© Loretta Marie Perera
With haunting beauty and restless energy, Fontaines D.C. made Neimënster’s rugged stage their own on Tuesday, reminding Luxembourg that these Dubliners are still rewriting the post-punk story – one city at a time.
With complexity, quiet rage, melancholic surrender, and playful energy, Luxembourg was invited to witness a chapter in the story of these Irish post-punk poets.
Neimënster’s looming, rugged rock facade set the scene perfectly. Fontaines D.C. are themselves evocative and cutting in their beauty, and the music and background couldn’t have suited each other any better.
It has been far from a quiet week for these post-punk icons from Dublin, who on Tuesday night delivered a striking performance of hits from their 6-year discography in Luxembourg. This year alone, the band has toured Europe, the US, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan – all on the heels of their fourth studio album Romance.
Just days ago in Finsbury Park, London, Fontaines DC headlined a sold-out crowd of 45,000, joined by political punks from Belfast Kneecap (whom lead singer Grian Chatten joined onstage for a track) and Amyl & the Sniffers, who themselves recently played in Rockhal.
With all the news about the bands in question (including their own protest for Palestine as well as their support of Kneecap) it felt like just for an evening, Luxembourg was at the centre of it all – or at least that we were part of the bigger story. Beyond the stage and atop the bock, protestors stood facing the crowd waving Palestinian flags throughout the evening – something the band would certainly have appreciated.
© Loretta Marie Perera
Following an opening set by local band Autumn Sweater, Fontaines D.C. kicked things off with one from Romance. Here’s the Thing got the evening going with a rousing start – the song does a fantastic job of immediately demonstrating the band's musical cohesion and daring, the poetic lyrics, and perhaps above all, the stage presence of Grian Chatten.
© Loretta Marie Perera
While Chatten doesn’t typically engage the crowd much beyond delivery of his music and a quick thank you, he on five separate occasions addressed the crowd – from two simple ‘thank yous’, a ‘Merci, thank you’, and at one point, even a ‘Luxembourg, thank you’ – it may not sound like a lot, but it is contextually plenty.
More observant fans may also have noticed he halfway through the show, Chatten removed his sunglasses (something he rarely or never does) and seemed in a more boisterous and playful mood than usual – perhaps vibing off a crowd which formed in two distinct parts: the more subdued attendees who chatted and gazed on from the outskirts, and the energised, youthful, moshpit front and centre – heavy dose of Irish fans included.
Having perfected their setlist through faster songs and slower numbers, morose musings and spiteful energy, forever favourites Jackie Down the Line and Boys in Better Land injected a reminder of Fontaines D.C. 's punkier beginnings while leading up to a far-reaching journey of their best work, that would continue for the next hour and a half. Favourite closed the concert before an encore featuring some of the bands best: the title track of Romance, In the Modern World and I Love You.
They saved what many have said is their best for last with Starburster set as the closing song – and here Chatten and his band reminded us all that through the complexity, quiet rage, melancholic surrender, and playful energy we were invited to witness, this already-accomplished band is just getting started.
