BIDDING A FOND LONDON FAREWELL TO THE LAFONTAINES
LIVE REVIEW | THE LAFONTAINES | THE GARAGE, LONDON – 9th April 2025 by Tom Jenkinson
In December, Scottish rockers The LaFontaines announced they were calling it a day on the band that had formed in 2008. The breakup has been marked by three final shows, the first on the 9th of April in London at The Garage in Islington, with the final being held on home soil in Glasgow, on the 16th and 17th.
On a social media post announcing the breakup, the band stated, “After 17 incredible years as a band, four albums deep, and countless unforgettable shows, we’ve made the very difficult decision to call it a day.”
The first of the three final shows took place at The Garage in Islington, where the crowd are almost already at capacity for the support act Glass Cheques, the band that has formed out of the ashes of The LaFontaines split, headed by Jamie Keenan and Darren McCaughey. Glass Cheques impress early doors, with a dark, 90s sound. There is light melody mixed with glassy choruses and a grungy cover of Yazoo’s “Only You” goes down well with the crowd, the mix of melancholy and distorted guitars perfectly sound tracking the underlying sadness of the evening.
The headline act walks out to 2Pac’s ‘California Love’ at 9 o’clock and immediately bring the audience back to where it all began with the opening three tracks of their 2015 debut album Class with “Slow Elvis”, “Under the Storm”, and “Class”.
It quickly becomes apparent that while tonight is indeed a celebration of the band’s career, there is understandably a sense of sadness for frontman Kerr Okan and the band. Talking to the crowd stalls initially, “I recognise a few faces in here tonight” Kerr tells the crowd, before pausing and having to move on, overcome with the emotion of what tonight means for the band that began when they were just 18 years old.
The set dips into all areas of the band’s impressive back catalogue, from their debut (even playing a previously unreleased “Superstar” which is the first that they ever wrote as a group) to their most recent release “Business as Usual”. There is still a real sense of fun from The LaFontaines, who retain their sense of humour even in these final moments in their story: Kerr joins the audience to watch Jamie sing his solo vocal, commenting over the PA about how this is Jamie’s favourite part of the evening, “well at least you know we’re singing this live” he admits, as Jamie struggles to contain his laughter.
The set closes with two encores, the audience unable (or rather, unwilling) to let this be the end. The final two songs of the night “Business as Usual” and “All In” are a fitting end to the band’s set, and ultimately their time on stage. The former was the title track on the most recent release and arguably their strongest material to date; it does leave me wondering what might have been. It is a melancholic end to their career as a band but their performance is as energetic, fun, and fresh as it has ever been.
The LaFontaines play two remaining dates in Glasgow on April 16th and 17th. Tickets: https://www.gigsinscotland.com/artist/the-lafontaines
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