Photo Diary: Fontaines D.C.

Photos and words: James Adams // IG: @the.james.adams

You’ve got a job to do. You’re pacing around from the moment the gates open until they close, shooting bands, brands or whatever is lining your pockets.

However, when you’re shooting at a music festival, regardless of whether your earholes dig the music, your eyeholes (and viewfinder) are relentlessly bombarded with shutter-worthy moments. Indoor, outdoor, sun, shade, smile, cry, forward, backward, up, down, wet, dry, high, low, sober, drunk, day, night, and all of the blissful parts in-between, the moments are yours for the taking, as long as the multitude of them doesn’t overwhelm you.

In this moment, there was only one option: to make myself free from 10pm - 11pm to capture the Celtic power and raw mood of Fontaines D.C. 

With their first Australian tour postponed since 2019, this live set from Dublin's finest had been a long time coming. It’s easy to forget what Fontaines have accomplished since they first announced they were touring Australia, pre-pandemic.

You booked tickets to see them in 2019 with their debut album 'Dogrel' fresh on the eardrums. However, by the time they got here, they were three albums, 100’s of shows, and a Grammy nomination deep. Words can’t articulate the feeling, the smell, the energy, or the sound of a Fontaines live show, and time can not take you back.

All I can offer are a few photos and the suggestion to never miss them play live. They are a beautiful representation of the fact that rock music ain't close to being dead.