Live Review: Sam Fender @ HBF Stadium, Perth

Opening act Greta Ray and her euphoric soundscapes are a fine addition to the setlist. Playing a brilliant companion piece to headliner Sam Fender from her previous two LPs and new outing Positive Spin, set to be released next month (August 18). Gliding through the highs and lows of living, laughing, and loving, Ray takes us for a spin on Drive, fresh-off-the-press single America Forever and provides her take on youth in Seventeen. “It feels very vulnerable to play a song about your seventeen-year-old self,” she admitted But open her heart she did, and open ours, we did in return.

The young Geordie strolls onto the stage armed with swagger, a smile, and an off-white guitar, before igniting the stage with a blue glow and swinging straight into the bounce and groove of Will We Talk? followed by Getting Started. The singer was met with an acapella chant from the crowd continuing the song for him, wanting to stay in the moment and savour every word. “Perth, you fucking legends, that’s the first time that’s ever happened for that song.” It’s clear that the man from across the pond has got us in a trance with just two songs. 

Dead Boys, a track detailing the high male suicide rates in Fender’s hometown, changes the pace but is met with the same enthusiasm that follows suit into the Springsteen adjacent track Mantra and nostalgia penned letter to his youth, The Borders.

“Let’s get everybody moving,” beckons Fender as the thrash of hard-hitting guitars and red lights burst through the atmosphere like shards of glass and hard-hitting truths, with back-to-back smacks from Spice and Howdon Aldi Death Queue with such penmanship as “Keep your distance, I said woah woah that’s less than two metres” is this a response to Covid? Whatever it is, the crowd is lapping up these heavier jams full of flavour and a technicolour light show to boot.

The dark subject matter of Fender’s lyrics is balanced coyly with the singer’s classic Geordie charm that manages to cut through the ebb and flow of the more sombre moments with a cheeky grin. “This song’s about my Geordie dad, who I love very much. You know when you love someone so much you wanna hit ‘em in the face,” giggles the singer before taking us into Spit Of You with its opening guitar twangs and larger-than-life refrain fit for arenas and a much bigger crowd. 

“This song’s a fucking belter. If you don’t know it, I’ll be mad,” winks the now stand-up comedian as the dial is turned up to eleven and the unmistakable Thin Lizzy hit The Boys Are Back In Town sounds off, followed by Alright, which was aptly named as it was, an alright song.

Although sparing and sometimes lacking, visuals are much welcomed when they are present. Particularly in the steady layering of sounds in Get You Down, which is paired with visuals of a 1980s BMW E30 steadily driving through a tunnel before taking off in a wonderful blur of colour. Fender manages to create these wonderful soundscapes that brilliantly build and build like a wave as each instrument is introduced until they crescendo into a glorious moment of bliss like something in an 80s coming-of-age movie.

Though, in some instances, it is a double-edged sword as they can tend to blur into one another, where a magnificent saxophone is heard throughout the evening, and there are only so many peaks and valleys you can take before you get emotional vertigo. Fender combats this by introducing elements such as a piano solo in The Dying Light and even becoming a Bruce Springsteen tribute act with his rendition of Dancing In The Dark – moments that stand out due to their contrast with other parts of the set.

After chastising encores on his return, “I bloody hate them, they’re so stupid, aren’t they,” the final hours of the night are filled with pent-up anticipation and excitement as that ever so iconic guitar fills the air like a sweet aphrodisiac.

Before the words could leave the lad’s lips, the crowd is going ballistic. Seventeen Going Under is met with a revolution as an army of fans hoist their phones into the air in the form of a salute, ready to capture the highlight of the night. Everyone is screaming, chanting, and crying. It’s a true peak to the night that rides the roller coaster further up into the closing track and political statement Hypersonic Missiles.

“This is the song that put me on the map,” the songsmith exclaimed before commanding a now easily influenced crowd to jump as high as they could. It’s a stellar way to end the night and employs much of where the singer shines most, with thought-provoking lyrics wrapped around a swirling, ever-growing whirlpool of classic rock building slowly until it explodes into a spectacular shining moment.