Fontaines D.C. began Brooklyn Steel run w/ Just Mustard (pics, setlist, video)
Fontaines D.C. started their North American tour last week on the eve of releasing their excellent third album, Skinty Fia, but they were only three days into it when they had to cancel their Asbury Park and Boston shows, as frontman Grian Chatten was diagnosed with laryngitis. The band were back in action on Tuesday (4/26), though, for their first of two nights at NYC's Brooklyn Steel.
Grian made a brief mention of laryngitis during Fontaines' set, which may have been the only thing he said to the crowd. The band were wound up after their forced break, and Chatten in particular spun around like a top when he wasn't singing, swinging his mic stand around his shoulders and hyping the crowd up.
The crowd were definitely hyped, singing along to the whole set and forming mosh pits for Fontaines' most frenzied material from their debut album Dogrel. As they didn't get to tour North America for 2020's A Hero's Death, this is the first time audiences here are getting to hear 2/3rds of their material live, and it all sounded great, especially "Jackie Down the Line," "A Hero's Death" (which opened their set), "Televised Mind" and "I Love You."
While Chatten's voice was in good form, he was perhaps still easing back into it, as their Brooklyn Steel set was five songs shorter than their tour opener in DC on Thursday, and the crowd Tuesday night was definitely hungry for more. Setlist, pics and video of Fontaines D.C.'s Brooklyn Steel set by Toby Tenenbaum are in this post.
Fellow Irish band and Partisan records labelmates Just Mustard make for complimentary openers on this tour with their very '90s mix of shoegaze, trip hop and a smidge of alt-metal. David Noonan played his guitar almost like a percussion instrument, coaxing out looped rhythms with muted harmonics that were in simpatico with drummer Shane Maguire's minimal but powerful playing. While not the most exciting band to watch -- a lot of literal shoe-gazing -- Just Mustard sounded great and visually it's nothing a fog machine and a good light show can't solve. Their new album Heart Under is out May 27.
Fontaines D.C. and Just Mustard play Brooklyn Steel again tonight and tickets are still available.
Pre-order Fontaines D.C.'s Skinty Fia on translucent red vinyl that's exclusive to our shop, and pick up Dogrel and A Hero's Death on vinyl, too.
SETLIST: Fontaines DC @ Brooklyn Steel 4/26/2022
A Hero's Death
Sha Sha Sha
Jackie Down the Line
I Don't Belong
Chequeless Reckless
Televised Mind
I Love You
Too Real
Big
Boys in the Better Land
Encore:
Hurricane Laughter
Nabokov