Fontaines D.C. are bigger than ever thanks to their truly excellent fourth album Romance, and they’re keeping the August 2024 album’s momentum going with a new deluxe edition and another North American tour that brought them back to NYC over the weekend for an even bigger run than last time: three Hammerstein Ballroom shows (compared to the two at Brooklyn Paramount that they played in October). There was no clearer sign of how much they’ve continued to rise than when they closed out night one with Romance lead single “Starburster” and were met with the wildest crowd reaction of the night. Back in October, the new material was still settling in and the most frenzied moments of the night often belonged to older songs. On Friday, it was “Starburster” by a mile.
My only complaint about Friday’s show–and it’s a minor one–is that we got almost the exact same setlist in almost the exact same order as the Brooklyn Paramount run. With four albums to pull from and pretty likely odds that a lot of people who saw them in October would be seeing them again, a little element of surprise would’ve gone a long way. That said, I can’t complain about the performance, which was as towering and epic as it was last fall. Like at Paramount, they came out to Romance‘s slow-burning, moody title track, and then turned it up to 11 with Skinty Fia standout “Jackie Down the Line.” A string of choice older cuts followed (“Televised Mind,” “Roman Holiday,” “Big Shot,” “A Hero’s Death”), and then Fontaines eased back into the Romance material with another slow-burner: the harmony-laden “Sundowner.”
The one big change of the night is that this time we got “It’s Amazing To Be Young,” their excellent newer single that’s included on the deluxe edition of Romance, and then after a delightfully rowdy rendition of Dogrel‘s “Big,” it was officially Romance time. Like in the fall, they back-loaded the set with the new album and gradually built up to it, and the payoff was worth it as they banged out “Death Kink,” “Here’s the Thing,” and “Bug,” before toning things back down with “Horseness Is the Whatness.” Throughout it all, they sounded massive, often using three guitars at once, a mix of electric and acoustic, and further fleshing out the sound with keys and electronics. They continue to look impossibly cool, wearing their sunglasses at night without it being even a little corny, and they’re a rare popular modern indie rock band who really rocks. With hazy ballads, punk rippers, and so much in between, their range is impeccable and keeps the show from ever falling into a lull.
After tearing through “Boys in the Better Land” and wrapping up the pre-encore set with Romance‘s jangle pop closer “Favourite,” they returned for an encore and this time we got “Desire,” which Fontaines had yet to play live when they last toured the States. The rest of the encore mirrored the last tour, with with Romance‘s fan fave slower song “In the Modern World,” Skinty Fia‘s “I Love You,” and the aforementioned “Starburster” to end the night on its highest note.
The run continued on Saturday (5/17) and wrapped up on Sunday (5/18), and night three included the live debut of another song from the deluxe edition, “Before You I Just Forget.” Watch a fan-shot video of that moment and check out more photos from night two by Amanda Hatfield below…
Fontaines DC @ Hammerstein Ballroom – 5/16/25 Setlist
Romance
Jackie Down the Line
Televised Mind
Roman Holiday
Big Shot
A Hero’s Death
Sundowner
It’s Amazing to Be Young
Big
Death Kink
Here’s the Thing
Bug
Horseness Is the Whatness
Nabokov
Boys in the Better Land
Favourite
Encore:
In the Modern World
Desire
I Love You
Starburster
Notes: night two (5/17) did not include “Desire,” night three (5/18) included the live debut of “Before You I Just Forget”