Sam Fender has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past few years, a deserved rise after years of grafting, honing his craft and producing a catalogue of material that addresses hard topics while inspiring. The North Shields-hailing singer, songwriter and guitarist has overcome hardships, medical challenges and faced his ADHD head-on to rise to the top of the current pop-rock landscape across his first two LPs: Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under. And so it is only right that he is now selling our arenas across the country ahead of a stadium tour next year in support of his highly anticipated third studio record People Watching, due to drop in February 2025.
So tonight, the second of two packed-to-the-rafters shows at London’s 20,000-capacity O2 Arena, we enjoy a star who is continuing to rise as he shares with us both the songs we know and love as well as material from his forthcoming LP. Kicking off with sombre suicide-addressing 2018 single Dead Boys, we know Fender won’t be pulling any punches for what will be a specially-curated set for this tour that sits firmly between two eras for the 30-year-old before Getting Started gives us our first flavour of his hit sophomore LP.
Sam Fender @ The O2
Jangly Wild Long Lie provides tonight’s first flavour of his People Watching LP, a song already well known to his fanbase as evidenced by their enthusiastic chorus. Hypersonic Missiles cut Will We Talk? has the crowd more than wild while third LP title track People Watching is welcomed like a deep cut given the extensive radio play the single has received over the month since it’s release. Fender hands over lead vocal duties to long-time friend and collaborator Dean Thompson and bandmate Joe Atkinson for a rousing rendition of The Clash classic London Calling, apt.
Seventeen Going Under is leant on the most tonight with Spit Of You dedicated to Fender senior “Big Al”, photos of Alan Fender with his son Sam adorning the giant screen that takes up the length of the stage behind the band. There are even flames thrown in behind the screen to warm further the already sweating O2 crowd. And after a subdued encore of Wild Grey Ocean performed by Fender and Thompson, the band return for a final, explosive outing of Hypersonic Missiles, fireworks popping throughout the arena.
Sure, the show is peppered with just a few f-bombs, the Geordie’s now well-known potty mouth having my 8-year-old son turning to me with wide eyes each time a s*** or a f*** is dropped. We even get them displayed on the screen, so as to be sure we’re at a Sam Fender show! “Don’t ever repeat that!” I say to my boy through his neon ear defenders. Hit single Saturday is conspicuous by it’s absence, so I play my son’s favourite song to him on our journey home through shared headphones.
Sam Fender @ The O2
Tonight, and this stint of arena shows, may well be a road-test of a set that Sam Fender hopes will land well next summer as he takes on even bigger stages, but the sheer joy on his face, and those of his long-standing bandmates, is evidence to the contrary. They’re all living their best lives and tonight, so are we.
Live review & photography of Sam Fender at The O2, London on 12th December 2024 by Kalpesh Patel. Images taken with a Sony RX100 VII compact camera.
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