Favourite for a long time - Fontaines D.C. in Finsbury Park

Another sunny, summer's day rolls in and with it another concert to enjoy. On this occasion, I ventured to local beauty spot Finsbury Park to catch Irish rock sensations Fontaines D.C. with a stacked bill of supporting artists. If Saturdays are for the boys, then the boys from the Emerald Isle were to be present on this July day. 

Concerts this July weekend in England were rife - Oasis' return in Cardiff, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's final goodbye at Villa Park and Sabrina Carpenter's gargantuan Hyde Park show just a few examples. Despite my love of two of those options (not the pint-sized Espresso singer I'm afraid), Fontaines had wormed their way into my calendar. And so began a heady day under the North London skyline, soundtracked by a range of artists. 

The venue

Finsbury Park is a deceptively big venue, packing in 45,000 punters and many food stalls and bars. I have ventured to FP for two gigs before - Geordie Springsteenian singer-songwriter Sam Fender and rock n roll Lothario George Ezra (yes, a hint of sarcasm - but I actually love your mum's favourite darling). Despite its, size FP is pretty easy to get around and there are two large toilet spaces. Leaving is, predictably chaos, but where isn't when you have tens of thousands of people erupting onto the street after a day of drinking, singing and whatever else? 

The drinks options are fairly disappointing if you like good quality, nice beer. Brewdog seem to have taken over the beer duties at Finsbury Park, so if you want a 'normal' lager/IPA, then your only option is one of their swill-like offerings. To further the pain and aggravation, they do not serve these in pints, only cans. Thankfully, Jubel and Guinness are there to save the day, but Jubel is a fairly acquired taste which does not make everyone happy. The Guinness bar serves pints, but it is much smaller than the other bars so the queue was fairy lengthy. However, due to the sloping nature of the park, you can still secure a good view even while quueing for a drink. 

The crowd

All in all, a very friendly bunch. I returned from a bar trip with a mere 10 minutes to go until Fontaines took the stage and with a mission to locate my fellow concertgoers in the middle of the crowd, with only a waving cap in the air my guide. I tracked the flagged cotton like it the North Star and me a weary explorer, although I was laden with two pints of Guinness oppose to the equipment that an intrepid explorer would have been in possession of. Everyone I squeezed past was very accommodating and even when I said, 'I'm meeting my mates, I'm trying to get to that hat' there was no sarcastic 'sure you are mate' or 'we're all meeting our mates, aren't we?' Mercifully, this crowd was a lovely bunch who looked out for each other and I was very pleased with that. 

The support

It is a long day with a long bill if you arrive for the openers, so we made the decision to come into the grounds later than gates. A shame, as Irish contingent Cardinals had opened the day, who I am a big fan of - I would highly recommend checking them out if you haven't heard their accordion-infused rock sounds before. 

We set an arrival time to see Kneecap, which was a successful mission. I had never listened to Kneecap before, so was very curious as to what I was about to see and hear. If you are not aware of their work, I would question whether you had spent recent times residing under a rock or similar solid mineral surface. Their rise has been fraught with humour, chaos, controversy, politics, activism, alleged illegality and big beats. A brief skim over their Wikipedia page or recent news articles should bring any willing reader up to speed. Their set opens with messages describing and detailing the horror of what is occurring in the Middle East right now, which drew a silence over the crowd, as we all reflected on the craziness which seems to be going on in the world. However, there was seemingly some sort of mix-up as the on-screen images cut between these important messages and two men (neither members of Kneecap) dancing behind a silent set of decks. It was an odd mishap, which was swiftly corrected. The Irish trio arrived on stage to a deafening racket, with loyal followers and curious fans anticipating a show - in whatever capacity. Overall, I found Kneecap very enjoyable. Musically, the beats are very good and they're clearly good rappers. Could I understand what they said half of the time? No. But the beats are excellent and their music speaks to people on a deep level, particularly when they focus on their activism. As showmen, they certainly delivered the laughs. A lot of humour and poking fun at themselves, I found them oddly charming, having expected them to be gruff and aggressive. Cynically, I think they had probably toned down some of their more risque commentary in light of recent news concerning both them and punk rap duo Bob Vylan. 

Following Kneecap was Australian punk outfit Amyl and the Sniffers. I had seen the Sniffers once before at their headline show at The Roundhouse in Camden and they had not disappointed. On this occasion, they were just as good. Mosh pits opened all over the place and I was more sweat than man by the end of it. They are vastly entertaining and fly the flag for punk music very well. They are a perfect opener for a rock show - energetic, loud, funny and very good. 

Fontaines

Hailing from Dublin, Fontaines' career has seriously kicked into gear in the last couple of years. With a post-punk, New Romantic and rock infused sound, they have always stood out from their various counterparts with irreverent lyrics and catchy hooks. Moody and dark, their lyrics touch on a wide ranging subject matter, from the Troubles to love and loss. They are gripping and intriguing, particularly with their recent stylistic change with 2024's album, Romance, from both a musical and fashion perspective. New outfits and haircuts (both dyed and cut) have been sported in this new era - a far cry from their Nirvana-esque shabby chic days. 

I have liked them since first hearing their hit I Love You - who could not be entranced by the musicality and lyrics of this work of art? There's a reason the vast majority of people who hear this song sit up and pay attention. However, I think they truly hit their stride with Romance. It's dark and broody, but with rare strikes of light through an overcast of grey. It lacks the sucker punch of their preceding efforts, but its increased polish makes it a far more palatable offering. This is not uncommon for bands who burst through with an unrelenting, raw sound - they often become more polished and refined. In Fontaines' case, this has resulted in a brilliant album, with great riffs, choruses you can shout along all day to and some hooky lyrics which take on the form of earworms.

And these brilliant album tracks are brilliant live, too. The setlist overall was pretty much spot on for what many of us would hope for. Opening with Here's the Thing, the crowd were instantly kicked into life after a long day of sun and alcohol. Fontaines had then clearly taken heed of Liam Gallagher's much publicised advice to the Black Keys - play your biggest hit (or one of them) second. Jackie Down the Line follows. However, this crowd had its cobwebs seriously blown away by the third song, Boys in the Better Land. Many brave pints were lost in that crowd, not least one of mine. A swift deletion of half of the other saved it from certain doom on the floor, but the damage had largely been done.

The set followed on in a similar vein, with banger after banger. I was very impressed by frontman Grian Chatten, who did not do much by the way of crowd interaction but brought a swagger to proceedings. The band were incredibly tight, playing with record-like accuracy. An incredibly efficient performance and setlist of which I have very few complaints. Big was brilliant, with every member of the audience chanting back the stuttering and stammering chorus with aplomb. Desire was broody and brilliant. With the sun having set, it felt even more atmospheric than its album counterpart. I have a particular love for Roman Holiday, not least for its inclusion in the 2024 Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special. 

The regular set ended with Favourite, one of my favourite songs of last year. Possibly the highlight of the night, this brilliant song elicits so much feeling from the listener whilst also being catchy as hell. It was a crowd pleaser, and everyone knew every word. Returning for the encore, Fontaines rattled through Romance, In the Modern World, I Love You and Starburster. All four were massive, bombastic versions of their original selves. 

As the show drew to a close with Starburster, you could feel as though you were watching a band riding the crest of a wave. Their popularity has certainly sky-rocketed in the last year, as demonstrated by these huge outdoor UK and Ireland shows this summer. What is next for Fontaines remains to be seen, but everyone will take notice.