Fontaines D.C. Skinty Fia Tour

Sit back, get yourself a drink and some chocolates, and let Lucy (our dearest friend aka a fellow Fontaines nerd) take you on tour with her words. This is a Christmas present you didn't know you wanted.

Words by Lucy Thompson

Photos & Edited by Lia Qin

If you've been to any Fontaines D.C. show on their recent UK tour, there's a great chance you might saw a girl in red hair, always at front, looking excited/madly in love. That's Lucy, one of our favourite people on earth, and definitely one of the most enthusiastic gig goer anyone could possibly know. She had the opportunity of attending not one, but ten shows throughout the skinty fia tour - it's mad I know! And she has kindly written the experience into words so we could all relive this crazy and wonderful tour with her (Lucy also has her own blog: click here). I personally always enjoy Lucy's writing a lot because it's so raw and pure: you could feel the love and passion she has for live music between lines, and that reminds me how much I appreciate being able to do what I do today. Without further ado, enjoy unwrapping the Christmas present we prepared for you.

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Over the past month of November, I’ve seen Fontaines D.C. 10 times. This tour was for their third album Skinty Fia, which was released back in April. Skinty Fia is definitely my favourite album of 2022 and one of my favourites of all time. It takes a slightly different direction from that of Dogrel and A Hero’s Death, but is still easily recognisable of Fontaines and I believe it is their best work yet. So after months of anticipation, I was so excited for the tour, and finally it came.

I started tour with three nights in Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, a venue quite well fitting for Fontaines at this point in their career. Support was from Wunderhorse, a rapidly emerging band fronted by Jacob Slater. Wunderhorse were incredible and I was so happy the got announced. Before the Fontaines shows, I had seen them twice, once supporting Sam Fender and the other at their headline gig at the Lafayette in London for their debut album ‘Cub’ which was such an amazing and emotional listen. Live, Wunderhorse come to life, in particular Jacob. Jacob clearly means every lyric he says, as his stage presence is filled with anger and very forceful movements (reminding me a bit of Grian) as he puts his whole life into his singing.

I enjoyed how they changed the setlist and the order of it almost every night. They mostly opens with Poppy, in which Jacob shows his huge talent at writing and playing guitar. They always play Butterflies and Girl Behind the Glass, two singles from their debut album. Some nights they play Epilogue which I actually find quite overwhelming due to the raw and intense emotion Jacob displays on stage. Towards the end of the tour, they even play a new song Arizona. I love seeing Wunderhorse songs in the flesh; despite not being together for long the band have already seems to master their performance and look so good as a quartet. They also connect with the audience which is so promising to see for a support band who often may not have the attention of the crowd, as well as meaning they’ll be a band to hold on to.

When Wunderhorse ended, I could feel the atmosphere building, and there was excitement as the lights of the words ‘fontaines dc’ lit up on their stage set. Every night they walked on stage to a different song, meaning for us who went to multiple shows never felt the same.

The first night (that I went to, 11 Nov Manchester) Fontaines opened with Televised Mind, which was followed by Sha Sha Sha - one of the happiest songs to hear live. It is so bold and uplifting with everyone chanting ‘Sha Sha Sha!’ when the chorus comes in, a moment I cherish every time I see this band live. Despite Grian being unwell, they played Hurricane Laughter, which ends up being an eruption of madness and anger and is definitely not for the faint hearted (nor is their entire set). You Said also made an appearance and would do for many shows on this tour. I love You Said so much. Everything is so perfect about it: from the lyrics, lighting, Carlos’ guitar and the way Grian performs the song. Before You Said was I Don’t Belong, where everyone has their hands in the air singing the lyrics in unison, always a special moment.

Perhaps my favourite part of the set every show has been Big Shot. Written by Carlos, Big Shot is about the challenges he faced as the band has grown throughout the past 4 years. When it starts Curley and Carlos’ guitars soar and Grian gets so into it, smashing his mic on to the ground. I especially love the middle of the song which is so incredible, one would only understand if they have experienced it live.

Part of the encore was Big, where everyone in the room erupts and screams the lyrics. The same goes for I Love You, perhaps one of their best/overall crowd favourites, where Grian literally gives his everything. For this tour they had confetti which said ‘I Love You’, the most creative and sentimental confetti I’ve seen at gigs and I was sure to scoop as much of it up as possible.

After the first two nights of Manchester, they did DJ sets. Friday’s was in Canvas, and Saturday’s was in Yes, both clubs were in the city centre. Their DJ sets were led by Carlos and Curley, who were all heads down when it came to DJing. Fun fact, Curley did DJing before he joined Fontaines. But somehow Carlos still seemed to take over a little bit. On Saturday Tom also joined in and Deego was there for five minutes (DJing doesn’t seem to be his thing). Whilst one of them took control for a bit, the others came down to speak to people and were so nice and friendly as always. I love them so much.

On Sunday nights Manchester gig, they opened with Big, which I really really enjoyed. Sha Sha Sha followed which worked well, just like the start of Dogrel. However, there was no Hurricane Laughter, from Saturday they brought Television Screens back and kept it for much of the tour. They also played songs from Skinty Fia such as Skinty Fia, Nabokov (which is AMAZING and so overwhelming and intense live), and Roman Holiday which is always special and I especially love the middle of it where Grian looks at the lights as he sings ‘and I will fly into the sky’ (which he adds in the live version).

The first three nights of tour were so incredible. I was so lucky to spend it with all of my friends I’ve made through the band and we made memories that will last forever.

