After a delay to the original date, it’s been an excruciating wait for those who snapped up tickets to see Sam Fender at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena. But with the night finally upon us, and the first show for many people since the start of the pandemic, the packed-out crowd fizzed with excitement at being able to celebrate the return to live music.
With two UK number one albums now under his belt and an arena tour scheduled for next year, North Shields’ newest hero is a bundle of energy as he bursts onstage to the Imperial March, surrounded by Stormtroopers and bandmates flying the black and white stripes of Newcastle United. Powering straight into Will We Talk? from his debut album, Fender lyrically invites the crowd to “dance with me, darling,” which sets the lively tone for the rest of the night.
Fender’s brilliance stems from portraying serious subject matters through poetic lyrics, as in the haunting Dead Boys – about teenage suicide – and emotional tale of relationships with parents in Spit Of You, but his charismatic personality and huge arena-filling sound are what truly seals the deal. He easily flows from the lush, slower guitar and sax solos as seen in Mantra and All Is On My Side, to encouraging moshpits in Spice and the punkier Howdon Aldi Death Queue. But throughout it all, the sense of fun and camaraderie of a band that has grown up together shines through.
“Next comes the part where I pretend this is the last song but it’s really not and you all know I’m coming back, but we’ve gotta do it,” Fender jokes before breaking into the chilling opening chords of the band’s dystopian debut single, Play God. Quickly returning with an intimate cover of Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark, he rounds off the show with an emphatic singalong in Saturday and the roaring “oh-oh-oh” chant of Hypersonic Missiles, that the crowd still sing at the top of their lungs even as they flood out onto the streets.
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Fri 25 Nov
words ANGHARAD BISHOP photos ANTHONY CONWAY