More about: Fontaines D.c.

Last night Fontaines D.C. played a blistering set at at Brixton Academy, with a somewhat futuristic twist. Playing to a totally empty academy, viewers at home were able to watch the gig through VR, or via a number of angles and tracked cameras to get up close and personal with the Dublin band.

Fontaines D.C. are hot off the release of their sophomore album, A Hero’s Death. The record almost topped the charts, getting pipped to the top spot by Taylor Swift. In a normal world, Fontaines would be touring their hit record up and down the country; but as we’re all painfully aware, virtual gigs are the norm (for the time being). 

Fontaines walk out to a sea of LED lights and a series of cameras. They open the set with the latest single from A Hero’s Death, 'Lucid Dream', which is played to an empty arena that they’d sold out only nine months prior. 

The band are immaculate, and the different acoustics of an empty arena really lend itself to the distorted and eerie sounds of A Hero’s Death. The screens surrounding the stage are adorned with visuals from music videos and album artwork; this certainly helps the immersion and is a sight to behold on the MelodyVR app. The VR itself is fun and turning our living room into Brixton Academy for the evening is definitely a novel idea, but we found that it got quite old quite quickly. The cameras were very close to the band and after a few songs I took to the comfort of my sofa to watch on my laptop. I like the idea of a 360 degree view of Brixton Academy, but is it necessary? Who is spending their time watching the rows and rows of seats? 

The band play a diverse set, which blends the two albums eloquently. The punkier, spikey Dogrel tracks complement the more mature and pensive songs from A Hero’s Death, combining to make a wonderful live show. The only thing that was missing was you, and me, and a couple of thousand more. Our one and only gripe with these virtual gigs is that it makes us wish we were there ourselves, but we can hardly pass that blame to the band themselves. 

Overall, this was a wonderful show, though the VR was overkill. For sure, this would suit a poppier band, or perhaps someone who bases a show around how they interact with a crowd. The quality of MelodyVR’s product is good and the sound quality was superb, but we can’t help but feel it is a little gimmicky.

Personally we'd prefer two or thee fixed cameras rather than the motion sickness-inducing VR. The takeaway from this set is that you should see this band. The gig missed the roar of fans, the pit, the bouncing and the singing along. Fontaines D.C. have a UK tour taking place next year and we'd urge any rock fan to check it out. 

Fontaines D.C. played: 

A Lucid Dream
Televised Mind
Chequeless Reckless
Television Screens
Love Is The Main Thing
I Don’t Belong
You Said
Oh Such A Spring
Hurricane Laughter
Living In America
Too Real
Sha Sha Sha
Big
Liberty Belle
A Hero’s Death
Boys In The Better Land
I Was Not Born

More about: Fontaines D.c.