The following week of tour included shows in Swansea, Birmingham and Nottingham. Fontaines changed up the setlist every night which was good as nothing got old or repetitive (not like it would anyway) and there was always a surprise coming. I’ve noticed that I especially love when A Lucid Dream is towards the beginning of their set as it immediately gets the crowd going. Birmingham’s show was one of the most rowdy and violent but nevertheless it was fun as with Fontaines gigs that’s what it’s always like. Nottingham was a night to remember as they played the iconic Rock City. The stage was so small, in a way too small for Fontaines, namely Grian, who spends the whole time pacing around and playing stepping stones with the amps. It was a really special gig as they’ve played Rock City for each album, so that intimacy has always remained. They added Oh Such A Spring to the set which was really special as it is so clear to see that Grian means all of the lyrics so much. Also making its tour debut was In ár gCroíthe go deo, immediately filling the room with with vigour as the crowd joined in with Grian and pits were being made. Special shoutout to Deego, who always gives the best backing vocals and has a much more noticeable presence in the band and live shows than before the Skinty Fia era. We spoke to the band after the show and I showed Grian my tattoo. After that I was so buzzing. They really are the most down to earth band around.

Swansea saw Fontaines play one of their first arenas (still 3000 though - small for an arena), but it was a bold and energised performance, with Grian being so appreciative of the crowd and the whole concept of being able to tour the songs he wrote. However, before the gig, I realised there was going to be a DJ set that I had no idea about due to it being only advertised on the local pubs socials. But I had no need to fear or panic as I decided to shoot my shot and ask Carlos if there was any way we could get in, and he instantly replied and put me on guestlist, which meant that after the gig our night did not end there. This time it was Curley, Tom, Carlos and Grian. Grian didn’t have any idea what he was doing and mainly just stood at the back bopping his head and intensely watching the people in the crowd whilst drinking his Guinness. At one point he started pressing things then Curley told him off, then Carlos showed him something and he gave it an attempt before laughing and then taking a step back to proceed with just drinking his Guinness. Fontaines DJ sets are so fun. It’s not like any club: it’s a club with my favourite band, literally what more is there to ask for.

That weekend, Fontaines taken on three nights at Hammersmith Apollo, and I think they may have been the best nights of the tour. Their performance is stunning and faultless and it makes me remember why I love them so much and shows how far they’ve come. On night 1, they started with A Lucid Dream, which might be my favourite Fontaines opener. From when Tom’s drumming starts to when the guitars come in, it is just an explosion of post punk goodness. Then onto In ár gCroíthe go deo and Sha Sha Sha, it was the best start to three amazing nights. They included strings in the first two songs and also Nabokov which was out of this world and literally gave me the chills everywhere.

For the second and third nights, they opened with Nabokov which slightly took me by surprise as it is a less common opener and immediately hits with the power and emotion. Before the encore, Grian took to the stage himself to sing Couple Across The Way. It was so beautiful as it was just him singing every lyric he meant to a crowd of 5000 and I could tell everyone appreciated it so much.

Carlos plays with an empty beer bottle during Too Real

The set was so intense on those two days I forgot about one of my favourites - Too Real. I would say that Too Real might be Fontaines’ most perfectly sculpted songs live. Each member of the band has their distinct part that they give to the song. Carlos, for example, uses an empty beer bottle to play guitar and Deego turns his bass upside down and smashes it on the ground, meanwhile, Grian is pacing around the stage, hopping over the amps and taking laps around Tom’s drum kit. That song truly takes me into another world every single time. Next was Boys In the Better Land, which when it starts, the crowd roars with excitement. On Friday, Carlos was so so so so happy it was the absolute best thing ever. He kept smiling at people in the crowd and he was literally having the time of his life and I just loved it so much. For I Love You for some reason that night in particular it really got to me and the whole performance was so immense and profuse.

That night Curley and Carlos did another DJ set and it was at the Shacklewell Arms in Hackney. The as we approached the pub the vibe seemed quite odd but that immediately went away when as we were going through the corridor Carlos was there and I was greeted by an excited ‘Hello how are you!’. We spoke about the night and he said it was his favourite gig he ever played, which I could tell very much. He then said how much he loved seeing me at the front every time and it makes him so happy. I literally was exploding inside I could not believe he said that. He then gave me guestlist for Galway and I was so grateful and relived that tour wouldn’t end that weekend. We pinky promised as I’m not flying to Ireland without certainty and in reflection I’m proud that I flew to another country without a ticket for the show without getting stressed.

In Galway, the venue was very odd as it was also a swimming pool. I didn’t know what to expect as I had never seen a venue like this before, but by the time we got in it was the perfect sized venue for Fontaines. This time they opened with A Hero’s Death. They included Oh Such A Spring as well and even though it’s not You Said, it was my favourite performance of that song all tour. This performance of Big Shot was also faultless and knowing it was the last show and just the broadness of sound and emotion in that song I completely lost it and Grian looked very confused. For the Irish shows Fontaines had been including Liberty Belle, which was a nice addition to the setlist and the Irish crowd went mental.

This tour has been full of the best performances I’ve seen from Fontaines and the most emotion ridden performances from Grian. He truly owns the stage like no other frontman and has such a unique way of doing what he does. This tour I’ve also loved Carlos as he has his act on stage perfected to a crisp and I must admit I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Curley has delivered polished performances and Deego has just been Deego, but has taken a new presence this tour, giving some of the most noticeable additions to songs that aren’t on studio versions. Tom has seemed so happy this tour and is always so friendly when speaking to him it makes me love the band even more. I also feel like the luckiest person ever to have the friends I have to tour with Fontaines. It has been the most special and valued experience I’ve had so far in my life and to share it with who I have done has topped it off like nothing else can. After what seems like a constant year of touring, Fontaines deserve a well-earned break and I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am for what’s coming next.

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