Fontaines D.C. – 24 October 2026 (Sant Jordi Club – Barcelona)

The Sant Jordi Club had been sold out for weeks ahead of the Irish band Fontaines D.C. and, judging by the crowd, nobody wanted to miss the debut in Barcelona of Dopamine Chamber (2026), their fifth album, which was released just ten days earlier. With a spectacular show that had packed out the Movistar Arena in Madrid just a few days earlier (There was a walkway that divided the audience in two, side screens with an almost cinematic presentation and precision lighting), and the addition of a sixth musician on stage (Alexander ‘Chilli’ Jesson , former bassist from Palma Violets on synthesizers and keyboards), the band seemed, on paper, to live up to the huge hype that had built up over the past few weeks.

Grian Chatten from Fontaines D.C., Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Eoghan Gilmore for Mercury Wheels @ Live Nation España / Houston Party

The gig would start off slowly with those almost claustrophobic rhythms of ‘Tongue“, followed by the equally dense “Here’s the Thing” and “Nabokov“, perhaps leaving an audience eager for choruses a little taken aback… Perhaps that is why “Boys in the Better Land” was received with a roar from a powerful drum kit, with the guitars taking centre stage — a fairly clear change of style... All we would need to do is concatenate “Marianne” and “Jackie Down the Line” so the Barcelona arena was transformed into a massive karaoke session, with Grian Chatten as the unrivalled master of ceremonies. His attitude was closer to that of a 2000s American rapper than someone typecast within the restraints of post-punk.

Fontaines D.C., Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Eoghan Gilmore for Mercury Wheels @ Live Nation España / Houston Party

After this dizzying section, the concert gradually wound down with “You Miss Me” and “Roman Holiday“, during which a Palestinian flag was flown over the stage so that Chatten let it the whole concert on the drums of Tom Coll’s drums. A powerful “Free, free Palestine” accompanied on stage by a “Viva Cataluña” recalled the political activism of a band that has never hidden its views… “A Hero’s Death” perhaps dampened the atmosphere a little too much and was later hard to get into that brilliant track, which is “In the Modern World“, with Chatten sets aside the characteristic anger in his voice to reveal his softer side. Accompanied by a host of mobile phones recording, he performs a track that speaks of disconnection in today’s world...

Carlos O’Donell from Fontaines D.C., Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2026 – photo taken by Eoghan Gilmore for Mercury Wheels @ Live Nation España / Houston Party

With tailwind, “Happy for You” and “Big Shot” we were treated to unison choruses sung by the locals and the British, and even though the live debut of “Death Kink” was a bit of a let-down due to its slow pace, but in hindsight, we would have appreciated that brief respite, given the avalanche of music that followed in the final third of the concert. “Mimesis” and those very ’80s-style synthesizers were chosen as the perfect starting point, followed by the sputtering. “Bug, “Favourite” and “I Love You“, where the already wild crowd threw cups of drink and the odd T-shirt into the air. Chatten, who never stopped moving up and down the catwalk, responded with high-fives.

There was still time for a few encores. During these, the stage was bathed in lighting of the colours of the Irish flag. “Six Shot Morning” woke up those who had been feeling the late hours of the night with an incredible layering of bass notes, although a minor glitch in the tracks played left both the audience and the band baffled. Realising that they needed to win back the audience in view of what lay ahead, the band chose to end the show with three of the most popular tracks from their last two albums. Despite the more leisurely pace, “Japan” Was sung along to word for word by an enthusiastic audience, providing the perfect prelude to “Starburster” thathit like an earthquake, with that staccato chorus and his now-familiar gasps bringing the first smiles to Chatten’s face on stage.

Grian Chatten from Fontaines D.C., Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Eoghan Gilmore for Mercury Wheels @ Live Nation España / Houston Party

With the Sant Jordi Club in rapt attention and mobile phones aloft from the outset as the audience anticipated a potential duet, the final song of the concert was Where Is Gone?“,the impressive ballad recorded with Rosalía. Chatten sat on a step of the catwalk and began to sing. When he shifted from low to high notes in the second verse, a sigh of disappointment could be heard from the audience, who had hoped that the Barcelona concert would be an opportunity to enjoy this much-talked-about collaboration live. Despite Rosalia’s absence, track sounded powerful live, with far more elaborate arrangements than on the album. Grian Chatten was clearly in his element, performing as a Nick Cave-style crooner.

Grian Chatten from Fontaines D.C., Sant Jordi Club Barcelona 2026 – Photo taken by Eoghan Gilmore for Mercury Wheels @ Live Nation España / Houston Party

The Irish band put on an outstanding concert, during which they demonstrated live exactly why Dopamine Chamber it is one of the albums of the year, and also that despite their imminent move to larger venues, it confirmed that the Shamrock Boys have not compromised their style, personality or class consciousness in the slightest during their live performances. There is one more thing to consider, the way they treated our fellow photographers, forcing them to sign a contract relinquishing their rights to the photographs they had taken, was disgraceful. It hurts all the more to see them on the dark side of history precisely because they are a band so committed to so many social and political causes...