There was a palpable excitement in the room at a packed MTELUS, as fans eagerly awaited the members of Fontaines D.C. to file onto the stage following an opening set from Been Stellar. A circular green crest hung centre stage bearing the pink letters "F.D.C.," slightly obstructed by a light haze rising from the crowd, meeting a wall of purple light coming down from above.
As the DJ faded out of Leonard Cohen's "Avalanche," the band's lead guitarist Conor Curley walked out onto the dimly lit stage, beginning with subdued intro of their latest album's title track, "Romance." While he strummed the chords, the music was drowned out by loud cheers as the remaining band members took the stage individually, with singer Grian Chattan entering last in a black trench coat, leather trapper hat and large sunglasses.
This slow build of energy worked tremendously, with Chattan and the band acting as conductors, leading the crowd into a roar that didn't cease. As they transitioned from one song to the next, the crowd's energy continuously elevated, with each new track getting a louder and louder response from their opening notes. Whether older cuts like "Televised Mind" or newer faves like "Death Kink," there was a tangible energy amongst audience members, as they yelled every lyric back at the stage.
The apex of the show's explosive energy came with fan-favourite track "Big" — the intro to the band's debut album, 2019's Dogrel — had the entire venue shaking. With lights strobing to match the beat of Tom Coll's drumming, the crowd almost appeared to be moving in stop motion. On stage, the band fit all of the energy that they could into the song's sub-two-minute runtime, packing a heavy punch for as brief a moment as it was.
As it concluded, Chattan removed his coat and glasses, visibly drained from the intensity of the performance, and picked up an acoustic guitar as "Sundowner" began. This sole mellow moment in the setlist gave Chattan and the fans a pause to recuperate from the show's non-stop energy, with guitarist Conor Curley handling vocals. This change of pace was short-lived: after the outro had the audience collectively swaying and gently singing along, the band ramped the energy back up, with "Nabakov" igniting the audience.
Shortly after, Fontaines D.C. closed the show with "Favourite," and the crowd made it known that they were hungry for more. The band had left the stage for several minutes but the cheering never wavered, with a chorus of fans yelling "DC! DC! DC! DC!" before switching to the Montreal staple of chanting "Olé."
As the ensemble hit the stage for their encore, it was as if the crowd had somehow become more energized than before. From the opening strings of "In the Modern World," the building was electric. By the time "I Love You" hit, the crowd began to pull their phones out with a noticeable urgency.
Chattan, who had been a man of few words, announced that the next song would be their last, and "Starburster" began to a thunderous response. Feeling like the culmination of all the energy spent in the venue, the crowd reached a fever pitch, with the floor quaking and a few bolder concertgoers surfing through the crowd.
As the band rolled out of the song's subdued bridge into its final refrain, Chattan and the crowd were in synergy, repeatedly bellowing the lyrics "I'm gon' hit your business if it's momentary blissness" in perfect unison.
It was the moment that Fontaines D.C. had been building toward since they took the stage, and served as the exclamation point for a set composed almost entirely of non-stop, high-energy bangers.