Review and Photos: Tania Graham-Brown
Fresh from his recent Mercury Prize win and a massive year that’s seen him sell out stadiums across the UK, Sam Fender had finally arrived for his highly anticipated Australian tour.
But first up at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter was award-winning, critically acclaimed British singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone, who is one of the UK’s most spellbinding songwriters and performers and was a perfect choice to warm up the crowd for Sam Fender. Her new single ‘Die Happy’ was a highlight of her short but impressive set.
Sam bulldozed through this show in Sydney with the force of a man who’s grown into the arenas and the large stages he was always destined to command. Fresh off a run of sold out shows abroad, Fender’s stop in Sydney felt destined, a working class Geordie kid with Springsteen dreams, now pulling an Australian (and a fair few British expats) crowd into his orbit with total ease.
From the opening lines of ‘Will we talk’, the crowd, a mix of sweaty 20 somethings and long time Fender faithful, responded with a kind of communal roar that permeated your bones.
I think the beauty of a Sam Fender show lies in the whiplash, the way he pivots from barreling, fist in the air anthems to soul-rattling introspection. ‘Dead Boys’ hit exactly as it was meant to: a moment that made thousands of people stand still.
I turned up to a festival in Belgium a few years ago that one of my musical hero’s was playing at. In the weeks prior my father’s health had suddenly declined and I was being told he had maybe weeks to live (in fact it was the next day). Sam Fender came on stage (I have to admit I hadn’t heard of him before) and started to play Spit of You…. And it was like being whacked around the head with a baseball bat. His storytelling is so direct and he’s so raw in his delivery it left me reeling, that ability to sum up your own complicated relationships in a song just blows my mind. And at his Sydney show he did it all over again. There’s such a nostalgic tone to his performance and songwriting that takes you right back to your youth.
When Crumbling Empire began, one of his newer songs, the crowd chanted as if he were playing a timeless classic that had been around for years. His fans were relentless with their love and it poured from the crowd whilst Sam and his band radiated the love back. And Man, that band, the kind of ensemble that elevates everything without ever overshadowing the frontman. The sax solos sliced through the mix with a kind of 80s Springsteen meets indie energy, and the rhythm section was so locked in.
There were a few technical difficulties that interrupted the flow momentarily but Sam stemmed the gap with some impromptu Johnny Cash, which the audience lapped up and prevented the energy waning. It also reminded us of his broad vocal range and the deep, powerful intensity he can deliver as well as the higher notes.
Seeing a young fan get up on stage to play Borders with him was another highlight. As they brought Jarrod up on stage, everything paused, anticipation grew and then, with a guitar strapped to him from one of the crew, he was flung on stage, where he played his heart out alongside his musical hero. I can only imagine how incredible that must have felt.
The encore? Chaos. Joyous, sweaty chaos. When Hypersonic Missiles played, the crowd, peppered with Newcastle football shirts, pulsed and sung their hearts out. It detonated with the kind of euphoric abandon that reminds you why live music still matters, why we still gather in places like this, arm in arm with friends, loved ones and strangers, shouting lyrics that make us feel less alone.
By the end of the night, Sam Fender didn’t just cement his place as one of the defining songwriters of his generation, he proved he can turn a far flung corner of the world into North Shields for an hour and a half.
