Roman Holiday’ covers such important feelings about Irish culture. The band members themselves aren’t far removed from this, and I think that fact allows this to be one of their more emotional songs of the night especially from a crowd perspective. Conors infamous guitar riff looms while Grian stands on a box at the edge of stage throwing his arms up, there is a cheering response, before taking the mic and grabbing attention. The pit stopped and everyone kind of just swayed and bobbed along, in appreciation of the bands gloomy aura. ‘Big Shot’ highlights Deegan and Conor’s insane musical talent so well that honestly it’s easy to look past Grian and focus on the two men on stage with sullen looks, doing with they do best. A common theme of the night was surprisingly Grian taking up a lot of the songs an octave here and there like ‘Roman Holiday’, ‘Big’, ‘Nabokov’, ‘Desire’ and ‘In the Modern World’, which is so cool as they kind of give audiences their own special moment with the band.
‘Nabokov’ and ‘Desire’ came in at #1 and #2 for the night. ‘Nabokov’ cuts deep with anger and frustration in a way that’s understood as exhausting to the listener. Grian wails into the microphone, “I DID YOU A FAVOR I BLED MYSELF DRY!”, as hands reach out towards his body leaning over the crowd. Conor is getting lost in his guitar and Deegans baseline is yet again severely underrated in ‘Nabokov’. Yelling along to ‘Nabokov’ is therapeutic, it’s relieving, it’s shared camaraderie with those in the crowd who have gone through the same gut wrenching experience. Remember when I said “punky Irish youth” will be important later on – that’s now.’Boys in the Better Land’ created the MOST energy second to ‘Starburster’ as the closeout song. The pit indeed got larger and the shoving more aggressive- when they tell you to not fight a current and just go with it, if this was not my first rodeo I’d be on the ground. Ending with ‘Favorite’ was so sweet and warm to sing as a fan as it felt like our song to sing to them. Locking arms with the people around you and tossing your head side to side, super happy and tired from the past 2 hours of jumping and yelling.
After two rounds of claps and cheers, they reemerge from the depths of the green room to deliver 4, count them FOUR, encore songs: ‘In the Modern World’, ‘Desire’, ‘I Love You’, and ‘Starburster’. It was one “AND ANOTHER” after another. Getting vocals from Deegan and Conor multiple times that night meant nothing to everyone’s favorite In the Modern World where their soft and angelic voices highlight the deep grit of Grians ad-libs. ‘Desire’ was my favorite off Romance when it was first released and it held all the same first time full body chills for me live. Grian delivers exaggeratedly haunting vocals with vivid lyrics that drag you down to earth while Tom, Conor, Carlos and Deegan deliver this cinematic feeling musically that is quite levitating. ‘Desire’ is one of their strongest songs off Romance and for good reason – as it’s absolutely killer live. ‘I Love You’ does what it’s always done – creates thought invoking emotion around the history of Ireland and what it means to love your country in all its forms, packaged nicely in song that makes you want to angry cry.
A love letter to Ireland. Finally closing down the night with ‘Starburster’, the long awaited hit single that takes a hard turn away from the traditional vocal stylings and shows the rap/hip hop influences the band holds. Everyone in the crowd gave every last ounce of energy they had for this final song, daring anyone to say they didn’t show up and show out. Fontaines D.C. invoke such adrenaline and controlled chaos from their fans that it’s no wonder they extended their tour. If I could sell all of my possessions and just travel to every show of theirs, I’d consider doing it in a heart beat. This band has gifted me so much joy and comfort in their music that seeing them live felt like seeing my best friend from high school after years apart. I know them, they are familiar, nervous to see them because what if things are different or they don’t act the same as they did years before, but immediate relief and happiness as everything comes back like muscle memory as if no time has passed. I hope to see them again and again and I’ll love them forever, till the grass around my gravestone is deceased.
SETLIST:
- Romance
- Jackie Down the Line
- Televised Mind
- Roman Holiday
- Big Shot
- Sundowner
- It’s Amazing to Be Young
- Big
- A Hero’s Death
- Here’s the Thing
- Bug
- Nabokov
- Boys in the Better Land
- Favourite
ENCORE
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