According to nme.com, Fontaines D.C. gave their song “Horseness Is The Whatness” its live debut during their show in Brooklyn. The Dublin band performed at the Brooklyn Paramount for a sold-out two night run on October 15 and 16, as part of their ongoing U.S. Romance tour.

On October 15, Fontaines D.C. treated the packed crowd to a career-spanning set by kicking off the show with “Jackie Down The Line,” “Televised Mind’, ‘Big Shot,” “Death Kink’, ‘Sundowner,” “Here’s The Thing Big” and “A Hero’s Death.” During their 13th song, the band broke out “Horseness Is The Whatness” from their recent LP Romance.

Frontman Grian Chatten performed acoustic guitar, while singing the lyrics:“Will someone / Find out what the word is / That makes the world go round? / ‘Cause I thought it was ‘love.” According to Genius, the song got its name from ”Horseness is the whatness of allhorse”, which is a reoccurring quote in James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Written by the band’s guitarist Carlos O’Connell, the inspiration allegedly came from reading Joyce’s novels out loud to his infant daughter. To wrap up their set for their first night at the legendary Brooklyn music venue, Fontaines D.C. performed “Nabokov,” ‘before exiting the stage and returning for a three track encore that saw the band performing “Starburster.”

Photo Credit: Nicole Ditt