Photos by Michael McGrath
“My childhood was small, but I’m gonna be big.” Grian Chatten sang to a sold-out crowd at Denver’s Mission Ballroom last Tuesday. That lyric from Fontaines D.C.’s first album, Dogrel, may have been a bold statement when it was released in 2019, but Chatten and company are proving that they have the talent to back it up.
Back in October, Fontaines played to a packed house at the 1,100 person capacity Gothic Theatre as part of the same tour in support of their latest album “Romance,” and its success led them to add more shows, including last week’s show at the Mission, which can accommodate up to 3,950 fans.
Opening with the ominous thunder and darkly ambiguous lyrics of “Romance” and closing with the gasping strains of “Starburster” (the first two songs on the Romance LP), Fontaines treated fans to an hour and a half set filled with songs from all four of their albums.
With each album Fontaines’ sound has expanded. On “Romance,” the boys added more texture with multi-layered vocals and keyboards. I like every album and was happy that half of their setlist was from the first three. The energy of the show never waned and the band smoothly transitioned from songs like the somber and melodic “Horseness is the Whatness” to the psychedelic “Nabokov,” before jumping into the jangly “Boys in the Better Land.”
As usual, the security at the Mission handed out water bottles to fans at the front. One even paced the front fanning the crowd. I’m not sure if he was trying to cool us down or help us see and breathe. Either way his efforts were greatly appreciated.
I consider myself lucky to have seen Fontaines D.C. twice on the same tour. I’m sure the next time they come to Denver they’ll be headlining Red Rocks if not Fiddler’s Green. They’re gonna be big!
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