Fontaines DC at Brooklyn Steel 4/26/2022

So, Fontaines DC was the Band That Got Away from my SXSW 2019 visit. Everybody who saw them said they were great, and that I would love them. Not sure how, but I managed to miss all of their SXSW shows, and that was a big miss.

Fontaines DC is an Irish band named after the Johnny Fontane character in the movie, “The Godfather”, which is celebrating its 50th(!) anniversary this year. A band in LA had the same clever idea for their name, so the Irish guys added the “DC” for “Dublin City” to set them apart.

Fontaines DC is Irish Irish, not to be confused with Boston Irish like The Dropkick Murphys, whom I love. Irish, as in the lead singer spells his name John, G-i-a-n. Irish, as in you need to speak Gaelic to understand half the song titles in their catalog.

When Fontaines DC announced their 2022 North American tour, I saw they were scheduled to play at the Wonderbar in nearby Asbury Park, a mere 20 minute drive. I jumped on tickets the day they came available, and Saturday jumped into my best shredded jeans and Black Angels t-shirt. Didn’t happen. Four hours before showtime, it was postponed, new date TBA. I’ve not yet been to Wonderbar, but it’s not the Stone Pony, Asbury Park’s rock Mecca: was this like Spinal Tap refusing to play the puppet show venue at the fair?

Anyway, I suited up for a fancy birthday party dinner in New York City instead. A wonderful evening, but a bit different than what I was planning. En route to the city, I scarfed up tickets to the Fontaines DC shows at Brooklyn Steel, both nights, just to make sure I wouldn’t miss them (again!).

Good call. Last night’s Fontaines DC show was outstanding. They played a terrific set, including some of their most raucous crowd-pleasers like “Televised Mind”, “Too Real”, and “Boys in the Better Land”. Their encore included “Hurricane Laughter”, another mosh favorite.

Early in the set, they took a break from the hard stuff for “I Don’t Belong”, a wonderful, soft, melodic ballad that (to me) somewhat echoes echoes that old Dave Davies tune “I’m Not Like Anybody Else”. It’s a great song.

The Brooklyn Steel crowd was super high energy. Most of it was consumed in a mosh pit, but the crowd loved every selection offered up by Fontaines DC.

I’m thinking seriously about going back to Brooklyn Steel again tonight.