On Tour With Fontaines D.C.
Pooneh Ghana

Nylon Nights

Fontaines D.C.’s NYC Show Was A Raucous Finale To Their U.S. Tour

But backstage, it was all pickup basketball and journaling.

by Jillian Giandurco

Playing a show in New York City is a big deal for any band, but selling out three nights at the Hammerstein Ballroom probably hits even harder for a Dublin-based group like Fontaines D.C. In honor of the milestone achievement, the rock stars celebrated with a casual pre-show journaling sesh and a game of pickup basketball.

But while the vibe backstage was notably chill — it was the last leg of their U.S. tour, after all —  Grian Chatten, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan III, Tom Coll, and Carlos O’Connell unleashed their darkly sexy brand of post-punk on the famed theater. And judging by the football-jersey-ed crowd’s frenzied reception of hits such as “Favourite,” “Bug,” and “Jackie Down The Line,” Fontaines delivered — then did it all again the following two nights.

To commemorate the weekend, Fontaines D.C. gave NYLON a backstage pass for an exclusive look, from soundcheck to curtain call (with a much-needed encore break in between).

“6000 tickets, 12000 lil’ handies.”

“One minute until walk on.”

“Encore-break debrief.”

Soundcheck peace.”

“Premium-guest-list hole.”

“A few words before a few notes.”

“The gaps between songs build tension.”

Photographs by Pooneh Ghana

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