Had a passer-by from outwith Newcastle been asked to guess what was taking place at St James' Park, football would have been the likely answer. It felt like nearly every person walking to see Sam Fender was clad in a replica top, bearing the name of club legends past and present or, most commonly, the official kit released to mark Fender's newest album.
A canny piece of marketing that, and pity any Sunderland fans in attendance, hearing terrace chants belted out disparaging their club as people queued for entry. The party atmosphere continued inside with a string of warm-up tunes connected to the area, from AC/DC to “Fog on the Tyne”. It culminated in Mark Knopfler instrumental “Going Home” being played by Fender's brass section before the man himself emerged to the Champions League theme. It truly was a gig rooted in its surroundings.
The 31-year-old is, like his beloved club, now playing at the highest level. It is a transition he has managed with ease, given the North Shields native has always possessed a large sound and adapting it to stadiums has felt natural, right from the driving pop of opener "Getting Started", all chantable choruses and blaring sax from Johnny 'Blue Hat' Davis.
Davis was one of many backing musicians who shone here, at the second show in a three night stand at the venue. An eight-piece backing band equips Fender's material with considerable muscle, particularly the rock solid drumming of Drew Michael and multi-talented backing vocalist Brooke Bentham. As well as adding occasional guitar, she bounced all night as if with springs in her shoes, including a joyful dance with guitarist Dean Thompson throughout a peppy The Borders. It was as if they'd got lost in the mood, gleefully cutting shapes as the band played on.
This was understandable. Stadium gigs can rarely have had such feel-good energy as this, with little of the lairy swagger large indie rock shows can bring. Instead, it felt like a celebration with all invited, from white haired grandparents watching in the seats and groups of lads bouncing together during a frantic, stop-start “Howdon Aldi Death Queue”, to the couples holding each other tightly during the country tinged sway of “Rein Me In”, Fender duetting with support act Olivia Dean.
Then there was the dad and his young son fist pumping with excitement to all the expected bangers, most notably the rousing, tragic angst of “Seventeen Going Under”, a song with such verve all those Springsteen comparisons seem justified indeed. It capped a run of big, bolshy numbers that closed the main set, but there is more to Fender than that. He writes, as often observed, with thought and introspection, and at times a cutting simplicity. "I can talk to anyone, but I can't talk to you" rang out during “Spit of You”, a tune on his relationship with his father that prompted many a hug from some of the older crowd members there. Fender himself was able to keep his emotions in check, beyond calling the night a fever dream and expressing gratitude at being there, while also saying he hoped other local acts could headline at the ground in future.
The earlier portion of the set had proved stronger when delivering more melancholic material, particularly stand out track “Crumbling Empire” a reflection on changing times and cites to a Dire Straits-esque tune. Fender is skilled at evoking a mood with melody, and when he marries that with a powerhouse rhythm, as on a terrific sing-a-long “People Watching”, the results are superb. A shame there wasn't more of the album of the same name, with material divided up near equally between all three of his records, plus a cover of “The Boys Are Back In Town” where he was joined by his old guitar teacher Phil Martin, who understandably seemed to relish it as much as humanly possible.
There's also a similarity between some of his earlier material, relying on big drums and bursts of brass. But those are easily forgiven, and when he appears for the encore to sing “Remember My Name” accompanied by Easington Colliery Brass Band, dedicated to his grandparents, it's a powerful evocative moment. It lingered in the mind as much as coruscating firework-laden finale “Hypersonic Missiles”, preceded by a Free Palestine message and delivered with energy and compassion the Boss would be proud of. What a result for the home team.
