22 DUBLIN GAZETTE 1 November 2018
GOINGOUTOUT
PICKWEEK OF THE
NOVEMBER 1 (THURSDAY) Slayer @ 3Arena, €50
SPIRIT
HAVING made some of the most brutally aggressive music ever created, being one of four bands that defined an entire musical genre and the band other heavy acts are measured against and aspire to… after nearly 37 years and having released 12 studio albums, aging heavy metallers take their farewll
OF THE
tour to Dublin’s 3Arena
NOVEMBER 1 (THURSDAY)
LIBERTIES F
ADING photos star on the covers of Dublin rock band Fontaines D.C’s early singles, the images featuring a variety of street-famous Dubs of old. The story, we’re told, goes back to tales of local ‘characters’ passed down through generations in the west of Ireland. When the band set up in one of Dublin’s most iconic districts, in the shadows of Guinness, they kept hearing similarly compelling stories of local ‘characters’, and the stand-outs became a core part of the band’s identity. “We all lived in the Liberties together, and it became a big part of our lives. Both the people and the place. We’ve got so much love for it,” guitarist Carlos O’Connell tells us. “The Liberties got us really focused on authenticity, in particular in our vocals. So many Irish bands sounds Americanised. Our band’s accent is just that: ours.” “We’ve found that authenticity travels. People respect it, even if they don’t always 100% understand it.” There are plenty who won’t immediately connect with the harsh, jarring backdrop to plenty of five-piece Fontaines
D.C tracks. They’re a wellconstructed affront: intense and pulsating, lyrically oblique and layered in a kind of tonal grit that makes the guitars scream and the speakers judder. The vocals are almost spoken, yet manage to twist and cut. Tracks like ‘Chequeless Reckless’, ‘Hurricane Laughter’ and pointed reference ‘Liberty Bell’ have got the band jetting around Europe, though a first album remains out of sight around the corner. “It’s going to be as live as possible,” bassist Conor Deegan of the album they’re working towards. “It’s all written. We’ll take a few days preparing and then go through it as we set up on stage, or as near as possible. We might get to it when we’re done touring.” There’s only a handful of touring off-days for the band between now and Christmas.
JAMES HENDICOTT
“It’s funny that a year ago we were doing our first 2FM session and we were so excited,” Deegan recalls. “It’s become normal so quickly. It feels great to have people coming to us, to have so much reach. The reception has been unreal, we’ve been on BBC6, Radio X, KEXP. You get caught up in the moment. We’ve had to try hard not to let days just pass by; to really appreciate it all.” “We recently took over BBC 6Music, which was really surreal.” O’Connell says of the band’s finest off-stage moment to date. “It was so strange to do. We saw it as a chance to raise a flag for the Irish scene, so we played a lot of Irish stuff, Dublin stuff. It’s difficult to get a bit of success here. Sometimes we’re characterised as a bit of a backwater of the British scene.
Slayer @ 3Arena, €50 Max and Harvey @ The Academy, €23 One Horse Pony @ Whelan’s, €10 Martin Sexton @ Whelan’s, €28
NOVEMBER 2 (FRIDAY)
There’s so much good music here.” “That said,” Deegan interjects, “we never wanted to be another Irish band only playing at home. Luckily, the characters we use in our songs seems to travel.” “It’s like Ulysses, a little mythological,” he reflects on Fontaines D.C’s scatty but charistmatic take on the Liberties locals. “It’s the gravity of the ordinary, making people of central focus and importance.” “We’re best friends, and we’re very used to the touring life now, which makes this a whole lot easier. We really love it. The album will be coming sometime in 2019, and then the touring will be heavy after that.” That won’t be something new. “We’ve been hanging around a lot with (notoriously impressive live punk band) IDLES, O’Connell concludes. “We keep turning up in the same place and find ourselves just hanging out. They’re like big brothers. I guess we’re learning from the best.”
Fontaines D.C return to The Liberties to support Shame at the Tivoli Theatre on November 21
Johnny Marr @ The National Stadium, sold out Bicep @ Olympia Theatre, €31 Yxng Bane @ The Academy, €15 Vulpynes @ Whelan’s (Upstairs), €12 Many critics tip for the best punk band to come out of Dublin this decade, fast-rising Vulpynes clatter social issues over the head with their boisterous, articulate sound. Bodies @ The Grand Social, €10
NOVEMBER 3 (SATURDAY) The Stylistics @ Olympia Theatre, €45 Stephanie Rainey @ Whelan’s, €16 Steo Wall @ Bello Bar, €12 No More Questions @ Whelan’s (Upstairs), €8
NOVEMBER 4 (SUNDAY) The Decemberists @ Vicar Street, €37 Parallel Society @ The Workman’s Club, €10
NOVEMBER 5 (MONDAY) U2 @ The 3Arena, sold out Dublin’s most famous musical sons play a substantial gig that for them qualifies as small. If you’re lucky enough to be down for this one, expect a hit parade. Sigrid @ Olympia Theatre, €26 Polica @ The Grand Social, €20
NOVEMBER 6 (TUESDAY) The Ruby Sessions @ Doyle’s, €6 U2 @ The 3Arena, sold out Anti Flag @ Cancer Bats @ Whelan’s, €20 Kacey Musgraves @ Olympia Theatre, €34 Dashboard Confessional @ The Academy, €32 Neko Case @ Vicar Street, €28
NOVEMBER 7 (WEDNESDAY) Blackberry Smoke @ The National Stadium, €29 Leon Bridges @ Olympia Theatre, €31 I Heart Joni @ Whelan’s, €15