Fontaines D.C. - Live at the o2 Academy, Bristol - 13th October 2021

While all live music was eagerly anticipated during those long winter months, some tours were more so than others.

Fontaines D.C. were riding the crest of a wave in early 2020 with a well-received first album and live shows going down a storm, and with a fine second album in their back pocket, the time was theirs. Undeterred by the pandemic, they released A Hero’s Death in mid-2020 and sat back while further accolades were thrown their way.

Rather than stifling their momentum, the long wait to see the songs performed live has surely worked in their favour. The tour has seemingly been a roaring success, and the atmosphere and excitement before they take to the stage is electric at a very busy Academy.

The band know it too, and they throw flowers into the audience to sate the baying crowd for a few brief seconds before opening with the second album’s title-track, a lockdown anthem itself. The hook ‘life ain’t always empty’, so defining and hopeful in the darkness of spring 2020, is finally laid to rest as it’s belted out by Grian Chatten and the crowd while his colleagues supply the doo-wop backing vocals.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2021/10/review-fontaines-dc-bristol/